Category — Post-workout

I recently spoke to a friend who told me he was doing 45 minutes on the elliptical machine every night because he was trying to “get big.” While that will no doubt help him shed pounds and fat, it won’t help him build lean muscle.

So how much is too much when it comes to cardio? The answer is simple — it all depends on your personal fitness goals. If your goal is to strictly lose weight then 30-45 minutes of cardio is ideal. However, if you’re lifting regularly then you want to aim for 20 minutes of low intensity cardio after every workout.

Keep in mind, this is just a general rule. As I always say, different techniques will work for different people. You just have to find what works for you. Just remember that building muscle requires more calories, so if you’re doing longer cardio sessions you’re obviously burning more calories and that’s cutting into your muscle mass.

In the end it’s all about the look you wish to achieve. I would love to hear what works for you. What’s your cardio of choice and for how long? What intensity do you find works best for you? Share your thoughts.

So we’ve covered pre-workout snacks, now let’s focus on what you consume after your workouts. This step is arguably the most important part of your workout because when you exercise you deplete your body’s glycogen (the carb stored in your muscles and liver). That’s why it’s extremely vital that you replace what you lose so you can get the most out of your hard work.

Through my own personal experience and speaking with several personal trainers, I have come up with this list of the best post-workout meals:

5.  Piece of fish and baked potato — A muscle-building packed combination of quality protein and complex carbohydrates, this meal is a great way to end your workout. Go for salmon or tilapia as these have the highest amounts of protein.

4.  Chicken breast or steak and rice — Another classic meal that will maximize your workout. If you’re buying steak make sure to pick sirloin or a lean cut which are a lot healthier. Don’t forget the whole grain rice either!

3. Protein bar — This is only third on our list because it is a solid and will take a bit longer to absorb than its liquid counterparts. However, it’s still a very effective post-workout meal. In this instance don’t go for “Low carb” bars, instead buy a protein or meal replacement bar that has plenty of calories and carbohydrates to go along with at least 30 grams of protein. I like the MET-RX meal replacement bars.

2. Chocolate milk — This surprisingly effective recovery drink was almost a unanimous pick for all the experts I interviewed. Two cups of this stuff averages about 310-320 calories, 50 grams of carbs, and 16 grams of protein. Of course the liquid consistency will allow it to be absorbed quickly and carried to your depleted muscles.

1. Protein drink with whey — The original and still the best. No other food or drink can compare to the punch this packs when it comes to optimizing your workout. Whey protein is absorbed the fastest by your body and the liquid form will bring it to your muscles that much faster. If it’s a low carb protein add in some berries or a banana to give it a boost. Optimum Nutrition’s Hydro Whey is a good pick!

All of these foods should all be taken within 45 minutes after completion of your workout for best results.

It’s happened! It’s finally happened! A sports drink without the loads of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Simply put, it’s calorie-free and it’s a great complement to your workout regimen.

I used to feel guilty drinking regular sports drinks while working out because I knew I was putting back obscene amounts of sugar and calories back into my body. Well, our friends at Powerade (a.k.a. the Coca-Cola Company) have developed a drink that tastes just as good, but doesn’t have all of the unnecessary additives. Powerade Zero is available in Grape, Mixed Berry, or Strawberry and contains 25% of your daily recommended allowance of vitamins B-12 and B-6 per 20 ounce bottle. It also contains vital electrolyes potassium and sodium in each serving.

Powerade Zero may be on the sweet side in terms of taste for some people, but that’s because it’s sweetened with sucralose (Splenda). Just remember, there’s no calories!

So throw one back before, after, or during your workout to replenish those electrolytes. This drink is definitely a knockout!

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Serving Size: 8 fl oz, Calories: 0 Total Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 55 mg, Potassium: 35 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 0 g.

One of the biggest keys to building muscle is rest. That’s right, you probably already know by now that if your body isn’t getting the proper rest and recovery you won’t see as much growth as you probably should. That’s why it’s important not to overtrain and to give your muscles adequate time away from the gym.

On average, your training sessions should be somewhere between 45-60 minutes, three times a week, while taking a week off every month or so. If you’re not somewhere in that range you’re shortchanging yourself.

