Timing is everything. Or, when it comes to supplementation, it at least can spell the difference between an effective bodybuilding program and a so-so one. Have you ever wondered when to take Muscle Milk to get optimum benefits from your workout? The answer is easy: Using CytoSport Muscle Milk before and after your workout will provide the best nutritional benefits to your muscles. Adding Muscle Milk’s tremendous nutritional benefits both pre- and post-workout is a perfect way for your muscles to acquire and maintain the energy they need, achieve top results, and recover quickly.

Before …

Pre-workout nutrition is extremely important, and CytoSport Muscle Milk ingredients can provide the extra punch you need. The amount of appropriate nutrients you have in your body when beginning your workout can make or break your results.

Being able to push yourself to do an extra couple reps or increase the weight you lift can depend on the pre-workout nutrition your body receives. Drinking Muscle Milk before your workout will increase muscle strength, provide better endurance, increase energy, give you better pumps, burn more calories and fat, and improve your concentration.

Though you’ll get great benefits from drinking Muscle Milk anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours before your workout, most experts advise drinking it between 30 minutes and one hour before beginning.

... And After

As every devoted bodybuilder knows, bodies don’t increase in strength or gain muscle during workouts. In fact, after a workout, you need Muscle Milk nutrition even more, because your muscles are weaker, drained of their reserves of strength.

Increasing physical strength and gaining muscle has to happen after your workout, within the post-workout recovery stage. This is why drinking a Muscle Milk protein shake within an hour of your workout is such a good idea. After a workout, protein breakdown quickly increases. If you don’t capitalize on this, you won’t gain the muscle you could have gained, and you’ll actually lose some of the muscle you currently have.

Workouts also seriously deplete glycogen levels, and if you don’t replenish your glycogen stores, your body won’t be in peak condition the next time you work out—and decreased energy during workouts results in decreased muscle gains. If your glycogen stores remain low, protein breakdown will occur, leading to lost muscle mass. Because glycogen helps draw water to your muscles and rehydrate your body, drinking creatine-rich Muscle Milk supports muscle growth.

Nutrition facts reveal that, because Muscle Milk is a direct precursor to building muscle and essential amino acids like glutamine, it’s an easy way to optimize the value of your workouts since it helps muscles recover and grow faster by increasing the body’s protein reserves.

A complete nutritional supplement that satisfies bodybuilders’ protein needs while supplying good lipids and long-chain polyunsaturated fats that quickly convert to energy, boost metabolism, and synthesize protein, Muscle Milk is available in powder, ready-to-drink (RTD), regular, and Light formulations, as well as an NCAA-compliant version for collegiate athletes.

Filled with peptides and amino acids vital for high-quality protein supplementation, workout-optimizing Muscle Milk comes in many delicious flavors, including Pineapple Banana, Peach Mango, Mocha Joe, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel Pecan, and Chocolate Banana Crisp. 

—Julie Crawshaw