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Pre & Post Workout Supplementation Made Easy
Your diet is critical to achieving results from your training. It does not matter how hard you train if you are not supplying your body with the correct fuel you will never get close to achieving optimal results.
Training stresses your body; every workout breaks down muscle fibers in an effort to move the resistance. Nutrition is the key to allowing your body to recover optimally from a workout. Without the right foods and supplements you could be wasting large amounts of time and money in the gym. The human body responds extremely quickly to training and adapts to the training that you do. By ensuring that you are taking the right nutrients and following that up with variation in training you will achieve results. The body goes through a stage called neural adaptation. Effectively the body’s nervous system prepares itself for the onslaught of a workout. The nervous system actually gets used to your method of training and therefore does not fire nerve impulses to as many muscle fibers. This is why it is imperative that you change your training routines and feed your body appropriately.
Let’s not kid ourselves here we know that nutrition and supplementation is massive in assisting with performance. In a world that is fixated on bigger, stronger and faster serious money goes into research and development. There have been numerous studies conducted on the post workout response. It is apparent that post workout there is what is known as the anabolic window. This is a period of time when the body’s metabolism is 6 to 8 times what it normally is. During this anabolic window which is just an hour post training we can actually digest and absorb up to 33% of our total caloric intake for the day. This is huge and represents a great opportunity for us to replenish glycogen stores and assist the muscle to rejuvenate and grow. However, the critical element to the post workout anabolic window is the nutrients ingested. Your body can not digest and absorb rice, pasta, bread in one hour, it would take around 2 to 3 hours minimum. You must take in nutrients in the forms of liquid. This is where you would take 140 grams of Whey Natural Recover (Coming Soon) with 92.4 grams of waxy maize (very quickly absorbed carbohydrate), WPI, BCAA’s, creatine, l-glutamine, arginine and beta alanine. Does this sound like a lot to you? Yes you are right it is a lot and you will be full for a good 2 hours after finishing this drink. But guess what you will grow and you will maintain good condition if you follow this advice. I have been competing as a natural bodybuilder for 14 years and am offering this advice to assist you achieve your natural goals. Good nutrition and supplementation is the key to putting on good quality muscle forever. No ups and downs in weight consistent growth and a quality physique.
Pre Workout
Pre workout supplementation has been around for a long time. The first effective pre workout supplement was creatine back in the 1990’s. Since then things have evolved dramatically. However, not all pre workout supplements are based on sound evidence to assist with increasing endurance and strength through the workout. A lot of pre workout mixes include large amounts of caffeine in an attempt to get you hyped up ready for a workout. . Essentially there are a lot of things to consider, however the most important ingredients are as follows:
Arginine- This increases blood flow to the muscle. More blood means there is more oxygen and nutrients available for the muscle. More oxygen also means that lactic acid, the by product of energy production is eliminated at a quicker rate. This means that you can recover quicker between sets and push harder.
Beta Alanine – Intensive exercise causes the muscle’s pH levels to drop (become more acidic). This affects their ability to contract resulting in a drop in performance. Beta Alanine assists by maintaining PH levels therefore increasing endurance through your workout. Beta Alanine also assists with recovery due to PH levels remaining fairly constant.
Micronised Creatine – This increases glycogen uptake in the muscle. Glycogen is used by the muscle to create energy. Because glycogen takes water into the cell as well you end up with a much fuller looking muscle. Generally people will put on around 2 to 3 kilograms in the first couple of weeks using this product.
Multidextrose and Dextrose – Simple sugars in the blood cause an insulin spike to transport creatine into the muscle cells. Insulin is released as a result of sugars in the blood. Insulin is responsible for opening the doors to the muscle cells to allow blood sugars and creatine to be absorbed.
In summary, the pre workout formula will basically provide you with the ideal internal environment to train extremely hard for extended periods of time. The pre workout formula Whey Natural All-in-1 will also assist dramatically with recovery due to the correct (backed up by research) amount of beta alanine. All going well this will translate to more strength. Another advantage of muscles working more efficiently is “The Pump”. This is when your muscles are flooded with blood and feel twice the size as normal. “The Pump” can lead to addiction to weight training! This is the good stage when you can’t wait to get to the gym to get the blood pumping.
Post Workout
So our pre workout supplement got our muscles working efficiently and effectively and we lifted harder and longer than before. This has created a problem – our body is screaming out for nutrients as it attempts to recover from the intensive training.
We have just depleted all of our glycogen stores in the muscle as a result of the workout. If we do not replace this glycogen quickly we will fall into a catabolic state very quickly. Catabolism is a term used for muscle waiting. Therefore replenishing glycogen stores immediately is essential and probably the most important part of the workout. Without replenishing glycogen stores you are better off not working out, that is how important the post workout mix is.
In order for us to replenish glycogen stores extremely quickly we need a liquid. Unfortunately as mentioned earlier the increase in metabolism mentioned above only lasts for about 60mins. If we eat food that is not easily digested we will miss this anabolic window.
The ideal post workout supplement is a combination of easily digested whey protein and carbohydrate. You need simple carbs like waxy maze, maltodextrin or dextrose. Our bodies take 120-180 minutes to absorb rice so we miss the window if we take them in this form. Carbohydrate replenishes your glycogen stores in the muscle therefore creating the ideal anabolic (growth) state for you muscles in conjunction with the whey protein concentrate or isolate just consumed. The ideal amount of carbohydrate required post workout is around 90-100 grams. You can get this by consuming 140 grams of Whey Natural Recover and start seeing results from all that hard work in the gym.
Lance Jensen
COMPETITOR HISTORY:
1995 1st MR BALLARAT OPEN
2nd INBA MR VICTORIA NOVICE
1997 3rd INBA MR NSW OPEN
3rd INBA MR AUST OPEN
1999 1st INBA MR SYDNEY OPEN AND OVERALL
1st ANB MR EAST COAST OPEN AND OVERALL
1st ANB MR NSW OPEN AND OVERALL
2nd ANB MR AUST U/90KG
2003 1st INBA MR NSW OPEN AND OVERALL
1st ANB MR AUST U/90 KG
2004 1st INBA MR NSW OPEN AND OVERALL
1st ANB MR NSW OPEN AND OVERALL
2nd INBA MR AUST OPEN
3rd ANB MR AUST U/90 KG
2008 1st WNBF NSW U90kg and OVERALL
1st WNBF OVER 90kg ASIA PACIFIC
2nd ANBB OVER 90kg AUSTRALIANS
2009 1st INBA MR NSW OPEN AND OVERALL
1st ANB MR AUST Over 90kgs
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