It’s also been proven that resting long periods after hard workouts can increase your testosterone levels — so in essence it pays to rest!

I’ve recently gotten into the habit of making homemade smoothies on a daily basis. Especially as a meal replacement or post-workout snack. I’ve been playing around with different combinations for a while — and believe me there are literally thousands of possibilities when it comes to protein smoothies.

You can go the “fruit” route or you can make it more “rich” and sweet. Whatever your preference, try to make sure you’re using only natural ingredients. For instance, I’ve been making a peanut butter based smoothie, but I don’t use any old peanut butter. I’ve been using Smart Balance Omega-3 Peanut Butter.

Here’s the recipe for my creation:

1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons Smart Balance Omega-3 Peanut Butter
1/2 banana
1/4 cup Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup
2 scoops Low-Fat frozen yogurt
1 scoop whey protein
4-5 drops of Agave Nectar or 1 packet Splenda
10-12 ice cubes

The best thing about this smoothie is that it leaves you feeling full and if you’re craving sweets it’s the perfect solution. And if it’s muscle that you’re trying to pack on this one is loaded with protein from the whey, peanut butter, and yogurt.

So give it a shot after your next workout!

If you’re a guy and you lift weights, odds are that you don’t enjoy doing cardio. However, in order for those muscles to show you have to burn fat. The quickest and safest way to do that is through low to medium intensity cardio training. Good old-fashioned running is probably the least exciting of all cardio and it’s really the most taxing on your joints. However, more and more people are reverting to alternate methods of cardio activity.

Here’s a list of the top 10 cardio exercises you’re probably not doing. And if you aren’t — give them a shot and see which ones work for you best.

1. Elliptical machine - This is becoming one of the more popular gym machines and great alternative to traditional running. If you’ve never tried it, check it out and find out just how gentlier it is on your joints.

2. Swimming – In the spirit of the Summer Olympics, swimming is one of the calorie burning ”kings.” Mostly because it is a full body workout and you’re going up against your own resistance in the water. You don’t have to be Michael Phelps though – swimming laps for just 20 minutes at a good pace will do the trick.

3. Biking – This is a great exercise because you can choose to use a gym bike and stay indoors, or your own bike and tour the landscape. Make sure you find a speed that is right for you. Typically you can burn up to 500 calories in 30 minutes.

4. Raquetball – It’s gotta be that little blue ball right? Actually chasing that ball burns an average of 400 calories per half hour. And if you’re as competitive as me, you enjoy the trials and tribulations of sports as opposed to a monotonous session on the treadmill.

5. Jumping rope – Ever notice how lean boxers are? Enough said.

6. Step Aerobics – Geared towards women, this exercise targets the most common problem areas while burning up to 450 calories per half hour. Nice!

7. Kickboxing – If you find a class that’s considered “aerobic” or ”cardio” kickboxing you’ll truly get some serious calorie burning accomplished. The combination of perpetual movement, kicking, and punching make it an excellent cardio alternative.

8. Interval training – Yeah, I know you’re sick of running. But, if you’re looking for an alternative to the treadmill, interval training will burn more calories in less time. Check out my previous post to find out what I’m talking about.

9. Rollerblading – If you’re not experienced make sure you have all the gear — heck even if you are experienced. It can be an effective cardio exercise if you do it at a high enough intensity for at least 30 minutes.

10. Power walking – If for no other reason than to just get outside and away from the treadmill, this exercise can hold its own when it comes to burning calories. Yes, you’ll look a little funny, but you’ll burn up to 200 calories in 30 minutes depending on your intensity. Then you’ll be the one who’s laughing.

This could quite possibly be the greatest bar ever made! Supreme Protein Incorporated, a company based out of Manasquan, New Jersey has come up with the best tasting, most satisfying bar on the market. First let me give you a rundown of the nutritional information. One Supreme Protein Bar contains 360 calories and 16 grams of fat.

Now I know 16 grams is a lot but only 5 grams are saturated and the rest is the “good fat” coming from flaxseed oil.

