What To Eat Pre and Post Workout for Strength Gain and Weight Loss

Are you making the simple mistakes of eating the wrong foods before and after your workout?

Or are you not eating anything at all?

If so then you could be breaking down muscle or stopping your muscles and body from repairing properly and efficiently meaning all your hard work is for nothing.

Don’t you want to know exactly what to eat before and after your workout to get better results quicker than ever? Good! Then reading this post can make sure you get the most from your exercise.

Lets Jump in right at the beginning to see how we should structure our nutrition before we workout.

How much protein should you eat? What happens if we don’t eat carbohydrates? How long before we train should we eat? When and why should we train fasted? All of these questions are answered right here:

So its no secret that the amount of protein we eat is related to our body’s ability to build muscle and how quickly we recover. But do we need to consume protein immediately before working out? This is answered simply by when our last meal was.

When we work out it is important for our plasma amino acid levels in the blood to be quite high. Amino acids are the building blocks for protein in the body and hence we want to keep them high.

With this in mind lets say we had eaten a meal 1-2 hours prior to working out that contained upwards of 20g of protein then this would more than likely be deemed a sufficient enough amount to help us build muscle and support us during our workout.

On the other hand if it had been several hours since you had consumed a meal containing protein of 20g and upwards then looking to get a protein fix in at least 30 minutes before training is going to be crucial if you want to reap the rewards.

Rule of thumb: Aim for at least 20-40g of protein 30 minutes – 1 hour before working out if you haven’t eaten for several hours.

But… What are the best sources to get your pre-workout protein from?

If you do find yourself in the situation where you need that protein hit 30 minutes before training then you need to aim for something that is digested as fast as possible for your muscles to utilize it.

Protein that is digested and absorbed fast will then raise your plasma amino acid levels to ensure your body is in an anabolic state, which means it is going to build muscle and not break it down.

For Short-Term muscle building effects then Whey Protein is the “Whey” (Way) to go. Sorry I had to put that in! Simply because your body will digest and absorb it quicker than any other option. If you don’t have this readily available or want another option then look to any of the following: -

1. Protein Bar

2. Grilled Chicken

3. Eggs

Moving on…. How important are carbohydrates?

Very!! One thing’s for sure about the relationship between carbohydrates and exercise. They will 100% improve your performance.

Unlike protein they are not directly linked to increased muscle growth consuming them prior to working out but a good source of carbohydrates will fuel your entire workout and help you reach optimal performance giving you the energy to get that extra repetition and train harder for longer.

Now we have established that pre workout carbohydrates are so important then which ones are best and when should you eat/consume them?

Depending on the type of exercise you are going to do will determine what source of carbohydrate you should choose.

If your training usually lasts for 2 or more hours then a lower Glycemic Index Carbohydrate (Slower Digesting/releasing) is going to be more beneficial as they provide you with a longer lasting supply of energy. These include foods such as:- Wholegrains, Foods high in Fibre, Sweet Potatoes, Quinoa, Beans.

At the other end of the spectrum if your training is a lot shorter and intense like a typical gym session then you will want to aim for carbohydrates that are high on the glycemic index to provide you with that short-term release and instant supply of energy. These would be foods like White Rice, White potatoes, Bananas.

The Big Question… When to take these pre-workout carbohydrates?

Around 90 minutes or more before the workout aim for at least 1 g of Carbs per Kg of body weight to fuel you for optimal performance.

Then about 30 minutes before aim for 25-50g of High Glycemic Index  (Fast Digesting) Carbohydrates.

Using the above principle as a guide will be sure to give you a massive performance edge.

But what about fats?

Fats are not going to do anything special for you before your workout simply because they slow down the digestion of protein, which is the last thing we want!

Finally on Pre-Workout nutrition, fasted training is becoming more and more popular. But does it work? Can you really lower your body fat percentage at a quicker rate if you train fasted?

You can but it comes at a cost.

When we train fasted, which means when our blood plasma insulin levels are considered to be low. This usually occurs once our body has finished absorbing all of the nutrients from our last food intake, typically after at least 6+ hours.

