Warrior Blog

How Much Protein for Muscle Gain? We’ve covered before that protein is an essential nutrient for life, playing a critical role in building tissue, cells and muscle.  All proteins are made from a collection of up to 20 amino acids.  The different collections and structures of the various amino acids determines the proteins role and how it manifests as muscle or other tissue.  Muscle protein makes up approximately 50% of the total protein in the body and adequate muscle growth is dependant on sufficient levels of protein (and the underlying amino acids).  When you workout with heavy weights, your muscles will get forced into a protein breakdown state - your body will actually split up amino acids to be transformed into energy and/or used to synthesize new protein.  Therefore to realize muscle growth, you have to combine weight training AND maintain a positive protein balance (that is your protein intake and synthesis is greater than your protein breakdown).  ...

Plant Based Protein Today, we’ll take a look at some of the best sources for Plant-based Protein.   The right choices can yield excellent sources of protein and other nutrients, often with fewer calories than animal based products.   Some plant based products (e.g. soy beans and quinoa) are complete proteins - meaning they contain all 9 essential amino acids that your body needs.   Other products can be missing some of these amino acids - it’s important to get familiar with the make-up of your plant based proteins and to eat a varied diet to ensure you’re getting everything you need!   Sources of plant-based protein with a high protein content per serving include:   1. Tofu, tempeh, and edamame The soy products are some of the most powerful sources of protein in a plant-based diet.   Consider     a) firm tofu (soybean curds) - 10 g of protein per ½ cup   b) edamame beans (immature soybeans) -   8.5 g of protein...