Which Kind of Protein is Right for You? (And How + When Should You Use It)

One of the most frequent questions we get via email, our website, and social media is, “Which type of Momentous protein should I be taking?” While this might seem straightforward, there are a lot of options that comprise the $4.7 billion protein market and as such, the struggle with decision fatigue is real. Plus, not all protein options are created equal. In this post, we’ll try to clear up some of the confusion, help you decide which kinds of protein best fit your sports and lifestyle, and suggest how and when you should use them to maximize performance and recovery. 

Endurance Recovery

When a workout or competitive event lasts 90 minutes or more, several things are going on in your body. First, you’ve lost quite a lot of electrolytes through sweat, including sodium, potassium, and manganese. Second, you’ve depleted minerals involved in everything from muscular contraction to energy metabolism to brain function regulation, like magnesium. Third, you’ve likely depleted the stores of glycogen that fueled your performance. Fourth, you’ve created microtears in your muscles through sustained exertion. 

So at the end of this gym session, practice, game, or race, it’s now time to start addressing these issues. Sure, you could combine multiple supplements to take care of each need individually. Or you could simplify matters by picking a catch-all product that pertains to all of them, and more. This is why we formulated Momentous RedShift. Whether it’s Free Solo co-director Jimmy Chin topping up after a long day climbing and filming in Yosemite, Ian Walsh coming back to shore exhausted after an epic surf session at Pipeline (or, in his latest adventure, summiting Denali), or Ben True seeking replenishment after hitting an Olympic qualifying time, RedShift is the perfect choice. 

In addition to packing 22.25 grams of grass-fed whey protein, this carefully crafted formula also provides 30 grams of carbohydrates in an easily absorbable form. A review published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that across 11 studies, endurance athletes who consumed a combo of carbs and protein saw a 10 percent increase in time to exhaustion and time trial performance compared to those who only ate carbs. The authors also noted that protein intake during endurance activities elevated peak power output. 

RedShift also contains sodium, potassium, and magnesium to help restore micronutrient levels and vitamin C to buffer cellular oxidation and elevate the immune system, which can take a hit when training hard. Plus it offers D-ribose, which supports cardiovascular health and was shown by a team from Montana State University’s Movement Science Laboratory to maintain endurance exercise performance and reduce the level of the inflammation marker creatine kinase. 

Strength Recovery

Whether you play a power sport like football, rugby, or basketball, are a sprinter, thrower, or jumper, or just like to hit the weights, your body takes a beating. Short, intense bursts of anaerobic activity requires every system in your body to kick into high gear, and while it’s often exhilarating at the time, soon enough fatigue and soreness set in and you need to start reloading before the next workout or game. 

From Cody Mooney refueling between multiple events over four days at the CrossFit Games to Dallas Cowboys safety Kavon Frazier recovering from colliding with 300-pound linemen to New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday getting ready for the second game in a back-to-back, Momentous ArcFire is tailormade for power athletes needing a boost. 

The 21.2 grams of grass-fed whey isolate help begin muscle repair and growth (hypertrophy) immediately. This is counterbalanced by just the right amount of carbs to restore the fuel that was rapidly consumed during your game or workout. Also present is 1.25 grams of creatine monohydrate – one of the most heavily researched supplements and proven to not only increase strength output, but also speed intra-session recovery. A study published in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that when creatine was consumed after strength training, participants increased maximal lifts in dynamic exercises by an average of 10 percent, and isometrics holds by 21 percent. So whether you’ve just sprinted your heart out on the track, crushed a new PR in the gym, or completed a grueling team workout on the field, look no further than ArcFire to re-light your performance furnace. 

Essential Whey

Momentous Performance Engineer Rasa Troup has helped some of the best athletes in the world dial in their nutrition, from sluggers and pitchers at the Minnesota Twins to RBs, LBs, and CBs at the Minnesota Vikings to track and cross-country runners at her alma mater, the University of Minnesota. As she recently told us, one of the most common issues she sees across all athlete populations is under-fueling, both in terms of a calorie deficit and insufficient daily protein intake. 

In terms of protein, the recommended range is between 1.4 and 2.4 grams per kilogram of bodyweight for endurance athletes according to a recent review by Dr. Oliver Witard at the University of Stirling, and the same for power athletes, per a classic study in the Journal of Applied Physiology. It can be difficult for athletes to get all this protein from food alone, so they often need to add in supplementation. 

This is where Momentous AbsoluteZero comes into play. The grass-fed whey version combines 21.3 grams of the highest quality whey isolate, paired with ProHydrolase, a proprietary enzyme blend that aids digestion and helps prevent the bloating that athletes often experience with other protein options. While it’s low-carb (3 grams per serving), athletes needing to up their daily calorie total could add AbsoluteZero whey to a smoothie with peanut or almond butter, put it in oats with whole milk, or combine it in some other way with calorie-dense foods. 

Though time-restricted eating (limiting the hours you eat every day to 12, 10, or 8) has become increasingly popular and there is some evidence to demonstrate health benefits like improved autophagy (the clearing out of dead cell matter) and extended longevity, athletes wishing to gain muscle can further this goal by ingesting protein before bed, according to Dutch researchers. 

Essential Plant

With the help of our Performance Engineers, who help athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and other major leagues to be their best, we soon realized that whey isn’t for everyone. In the case of Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, offseason bloodwork showed that he was intolerant to whey, so he decided to cut it from his diet and supplements. Others, like Momentous ambassador and climber Alex Honnold, choose to eat mainly plants, or don’t do dairy at all. 

In which case, the second kind of Momentous AbsoluteZero offers an alternative based around pea protein. Unlike many other plant-based proteins, this one provides a complete profile of all nine essential amino acids not made by the body, along with all the micronutrients found in our whey variant. So whether Kyle needs to refuel on the go between team meetings, Alex wants a convenient snack after scrambling up a sheer rock face, or you need a little something to keep you going strong into an evening spin class, AbsoluteZero Plant is a convenient, high-quality, dairy-free go-to. Combined with the other options in our product line, we’ve got your protein needs covered from all angles.