Workout Diets

Q: I'm confused about what I should eat before and after my workout. Also, how soon before my workout can I eat something?

A: This is a good question. Eating the right or wrong things both before and immediately following a workout can make a big difference in the results you get.

Let's start with the right foods to eat before you train. This can vary depending on your physique goals. If you're trying to lose as much bodyfat as possible, it's always better to train on an empty stomach. That means your last meal should be at least three hours prior to your workout, which will ensure that your blood sugar level is lower than normal so your body will release greater amounts of growth hormone.

One of the key actions of growth hormone release is fat mobilization. When you eat foods that contain carbohydrates, insulin is secreted, and that prevents any growth hormone release. Another way to boost your natural growth hormone reaction is to take a supplement that encourages it, such as Muscle-Link's GH Stak. IRONMAN's Jonathan Lawson told me that he got great results from taking GH Stak on an empty stomach immediately before his workouts while he was leaning out for a photo shoot.

If your primary physique goal is to add muscle mass, however, you need the maximum amount of energy for training as heavy and hard as possible. You want to be stoked full of carbohydrates, as they're your body;s primary source of energy. No matter what time of the day you train, you should include plenty of complex carbohydrates with each meal. That will build up the glycogen stores in your muscles. It;s important to eat good food all day long so your body will be ready for some heavy-duty training when it;s time to go to the gym. Complex carbs are digested more slowly and will help build up glycogen stores more efficiently than simple sugars.

You should eat mostly complex carbohydrates with low-glycemic-index values, along with some high-quality, easily digested protein. You want to avoid foods that are high in fat and/or full of simple sugars. Combining a low-glycemic-index, complex-carbohydrate food with a high-quality protein food will help to control the insulin level while also providing your body with the important amino acids that it needs before you begin tearing down muscle tissue during your workout. One of my favorite preworkout meals is a Muscle Meals protein shake combined with one cup of oatmeal.

Foods that are high in fat will take a long time to digest. That's why I prefer a protein drink for my preworkout meal. I know that it will be digested quickly and easily while providing the protein I need for the repair and preservation of my muscle tissue.

Finish eating your last meal at least 60 minutes prior to training. Any sooner than that and your body will still be in the process of digesting the food while you're trying to get a pump in the muscles. If that happens, you'll end up with either an upset stomach or a bad pump or both. As I mentioned earlier, however, if you're attempting to lose fat, don't eat during the three hours before your workout, and take some GH Stak to help with the fat loss before heading off to the gym.

Now let's talk about what to eat after the workout. Your glycogen stores should be pretty much depleted after a tough session, so you'll need to get some carbs back into your system right away. I'm sure you've heard of the window of opportunity that presents itself immediately following a workout. The theory is that if you can replace those lost carbs within 30 to 60 minutes following an intense workout, most of what you take in will be stored in the depleted muscle cells.

The meal following a workout should be high in simple sugars because you actually want your insulin level to go up as much as possible. The high insulin level will help to rapidly transport the simple carbs directly into the starving muscle cells. That opportunity is only available at this time because the muscle cells are so depleted. If you ate that much simple sugar at any other time of the day, you would be in danger of storing most of those calories in the fat cells.
In addition to the carbs, I include some quickly digested protein powder in my postworkout meal. Since the simple carbs are going to be directly transported to the depleted muscle cells, I take in some protein to make sure that my muscles receive the essential amino acids along with the carbs.

My postworkout meal consists of a carbohydrate drink that contains 75 grams of simple carbs along with two scoops of whey protein powder. Since whey protein is rapidly absorbed, it is preferable after a workout to my usual Pro-Fusion protein powder, which is whey protein combined with milk protein. I also add 10 grams of creatine and 4.4 grams of ribose, which are best absorbed by the body after an intense training session. [Note: John Hansen has just started using Muscle-Link's new RecoverX postworkout formula, which includes fast protein and fast carbs along with other ingredients that accelerate the anabolic process during the window of opportunity. IM

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