curiousity

I currently have a PWO shake after I work out.

It consists of (mixed in 1.5L of water):

44g whey protein
~40g dextrose/maltodextrose (50/50 mix)
1000mg Biotin
200mg ALA
5g of L-glut
5g BCAA
5g creatine

I drink half right after finishing lifting. I then sip the rest over the next 45 min.

My question is do I need a protein/carb meal after this or should I have a protein/fat meal? Does the PWO shake satisfy my body's needs for the simple carbs? Will a solid meal of protein/carbs after the shake help my muscles grow better?

Thanks for your time.

atherjen

well.. what are your goals?
if you are looking to cut then this is fine and post workout MEAL would not essentially require carbs.
if your aiming to add more lean mass, then ideally I would reccomend a carb/lean protein meal following depending on the time of day of training.

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

Yanick

what atherjen said, and i'd like to add both approaches work for both phases (cutting and bulking) you just have to make sure the rest of your diet is spot on!

"...we have to remember that training is a complicated dance of stimuli and response. Our goal is to understand how to manipulate the stimuli in order to evoke the responses we desire." -Nathan J. Polenchek

curiousity

LOL......sorry about that. I didn't even mention my goals, etc.


Well... I am getting into shape after a long haul of non-activity. I would say that my goals fall more along the lines of a cutting phase than a bulking. At the same time, I want to increase my muscle mass.

I would guess that I am in the low- to mid-twenties in body fat percentage(won't bother with measuring it until I get a little thinner) so at this point I could sneeze for 45min in the morning and lose weight.

I am doing 45min of light to med cardio 6 times a week in the morning (before I eat) and lifting 4 times a week on a bastarized version of a three day split that I grabbed from http://www.exrx.net/.

I try to eat smaller meals consisting of protein/fat and sometimes vegis every 3 to 3.5 hours.

Right now I lift around 4 or 5pm. (In a couple of months, I will have to lift later in the day.) I would drink my PWO shake and then have a small meal of chicken and white rice. I stopped this for a while(would have protein/fat after PWO shake) and am now questioning that decision.

What would be a cut-off time for eating that protein/carb meal? 7pm....8pm? I usually go to bed around 10pm.

Vieope

FURtherness

atherjen

are you eating carbs elsewhere in the day?? or only fat/protein meals(aside from the veggies). with your goals in mind I would stick with the post workout shake and then have a protein/fat/veggie meal as your last one before bed, however I would suggest that you have a carb/protein meal prior to your weight training.

it also sounds to me as though you are doing far too much cardio. 6 days..and 45mins each session is overkill. try cutting this back a bit and switching the 45min sessions to 25-30mins of intervals instead.

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

Yanick

Carbs are not your enemy, they don't make you fat, or give you atherosclerosis, or any other crap those low carbers are spewing nowadays. Eat carbs, they're good.

"...we have to remember that training is a complicated dance of stimuli and response. Our goal is to understand how to manipulate the stimuli in order to evoke the responses we desire." -Nathan J. Polenchek

aztecwolf

yeah man chow down, it has been about 4 hours since i got done with my workout and i have had a cup dry oatmeal with a banana, 14 oz. sweet potato, and some rice and beans

-Sack Up-

"If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?" Pink Floyd, Another Brick in the Wall

curiousity

Isn't the thumbrule that it takes around 20 min to burn off your body's stored glycogen and after that your body will turn to its fat reserves? Five to ten minutes of fat burning really seems like a waste to me. That's probably because I have a "nice" belly right now though. 45 min is perfect for me.

Also, I am rotating light and med cardio. Three days of medium intensity on the elliptical machine. On the alternate days, I just pick a direction and walk rapidly away from my house for 25min and then turn around. The walking is very low impact, but I still feel a little tired and break a very slight sweat.


I forgot to put down that I do usually have an apple or equivalent around an hour or so before I lift. I forgot one time and had no energy what-so-ever. Worst workout I had ever had.

curiousity

I understand that carbs are not my enemy. I basically am trying to keep to protein/fat/vegi meals so that my body will have to burn more fat as fuel. Am I wrong here?

The only strict rule I hold myself to is that the only carbs I have after 6pm are vegis (with exception of PWO). This is merely to minimize my glycogen levels in the morning so that I can tap into my fat resources sooner than later.

atherjen

dont fall for that "fat burning mode" it all about total calories burned IMO. with interval training you are going to burn more overall calories in less time and stoke your metabolism UP even following your workout, better utilizing food post cardio.

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

curiousity

HIIT training, eh? I have thought about it. If nothing else for the time considerations. 20 min of jogging and sprinting, right? 30 second intervals?

One question about it though. Since I will be tearing the muscles, do I need take any consideration into my breakfast meal? (ie -- not quite to the extent of a PWO shake after lifting, but similiar?)

atherjen

20mins of intervals, 5min warm up and cooldown.
30second-1min intervals.

YES, post cardio you will need carbs and lean protein.

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

curiousity

Ok. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction atherjen.