Supreme comes in two flavors, Caramel Nut Chocolate and Peanut Butter Crunch. Each bar is packed with 30 grams of protein consisting of whey isolate, whey concentrate, and milk protein isolate. The abundance of whey makes it a great post-workout snack. It also contains 31 grams of sugar, however 27 grams are of the sugar alcohol variety which have little effect on your blood sugar. Both bars are “Carb Conscious” according to their labels. These bars are also packed with the full array of multivitamins you get from most protein bars.

Guys, if you’ve never tasted a Supreme Protein bar it’s almost like eating a candy bar. In fact, it’s better than most candy bars. If you didn’t know any better you wouldn’t have a clue you were eating a protein bar. The chocolate and caramel actually taste like chocolate and caramel.

I think Supreme has set a new standard in protein bars. I don’t think I’ll ever have to try another nasty one for the rest of my life.

Rating: 5.0/5

Serving Size: 1 bar, Calories: 360 Total Fat: 16 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 20 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 34 g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Protein: 30 g

You’ve just worked hard at the gym and come home ready to cook something up for dinner. You know you need some protein to go along with those vegetables, but what kind? There are many choices but only a handful pack the muscle building compounds your body needs to recover.

So, let’s break down the 3 most practical meats: chicken, turkey, and beef and look at the benefits each provides.

Chicken: I like to go with prepackaged breast cutlets because they are the easiest to prepare and contain little or no added ingredients. One average size 3 ounce breast will set you back only 142 calories. It also contains about 3 grams of fat and 26 grams of muscle buliding protein. Chicken breasts are probably the most prevalent meat you can find (in restaurants or grocery stores) and are always a popular choice among athletes and bodybuilders for their excellent protein to fat ratio.

Turkey: The best selection here is ground turkey breast. You can cook some up on the stove top and add veggies and whatever else you like. Turkey contains high amounts of niacin and B-6 and is an excellent source of selenium. A single 4 ounce serving of ground turkey contains 120 calories and just 1 gram of fat while packing 28 grams of protein.

Beef: While it may be the best tasting of the 3, it has the highest fat content. Even 95% lean ground beef contains 5.6 grams of fat (half of it being saturated) and 155 calories per 4 ounce serving. It’s okay to have beef once in a while but try not to make it a staple of your diet. When you do eat it, make sure it’s lean ground which contains the least amount of saturated fat. Ground beef does contain 24 grams of protein per serving and is an excellent source creatine.

ChefMD John La Puma reports that weightlifters who drink green tea are able to recover faster from the oxidative stress that occurs after workouts.

“Athletes who drank the green tea had less damaging lipid hydroperoxide and more protective polyphenols in their blood before and after exercise. Another key finding was a 37 percent higher post-exercise level of a protein called glutathione, which helps protect the body from oxidative stress caused by damage from free radicals. The researchers concluded that green tea provided significant benefits for sports participants.”

 When you lift weights I think most of us are concerned more about results and less about keeping our body and cells healthy (especially from free radicals). That’s why getting enough antioxidants and polyphenols is so important.

The quicker you can recover, the quicker you can get back to the gym and the less sore you’ll be. Which will in turn allow you lift more weight, more often.

Labrada’s newest entry into their lineup of protein bars is a disappointing one from a flavor standpoint, but solid when it comes to muscle building ingredients.

I was really expecting a lot more in terms of taste from this bar because it is Labrada and it packs pecans, caramel, chocolate, and nougat. However, it was the latter nougat that was least appetizing. It leaves you with a bitter aftertaste that overpowers the rest of the bar. The sugar-free caramel is good as is the chocolate, although I would’ve liked to see more pecans.

With that said, you can’t really argue with the nutritional value. This bar contains 30 grams of Labrada’s standard LeanPro Protein Blend, consisting of whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate, and milk protein. It also contains 350 calories, a little on the high end for bars of this type, but not too crazy. The bar also has 10 grams of fat. For those reasons, it makes a great post-workout bar or snack in between meals.

This is not one of Labrada’s best tasting bars, but it isn’t exactly battery acid either. It’s still packed with muscle building nutrients and only 10 grams of insulin-impacing carbohydrates.

Rating: 3.0/5

Serving Size: 1 bar, Calories: 350 Total Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 35 g, Dietary Fiber: 3 g, Protein: 30 g