The reason this comes at a cost is because muscle breakdown is going to be accelerated as your protein levels are going to be extremely low and wont be consistent with the information and tips I spoke about above. So if you are looking for strength gain then this is definitely a technique to avoid.

Apart from this is weight loss / body fat reduction is your primary goal then fasted training could be particularly useful as research has shown that when we train in the fasted state fat loss is accelerated.

Therefor if you’re a guy looking to reveal those lower Abs or a Woman looking to tone up your hips, butt and thighs the fasted cardio will more than likely need to be in your routine.

So enough about pre-workout nutrition, Lets look at what we should be consuming after a workout.

What should be the first thing you eat after training? If you don’t get this right you wont make nearly half the results you could and should be getting from your training.

Starting with Protein. Why do you need it and how much do you need?

When we workout muscle protein is broken down and will do so even quicker after we finish our workout. The result of this is going to be muscle loss. Which is going to be detrimental to anyone no matter your goal.

We can of course of reduce this post workout muscle breakdown by getting that quick hit usually in the form of a Whey protein supplement as we already know from above it is absorbed quickest by our body.

Post Workout Protein therefore stimulates muscle growth.

How much do you need?

This could be dependent upon how much muscle you have as you will need more the keep protein synthesis levels high if you have higher muscle mass or are simply more active.

To be clear protein synthesis is where your body can utilize protein levels in the muscles to keep you in an anabolic state preventing muscle breakdown.

Rule of thumb for this is upwards of 20g Protein after your workout. However aiming for a much higher amount of up to 50g has proven to be much more effective in stimulating protein synthesis especially if you are very active or have a large amount of muscle mass as I said above.

Now on to Post Workout Carbohydrates.

What is the benefit of eating carbohydrates post workout?

When we exercise our muscle glycogen stores are completely depleted and if they remain depleted then research has once again shown that muscle breakdown is accelerated.

Thus the importance of including carbs post workout is to replenish these glycogen stores with a high glycemic index (fast digesting carbohydrate) mentioned earlier on such as white potatoes, white rice, bananas etc. Or a post workout supplement called dextrose.

Another reason is that a fast digesting carbohydrate like the ones above provide an insulin ‘spike’ raising our blood sugar levels.

This insulin ‘spike’ has a positive effect on muscle growth as it has been shown to reduce protein breakdown.

That being said we can still get this effect from our post workout whey protein shake but the insulin ‘spike’ we get from carbohydrates will elevate insulin levels at a considerably quicker rate and also sustain this level for much longer hence the importance of carbohydrates post workout.

How much Carbohydrate do we need to eat post workout for this to be effective though?

It has been suggested that around 0.25-0.4g of Carbohydrate post workout per pound (lbs) of body weight is sufficient enough to get the full effects of this insulin ‘spike’ and restock our muscle glycogen stores.

Finally is there a magic window or perfect timing for our post workout nutrition?

Research has shown that consuming your post workout nutrition immediately after exercise promotes better muscle growth and protei synthesis than consuming it at any other time.

However as long as you don’t exceed a 1-2 hour window you will still make sufficient benefits.

To conclude please be aware that these formulas can be applied to both weight loss and strength gain goals. As we know the most important part of either goal is energy balance and working out our daily calorie requirement.

Do you know how many calories you need and how you would fit your pre and post workout nutrition into this intake?

I offer exclusive nutrition plans via my personal website that helps you calculate this and I will coach you to structuring your nutritional intake if required.

If you need help with this and want to get the best results then you need to click HERE to find out more.

Until next time

E

5 Ways To Gain Muscle and Stay Lean On Holiday

5 ways to stay lean and gain muscle on holiday

Are you worried about losing that hard-earned muscle when you go on holiday this summer?

Do you want to arrive home looking and feeling better than before you went away?

Then you are going to want to read this and find out how using a few simple strategies can help you maintain or improve what you have worked so hard for in the gym.

Lets face it most of us if not all train hard all year round only to go and lose everything we’ve gained within that short 7 day holiday we cant wait to go on. Only to come back looking exactly the same as what we did 12 months ago feeling depressed about our physiques and that we have to do it all over again.

