Consuming a protein-  and carbohydrate-containing nutrition shake before your workout may be more effective at building muscle than when the same drink is consumed immediately following exercise, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism.

In the study, researchers from the University of Texas tested the effects of a protein- and carb-containing shake taken immediately before exercise and immediately after exercise. 

“Results indicated that the response of net muscle protein synthesis to consumption of an essential amino acid and carbohydrate shake immediately before resistance exercise is greater than when the shake is consumed after exercise, primarily because of an increase in muscle protein synthesis as a result of increased delivery of amino acids…” write the researchers.

What This Means to You: This isn’t to say you should abandon post-workout protein and carbohydrate nutrition. There’s still plenty of research supporting its glycogen-replenishing and protein-synthesis-increasing effects. Still, it might be a good idea to begin taking in about 20 grams of protein and carbs, respectively, immediately before resistance training for optimal muscle-building effects.