Top Sources of Protein and Why Protein is Important for Recovery of Muscles

These two above are only examples clearly protein can come from a variety of sources both carnivorous and vegan. A few good examples of foods containing high proportions protein are Chicken usually one breast is around 26 grams of protein. Salmon and most other fish, such as white fish for example Cod. Fish also have the added benefit of high levels of fats which is great for our immune system and energy stores especially for endurance athletes. Beef is another option for a high containing protein source if the other two don't appease to your fancy. Some examples of vegan options include legumes/beans which have around 16-30% of the total bean as protein. Some can reach up to 60% even. Oats is another example for vegans wanting to increase protein intake whilst not quite as high as beans these still offer a good proportion of protein. It is important to note however that these should be rolled oats or natural oats as opposed to instant oats which can sometimes have a lot of their nutrition removed during production.

Now onto the important topic of discussion why is it actually important that our diet contains a high proportion of these especially for those doing sports or training in the gym. Our muscles contain muscle fibres which are fibres of multinucleated cells. These are formed by two proteins Actin and Myosin. During exercise its shown that an increased intensity or volume is followed by an increase in the breakdown of muscular proteins this is simply the basic idea that muscles are damaged during exercise. To repair this and grow and ensure that during the next training session you can maintain force output or strength protein must be consumed.

When we consume these proteins, enzymes which are specific to each protein will aid in the hydrolysis/breakdown of these proteins releasing the small basic sub units of a protein known as amino acids. These are needed in protein synthesis. Our body will increase the rate of protein synthesis in muscle cells so more of those proteins mentioned earlier Actin and Myosin can be produced, this allows muscular hypertrophy or to repair damage which occurred during training. This allows our body to adapt and recover from a training stimulus and to "improve" in layman's terms.

Hopefully you enjoyed this short read and know why proteins and consuming enough is essential to recover after training. Any questions don't feel afraid to contact. If you are looking for more guidance for this sort of stuff and exercise in general I offer bespoke online coaching for a variety of goals and can guarantee competitive prices. My remote coaching starts at £30 per calendar month and freedom to cancel with a months notice at least. Contact information can be found on the website.

References

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Exercise_Induced_Muscle_Damage