Post Workout Nutrition - What's yours?

Sometimes these posts just write themselves!

I was at the gym this afternoon, primarily working on strengthening my glutes, after attending a Kinetic Chain Assessment course in London with Dax Moy last week. A post on postural issues and correction will be at a later date!

However, there was a girl at the gym running through the usual "lost sheep" routine of moving from one exercise to the next with really no intensity, and no workout plan. The only thing going for her was that she was in pretty good shape. This was by no means down to a good workout routine however!

She then spotted a gym instructor and asked him about putting on some lean muscle and protein shakes.

I could just overhear him suggesting big, compound exercises (good so far!) and going to the high street to buy some protein powder, but to "buy one of the big brands" because they have done more research and their products are proven!

Hang on! Protein powder is just skimmed and extracted from milk!! There is no secret formula or proving to be done by anyone!!?

Anyway, she went back to her workout and eventually left.

I left shortly after and as I went through reception, I saw the same girl, standing at the vending machine!

In this machine you could buy chocolate bars or crisps! She bent down and pulled out a bag of crisps!

Now, post nutrition is probably the second most important meal of the day, after breakfast.

Your body, if you've worked out correctly, will be looking for nutrients to refuel, repair and re-grow your muscles. It wants quality foods, and fasting acting ones.

It doesn't want artificial, packaged fats and useless calories.

Look to drink chocolate milk or soya (or another flavour!) as you'll get some fast acting carbs and protein, the perfect mix, or a protein shake with half a banana.

You should then be aiming to eat a meal with a balanced amount of carbs, protein and good fats within the next 2 hours to continue the refuel and repair process.

Don't waste your efforts in the gym, or even during the week by neglecting post workout nutrition!

Gym Users - Don't waste your valuable time and money!

To people using gym's or planning on joining a gym - "read this post to ensure you don't waste your time, money and effort!"

Most of the equipment you will find at the gym, and most likely are inducted on, are a waste of time, and will get you minimal results.

Let's forget the X-trainer, stepper etc for now, I'm talking about the 'fixed range of motion' gym kit/machines that take up most of the gym floor space. Born in the 70's and primarily designed for Bodybuilders, these pieces of kit will do nothing to shape your body, and assist you in losing body fat.

Take the machine in the picture above for example, the shoulder press. Firstly you are sat down, so all the muscles from your hips down are switched off - already you are using less muscles and calories than you could be. Secondly, as you push the handles up, to work the "shoulder muscles", the arms will only move in 1 fixed, plane of motion.

Therefore, every time you use this machine, you will use the same group of muscles, in the same fixed movement.
Swap this to an everyday functional movement, such as lifting a box up or down from a top shelf - that box isn't going to move straight up and down is it?

The load will shift, it might wobble to the left or right, it might even start to topple backwards, but because you have trained your shoulder and tricep muscles to work straight up and down, you will not be in a strong position to correct the imbalance, and re-adjust to push that box up, or bring it down safely. Basically, you are not working additional muscles such as you core, and assistor muscles to the primary moving muscles.
It is just not a functional movement.

On the other hand, if you perform a kettlebell, dumbell, or sandbag overhead press, it will NOT move in a straight line, it WILL be more challenging, and therefore will use more muscles, will burn more calories, and fat, and will shape your body in a quicker time compared to static, fixed range machines.

I would go as far as to say 80% of the machines in gyms are a waste of time. Click here to see my video, and comments on the machines at my gym!

This evening while training one of my PT clients at the gym, I saw an induction being carried out, and every exercise the instructor gave them was on a static gym machine. The Chest Press, the shoulder press, leg press, leg extension..... the useless list went on!

Get people carrying and supporting their bodyweight when exercising, get them moving and using multiple muscles and calories, get them moving in a functional way that will help them in their daily lives, but will also get them results, in a reasonable time frame.

Use bodyweight exercises, cable machines, dumbells, barbells, sandbags, kettlebells etc, all external resistance which will move erratically and challenge the body further.
If you want further ideas for workouts, and places to talk about exercises, workouts and nutrition, come and join my Fat Loss and Fitness Solutions forum, it's free, as is the information, and my aim is to help you get your results!

No wonder, so many people give up early when joining a gym, they don't see results, they lose motivation, they lose interest, and most of this is because of such inductions and exercises.

Signup below for my 'controversial' list of Exercises that WORK and DON'T WORK at the gym!

Then feel free to comment about what you have seen and read, or your thoughts?!!