Eating round your workout.

There seems to be increasing evidence - incidentally detail in Lyle McDonald's Protein book - that ingesting protein around a workout has benefits.

This is a new study indicating that some protein immediately before and immediately after a workout increase muscle growth and "turn on" the genes related to muscle growth.

I've recently begun to pay more attention to proper pre and post-workout nutrition after consulting with Martin

Acute and long-term effects of resistance exercise with or without protein ingestion on muscle hypertrophy and gene expression.

.......Protein intake increased ........ Resistance Training -induced muscle cross-sectional area enlargement and cell-cycle kinase cdk2 mRNA expression in the vastus lateralis muscle suggesting higher proliferating cell activation response with protein supplementation. Moreover, protein intake seemed to prevent 1 h post-RE decrease in myostatin and myogenin mRNA expression but did not affect activin receptor IIb, p21, FLRG, MAFbx or MyoD expression. In conclusion, protein intake close to resistance exercise workout may alter mRNA expression in a manner advantageous for muscle hypertrophy.