We have tracked down the best protein powders to help you get stronger, recover faster, and achieve your fitness goals.
Muscles are made in the kitchen, apparently. This means you could be spending hours toiling away in the gym, but if your diet isn’t up to scratch, you aren’t going to see any results. We’re sorry, but that’s life.
To make progress towards your fitness goals, you might need to take a closer look at what you’re eating. We definitely wouldn’t recommend becoming one of those slightly terrifying individuals who counts every gram going in and out. We’re just saying that you could do something simple like increasing your protein intake for improved results.
Boosting your protein intake can help keep your muscles healthy and boost your muscle mass. Now you could load up on meat, and pack it into every meal, but this would be both expensive and incredibly boring (not to mention bad for the environment). The most effective and inexpensive method of adding protein to your diet is with something called whey protein powder.
So what exactly is this mysterious powder, we hear you ask. Well, whey protein powder is a byproduct of cheese-making process, which doesn’t exactly sound appetising. Thankfully, supplement companies add flavours and sweeteners to the powder, while keeping calories and carbohydrates to a minimum. This ensures that it is both palatable and effective at doing what you want it to do — build muscle.
Before we get into the best protein powders, we should point out that you should always check with your healthcare professional before you increase your protein intake significantly. There are a few risks for people with particular illnesses, so we recommend playing it safe before you invest.
Once that is out of the way, there is nothing stopping you. To help you pick the best product for your particular set of goals, we have researched all the top protein powders, and compared brands, prices, reviews, and much more. We’ve then condensed all of this information into a handy list, so that you can make an informed decision.
These are the best protein powders for 2020.
There’s a lot to like about this powder. For starters, it’s rapidly digested and rich in amino acids. This means it can kick start muscle protein synthesis (muscle growth) quickly after intake, with those helpful goodies delivered straight to your muscles after exercise.
Optimum Nutrition recommends enjoying this protein powder first thing in the morning and/or during the 30 minutes just before or after training. You simply mix one rounded scoop with around 200 millilitres of your favourite drink, and you get 24 grams of blended protein to help you with your fitness goals.
It’s un-denatured, processed at low temperatures, and goes through a series of stringent production processes, like cross-flow membrane filtration, apparently. It’s also derived from grass-fed cows, which is something that not all suppliers can offer.
The message here is that this product is an ideal source of whey protein, BCAAs, and glutamine. You get 22 grams of protein per serving, which isn’t as much as some of the competition, but this is offset by the choice of flavours and mixability.
Impact Whey Protein can help you to recovery faster, train harder, lift smarter, and crucially, build muscle. All you need to do is add one large scoop to water or milk post-workout, and you’ll get the benefit of 21 grams of protein, to help you smash through your targets.
One of the best things about this product is the choice of flavours. You get to choose from 40 varieties, which should be enough for even the fussiest of customer.
This protein powder is recommended for both men and women who are looking to maintain a lean physique, all year-round. This is because it delivers 36 grams of quality protein per serving, released into the blood stream at different stages.
PhD Nutrition Diet whey protein only contains 6 grams of carbs per serving, meaning it can fit into anybody’s nutrition plan, whether you’re carb cycling, following a keto diet, or just looking for something tasty that’s low in calories.
This is an ultra pure whey protein powder shake made from quality whey protein ingredients, packing over 20 grams of protein per serving. It’s one for the purists, looking for a standard protein shake that’s high in protein, without any fuss.
With this product, you are getting a flavoursome shake, with no lumps or clumps, that delivers the right level of nutrition you need to take on the world.
The result? 23 grams of protein in each scoop, and a powder that mixes easily and smoothly, helping to avoid the unpleasant lumps often found in some products. Inulin is also added to the vanilla whey protein powder, which contributes to normal bowel function. As a result, the protein powder passes more gently through the gut, limiting the digestive issues experienced by some individuals.
The SimplyGo whey protein powder comes packaged in clear plastic containers with a solid screw-top lid, ensuring maximum freshness and dryness.
PBN Whey Protein
Pretty much the cheapest way you can increase your protein intake.This blend of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate helps your body recover faster giving you the energy to push through those hard sessions. Each serving contains 23 grams of protein, and each pack contains 33 servings. So that’s a lot of protein.
The best thing about this product is the price. Getting a bag of this size for under £15 is pretty impressive, and just about the best price we could find. There are other powders with higher levels of protein, and more flavours, but none at this price point.
With 24 grams of protein per serving, you are getting whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, hydrolysed whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate, micellar casein, and calcium caseinate, all in one powder. That is a lot of help.
With this product, it’s not all about the ingredients, although that is clearly the priority. You also get multiple fun flavours to choose from, and the milkshake-like drinking experience helps you to forget all about that painful workout.
USN 100% Whey Protein
USN 100% Whey Protein is a great addition to your regime, particularly when it comes to recovery.With 24 grams of protein per serving, this supplement is perfect for post-workout muscular repair. Helping you to build and maintain muscle tissue after those gruelling workouts, this product also contains up to 5.6 grams of BCAA’s, ensuring you come back harder and stronger.
This great tasting shake can be used before a workout, after a workout, or as a snack between meals to help hit your daily protein goals.
Cyclone is a low sugar, high protein shake, that delivers 25 grams of fast acting biomax whey true protein. Every serving is also packed with calcium HMB, zinc, glutamine, and creatine, to help you get the most out of your training.
The 5 grams of creatine monohydrate in each serving goes some way to boosting performance for short-term and high intensity bouts.