Protein powder

Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia

A RAW Nutrition ready-to-drink protein shake, taken as a snack, is one of the six things he lists for staying on track while traveling, between a healthy bowl at lunch and steak for dinner. RAW Nutrition is the supplement company he co-owns, so the brand choice is his own.

Actor and former WWE champion · The Rock

Describing his 22-week Hercules diet to TRAIN in 2016, he listed one protein shake a day, drunk after training, alongside glutamine and branched chain amino acids. Whole food did most of the work: egg whites, filet, chicken, fish, oatmeal and rice, all weighed and measured.

Actor · Friends and The Morning Show

Her usual breakfast is a shake. She laid out the contents for TODAY in 2016: some sort of pure protein, bananas, blueberries, frozen cherries, stevia, a greens mix, maca powder and a little cacao. Then a workout of some kind.

Retired Navy SEAL officer · Jocko Podcast

Shakes around training, a straightforward way to hit a daily protein target.

Nutrition scientist and powerlifter · Biolayne

Uses whey as needed to reach his daily protein total and says there is nothing magical about it; it is simply a high-quality, cheap and convenient protein source. He ranks whey in his top tier of supplements.

Basketball player · NBA all-time leading scorer

A protein shake from Mancias goes down right after every game, before he eats. Mancias explained the choice: a plant protein with almond milk and fruit rather than heavy whey, because he wants clean calories absorbed in the first half hour and avoids animal products for the first hour after a game.

Physician · The Dr. Hyman Show · author of Young Forever

Goat whey is his pick, blended into the healthy aging shake he uses around strength training. He argues that plant protein alone rarely delivers enough leucine to build muscle unless amino acids are added.

Actor and producer · The 2:30 a.m. daily routine

His own brand. He co-founded Performance Inspired Nutrition, a line of whey protein powders and bars, with Tom Dowd, and says people know he would not endorse a product that was not part of his lifestyle. The brand page, not he, supplies the story about frustration with synthetic ingredients.

Physician · The Drive · author of Outlive

High-quality whey after training is the practical way he hits a high daily protein target.

Ultra-endurance athlete · The Rich Roll Podcast

Plant protein powder goes into a post-workout smoothie, and he says a scoop a day or every other day is plenty.

Former NFL quarterback · The TB12 Method

By his own account he drinks four or five protein shakes on a game day. First a fruit, nut and seed smoothie. Then, after training, plant protein in almond milk.

Coach and IFBB pro · Harder Than Last Time

Advising athletes training through Ramadan, he put eggs and whey protein in the fast-digesting camp for the meal that breaks the fast, next to fruit and rice. Slower protein such as steak he saved for the pre-dawn meal, so amino acids keep releasing through the day.

Natural bodybuilder · Science-based lifting

Whey sits in his Tier 1 of supplements as a convenient way to hit a daily protein target at any time of day, and he points vegan lifters toward pea and rice blends for their amino acid profile. Casein before bed, he adds, might have some merit.

Biomedical scientist · FoundMyFitness

An unflavored grass-fed whey isolate is her pick for protein, with a note that she has no affiliation with the brand. She has covered leucine thresholds and anabolic resistance with age.

Actor · Limitless and Centr

A shoot-day diary published by Centr shows a green shake with protein at 8am and a post-workout shake of vegetable protein, BCAAs and vitamin C. Centr calls a protein shake a staple of the muscle-building plan; no brand is named.

Tennis player · Record 24 Grand Slam singles titles

A protein drink goes down immediately after that gym hour to aid recovery, according to the same summary of the book.