Consuming enough protein—is critical to your fitness journey. Whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle, the benefits of eating protein—are suitable for both goals. It’ll also help you recover faster from your vigorous boxing training.
You should drink a protein shake after boxing if you didn’t consume enough protein on the same day. A shake can be a suitable add-on when you want to gain muscle and don’t have enough time to cook. However, you’re required to consume fewer calories than you burn daily to lose weight.
A common recommendation for gaining muscle is 1 gram of protein per pound (2.2 grams per kg) of body weight. Other scientists have estimated protein needs to be a minimum of 0.7 grams per pound (1.6 grams per kg) of body weight.
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Try and calculate how much protein you need to eat per day. If you want to bulk up and gain muscle, it’ll be best to consume more protein than the number you got.
As we’ll see in the following sections, protein curbs your hunger, making you eat healthier and fewer calories. But, unfortunately, this can be what’s currently missing in your diet to start losing body fat.
Before diving into the complete guide to protein and boxing, I recommend you read another article about how long your boxing classes should be.
Should I eat protein after boxing?
This matter has been trending throughout the fitness community. While many believe that a concept called “The anabolic window” exists, some don’t. This concept refers to the limited time you have after exercise, in which you must consume protein. And, if you don’t, you’ll be losing muscle. That’s, as you can imagine, inaccurate.
It would be best to consume protein throughout the day and after an intense boxing class. But unless you’ve fasted before boxing, you’re not required to consume protein after the workout immediately. Instead, it’ll be best if you drink the total amount you need throughout the day.
There’s a caveat; however, overeating protein can result in various symptoms. On the other hand, under-consuming your muscles with high-quality protein can also result in harmful symptoms.
protein undernutrition results in stunting, anemia, physical weakness, edema, vascular dysfunction, and impaired immunity.
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However, there’s also a tolerable upper limit to how much you consume daily.
the tolerable upper limit is 3.5 g per kg BW per day for well-adapted subjects
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It’ll be best to keep your protein intake to the recommended amount, even if you’re trying to gain muscle. As we’ll see in the table below, various foods contain a high amount of protein, making them more attractive to include in your diet.
For most individuals, 20-40 grams of protein is adequate. These needs can be met by consuming one serving of whey protein, four ounces of animal protein, or one cup of mixed plant proteins, such as rice and beans.
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| Food | Protein Count (grams per 100g of food) |
|---|---|
| Eggs | 12.2 |
| Protein powder | 86.58 |
| Fish | 20 |
| Lean meat | 28 |
| Beef | 35 |
| Beans | 8.7 |
Concluding, you don’t have to eat protein immediately after boxing. The anabolic window only applies if you’ve been training fasted. You should consume protein throughout the day, and you can even drink a shake right before a workout and have it applied for an extended period, even after the exercise is over.
How many grams of protein should I eat after boxing
Your focus should not be to eat as much protein as possible. This will only set you back by fatiguing you mentally. Instead, focusing on consuming the same amount in several big meals would be best.
Eating 25-30 grams of high-quality protein, such as lean meat, eggs, and fish, will be ideal after boxing. However, it’s important to note that you don’t have a limited amount of time to consume protein after boxing unless you’re training in a fasted state. If you’re not, you can eat a few hours after the workout.
According to a medical article, “It is estimated that consumption of two to three meals a day, each containing ~25–30 g of high-quality protein, is optimal for the stimulation of 24-h muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in healthy adults. This approximate quantity is thought to be sufficient, both for younger and healthy older adults.”
As you can see, it doesn’t require much effort to meet the recommended daily protein intake. All you need is to include it in a few meals. For instance, I always eat eggs and cheese in the morning, foods filled with protein.
dietary intake of 1.0, 1.3, and 1.6 g protein per kg BW per day is recommended for individuals with minimal, moderate, and intense physical activity, respectively.
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Eventually, there’s no better way to learn than trying it yourself. You can go ahead and calculate how many grams of protein you need to consume every day. Then, give it a try, and see how it goes.
Benefits of eating protein after boxing
Contrary to what most people think, there’s no evidence suggesting that eating protein right after boxing can be more beneficial than eating it before the workout. However, it can help you meet your daily protein intake if you consume it right after your boxing training.
Here are the benefits of eating protein after boxing:
- Speeding recovery after exercise
- Minimizing muscle loss
- Gaining lean muscle
- Curbs your hunger
- Helps with fat loss
These data indicate that even minimal-to-moderate pre-exercise EAA or high-quality protein taken immediately before resistance training is capable of sustaining amino acid delivery into the post-exercise period.
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The study above suggests that there’s no difference in when you eat your protein as long as you meet the required daily amount. However, there’s one thing to pay attention to; if you train while in a fasted state, you must consume protein and carbs right after the workout. You’ll be more likely to lose muscle mass if you don’t.
Should boxers take protein?
Today, many people are incapable of meeting their daily protein amount. That usually happens because they either don’t have enough time to cook for themselves or lack the motivation to do so. Here’s what you can do about it.
Boxers can drink protein shakes and eat protein bars if they cannot meet their daily protein amount. Meeting the required amount can be critical for your recovery, and muscle gain and even curb your hunger so you can lose fat more efficiently. That’s why protein shakes can be beneficial to boxers.
Eating high-protein foods has many fitness benefits, including:
- Speeding recovery after exercise and injury.
- Reducing muscle loss.
- Building lean muscle.
- Helping maintain a healthy weight.
- Curbing hunger.
As you can see, the benefits are plenty. That’s why it’ll be best to start paying attention to this subject. Ensuring you consume the proper amount—is vital for your overall boxing progression.
Should I drink protein before or after boxing?
As we’ll see in this section, when you consume the protein – it doesn’t matter as much – as consuming the total amount. So if you ignore the exact times you eat, you’ll still be fine. However, if you consume less than what you should daily, you might lose lean muscle mass.
It doesn’t matter if you drink protein before or after boxing. As long as you eat the total amount you need, which ranges from 10%-35%, you won’t experience any deficiency. But, the time you drink the shake—won’t influence your recovery or progression, as long as you’re not training in a fasted state.
Despite claims that immediate post-exercise nutritional intake is essential to maximize hypertrophic gains, evidence-based support for such an “anabolic window of opportunity” is far from definitive.
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Many studies have examined the anabolic window. The same conclusion seems to come up each time; you can consume your protein whenever, as long as you’re not training in a fasted state.
Nevertheless, if you do box fasted, you’ll be required to consume protein and carbs after the workout.
If you want to be more stable inside the boxing ring, consider buying boxing shoes to help you avoid slipping. Follow the link to learn about the best boxing shoes.
Final words
Nutrition plays a significant role in your boxing journey. To optimize your progression rate, you must consume sufficient protein. If you do, you’ll experience the benefits that come with it, such as a faster muscle recovery rate.
If you want to learn more about the complete eating guide for boxers, follow the link.