**About me:**I am a male and 29 right now. Right now weighing 77 KG and height 174 cm. I have mentioned my query at the end of this post. My schedule is as follows
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays -> GYM - 6 am to 7:30 am and 8 am to 9 am Badminton(pretty intensive)
Other day -> Stay relaxed and do some walk of around 8000 steps including daily commute etc.
I sweat a lot and I take flavourless 1 packet of electral powder(attached screenshot of the ingredients) which is 21.8 gm. I take it half during the GYM and half during the Badminton. Right now I am taking 2 TSP Soy before GYM and same quantity after Badminton. Breakfast of some carbs equal to 1.5 bread and Egg.
My query:
When is the best time to take protein a) before workout? b) after workout? c) between workout and cardio?
Is the electral I am taking fine or its more on calories etc? I literally can't survive/perform without it on those three days.
Thank you in advance. I have a dietician but I want to know opinions from folks who has the similar schedule.
Just make sure you get your protein consistently and generally. Any effect the timing might have is so small that you don't need to worry about it.
I had to look up electral powder. It looks like it's just a solution of electrolytes that you dissolve in water and drink. It probably has no calories, or perhaps negligible calories. It's probably helping you most by making sure you stay hydrated because you're drinking it with a bunch of water; but I also understand that it's hot as balls in India, so it's probably not a terrible thing to take it anyway.
The best thing is to get in an overall protein target every day, and then to space that intake out evenly throughout the day, perhaps in 4 meals. The overall amount you take is by far more important than specific timing. I.e. in your scenario I would be aiming for around 170grams of protein per day. i would aim to get that total in across 4 meals with each roughly comprising 40-45g per meal.
It doesn't really matter about the electral stuff. Use it if it helps, but don't expect it to be a dominant factor. Calories are far more important.
My question is, how much thought are you putting in to your training progression and overall calorie amount? These factors are far more important than nutrient timing or vitamin supplements. Like, 99% more important.
I ask this because it's a common issue with novices to put a lot of thought into granular details like nutrient timing or mind-muscle connection or whether to do hammer curls vs normal curls, but then not put any significant thought or energy into their overall training volume or calorie amount. That would be a huge error, akin to worrying about whether to add a bonnet scoop to your car to make it more aerodynamic before you've even put an engine in it.
I have a Personal trainer in GYM and he make sure he raises the expectation bar every week. I am sure I am able to lift more weights that I used to 3 weeks back and more control over the weight. Hope I answered the question.
Just because I have a personal trainer, I never got into the what quantity I am lifting for each form(barbell press or leg press etc). Maybe I got lazy and just focussed on what the trainer asked me to . But will be starting to track that soon. I am curious to see the graph of the capacity of weights I am lifting months by months.
Total protein over the day is more important than timing.
Yes, I don't believe electrolytes have any significant calories unless its mixed with some sugars. At the end of the day it just micronutrients like sodium, potassium etc.