Well how would you feel if I told you that you can afford to eat huge cheat meals everyday on holiday and not have to worry about it?

Or continue progressing with your training improving or at least maintaining your physique and conditioning.

Well by applying a few simple protocols all this is possible and you can go back home still looking and feeling great. Read my 5 tips below on how to maintain muscle and stay lean while on holiday and put them into practice.

1. Keep Protein Levels High

When we travel away on business or spend some time in the sun one thing we tend to neglect is the amount of protein we consume each day compared to when we are in our everyday routine sometimes counting every calorie! It’s often far to easy to switch the protein out and replace it with as many comfort foods as you can. But this comes at a cost.

Without a sufficient amount of protein we are likely to lose muscle, which is the last thing we want. So aiming for foods such as Greek yoghurt, Lean Meats, Protein Powders, Fruits, Nuts is crucial.

2. Do Interval Training

Whether you are looking to gain weight, lose weight or just maintain we always want to keep our body fat % as low as possible and a great way to do this is through Interval training.

Why?

Interval training is shown to be a far greater method of burning calories that long steady state cardio. This is because it creates an after burn effect meaning you continue to burn calories after your workout for sometimes up to 72 hours later as your metabolism is given such a boost it can take it that long to return back to a normal level. Also you only need to work for around a 20 minute period to get this effect making Interval training a great go to option for exercising when you are away. Another great benefit is that due to the energy systems that are used in interval training it helps to keep you anabolic meaning you are less likely to break down muscle.

3. Try Intermittent Fasting

A typical dieting solution that might work for you whilst travelling as well is intermittent fasting. This reason for this is that you are likely to be skipping meals whilst you are away so using this technique means you don’t have to worry about your metabolism being effected by not managing to eat at your regular intervals and here’s how it works; -

Basically you eat your days worth of calories in a selected window during the day. Usually an 8-hour period for men and 10 for women. This means that for the rest of the day you are fasting, which helps to reduce fat storage as fasting has great fat burning effects.

The reason this can be very beneficial for most people is because generally when we are on holiday or travelling our meals tend to be a lot bigger so therefore by intermittent fasting you can still afford to have perhaps two big meals that you will enjoy eating out and not blow your calorie goal into oblivion.

4. Work Out in your hotel room

That’s right you don’t need a gym to get a good workout in while you’re away. If where you are staying has a gym or if there is one close by that you can get a pass for then go for it. But why not start your day off with a quick full body circuit or HIIT workout in your room or on the balcony if you have one.

My Advice would be to use the tabata style protocol where you exercise at your maximum intensity for a period of 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest period. You then repeat this a further 7 times meaning you will have completed 8 x 20 Second bursts. This is one complete round of tabata. Rest around 2-3 minutes and aim to do 3-5 rounds of this.

Tabata is so effective in creating that after burn effect I mentioned earlier making it the perfect choice. Also because you are working at maximum intensity it ensures you stay in a catabolic state and will not break muscle down (you can even gain some).

With regards to exercise choices just select any of the following;- Press ups, Bear Crawls, Squat Jumps, Crunches, Leg Raises, Burpees, Froggers, Inch Worms.

I would recommend selecting 4 exercises and just repeating each one during the round the make the 8 x 20 Second intervals. But be creative and select some of your own exercises too and like I said you definitely don’t need more than a hotel room to do this! My Super HIIT workout available on my website here - http://bit.ly/2bnI0z6 is a great plan to take on holiday with you.

5. Workout before a meal

Do you want to gain some “free” calories in the day? Don’t we all! Then working out before a meal is a great idea and here’s why…

When you workout your body uses all of its energy stores in the muscles (Glycogen we take from carbohydrates). Therefore with these stores being completely depleted from a HIIT workout we need to replenish them and we need to eat carbohydrates to do this. So you are almost entitled to a cheat free meal as you wont store any carbohydrates as body fat until your glycogen stores are replenished. Go easy though!

As you can see by implementing a few simple strategies into your daily routine when you are travelling you can be sure to come back feeling like you have maintained most of what you worked long and hard for before you went.

Hopefully this will be useful for the majority of you and remember any further questions just ask.

E