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I'm a little confused due to my situation. I bicycle a lot everyday as a mode of transport, however I do weight training 3 times a week specifically focusing on arms and shoulders.

Overall, I'm new in the protein/weightlifting business. My focus is to gain specific mass around upper body and not gain overall weight, so I have to be extra careful. All my workout is in the upper body (shoulders & arms), however with a lot of cycling the protein I'm afraid could be redirected to legs as Im doing more legs (via cycling) than shoulders and arms.

So when do I eat protein? Cause I feel due to cycling the protein is going towards my legs and I don't see much growth in my arms. And on a rest day, I'm still riding, so its not a rest day for the legs!

Not to mention I easily gain weight (fat) so Ive to be very precise in timing and what I consume (calories especially).

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  • Strength training and endurance training are counter-productive to each other.
    – Christian Conti-Vock
    Commented Feb 8, 2018 at 15:24
  • Are you sensibly programming you lifts in a way that forces adaptation. This is basically the number one reason that people don't see gains. Google "starting strength" for a good beginner program.
    – Nathan
    Commented Feb 13, 2018 at 10:42

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The most important thing is that you eat enough throughout the day.

The only time window that is of any significance is the 1 or 1 and a half hours after working out. Consuming quality foods at this period will help your body recover from the workout.

I would also suggest you read up on the answers on this question.

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  • ok thats a good tip. But I read at other places to consume protein anytime even on rest days and some says its a marketing stunt to have protein shakes and all
    – Raheel Hasan
    Commented Feb 6, 2018 at 22:11
  • also how many protein shakes can I take? cause on most shakes it says only consume 1 per day. but thats like 30g where as everywhere it says take 1gms per lbs .. so thats a lot of difference
    – Raheel Hasan
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 4:53
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    @RaheelHasan Well let's get something straight. You do need protein, but you don't need protein shakes. The best way to get protein is from actual food, if you want to consume more protein than you can with just food, you could drink 1 or 2 protein shakes a day like many others do. The amount of protein you need per day depends on a variety of things, generally people will take 1gram per lbs of bodyweight as a rule of thumb, but this includes the protein you get from food. You first should see how much protein you want to consume per day, and check how much protein you get from regular food.
    – MJB
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 6:54
  • thanks a lot for the guide.. Im new in protein / weightlifting business. My focus is to gain specific mass around upper body and not gain overall weight. so ive to be extra careful. All my workout is upper body (shoulders & arms), however with a lot of cycling the protein im afraid could be redirected to legs as im doing more legs (via cycling) than shoulders and arms
    – Raheel Hasan
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 22:00
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    @RaheelHasan - You're way overthinking this. The "window" you refer to is generally not applicable for weight type workouts. It's the best time to replenish carbohydrates after longer endurance type exercise. No workout is going to "override" the other as in "I get the proteins first!". Just eat a good, balanced diet with enough protein throughout the day to support your activities. That's all you need to really worry about.
    – JohnP ♦
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 14:37
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As general rule of thumb, every day you should try to take in 1 gram of protein for every pound of muscle (if you are on steroids, you can bump that to 2 grams of protein per pound of muscle).

When you work your muscles, you tear fibers. When your body repairs those fibers, the muscle tissue grows back bigger. If you work legs in cycling and arms/shoulders in the gym, just be sure to get enough protein to rebuild those muscles.

If you are losing weight and do not want to, then you need to increase your total calorie count. If you are gaining weight and want to go down, reduce your daily calorie intake.

The average body can only process around 30 grams of protein in an hour. If you slurp down a 60 gram protein shake, whatever your body does not process during that hour window typically gets stored (as fat) or flushed out (restroom break).

To grow faster, you will want to break up your protein intake into smaller meals, spread across your day, so that your total protein grams is equal to your muscle mass in pounds and you are not taking in too many grams of protein at any one time.

Protein shakes are convenient, but there are other sources. Beef jerky, low-fat cottage cheese, and grilled chicken breasts are my favorites.

Also, some carb and fat rich foods come with good sources of protein, like avocado, nuts (peanuts and almonds), eggs, and oatmeal.

I have 4 boiled eggs, Jack's beef jerky, and a 2-lb container of Quaker Quick Oats on the other side. In the breakroom, I have a quart of cottage cheese. I keep these for snacks during the day, keeping my protein intake high.

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