Protein Shakes - Before or After?

Happy Friday everyone!  Many of you may have heard the saying “20% gym, 80% nutrition”.  I’ve heard different splits than these, but my point is some of you may be wondering of that 80% nutrition, what should be focused on when it comes to pre and post workout nutrition?  I’ve had the pleasure of talking with some of you and offering tips, and one common thing that’s been brought up is Protein Shakes, the use of them, and when to have them?

I want to state that I’m not a Registered Dietician or a Nutritionist, so I can only tell you what has worked for me.  One thing people should understand, and I notice this a lot, is that they see something working for one person and figure that it should work for them as well.  That’s not always the case.  Not only have I read up on a lot of different supplements out there, I’ve also tried numerous combinations and found what has worked best for me and my body’s needs. 

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve had talks with some of you about having protein shakes to go along with my workouts and when to have them.  Pre-workout shake?  Post-workoutshake?  The question as to when the best time to have that shake is still up in the air, in my opinion.  After reading these two articles (highlighted ‘Pre-workout shake’ & ‘Post-workout shake’) I think we can all agree that there’s benefits to both times because our bodies are in need of nutrition, whether it’s for energy or repair. 

Personally I have my protein shake within 30 minutes of completing my workout to help with the healing and growth process of my muscles, which is important because of the damage we do to them while working out. But also my choice for doing this might get a little chuckle out of some of you, but I choose to have mine afterwards as a little reward.  Silly as it sounds, it’s true!  Let’s face it, if some of you have been consuming protein shakes for years now, you can attest to the fact that they’ve come a long way in how they taste!  These days some of the protein shakes out there are VERY tasty!  Now because I choose to have my shake afterwards I do take into consideration of my fuel source intake before my workout.  As mentioned in the article about Pre-workout shakes, BCAA’s will help fuel your muscles during your workouts, and because I know this, I use a BCAA supplement that I put in my pre-workout drink (not a shake, a pre-workout drink) to fuel me through my workouts. Then after my workout I drink my post-workout drink (Creatine, Glutamine, and more BCAA's) and my post-workout protein shake. 

Some of you still might not be sure as to when to have that protein shake, pre or post workout, but what I might suggest is to try either way, or both, and see what works best for you.  Like I said, what I said above is what I have found that works best for me.  The nutrition that we build in around our workouts is what’s important so that we can get the most out of that time we put in.  I hope you take away some great information from the articles I’ve read and provided for you.  Have a great day everyone! :)

The Simple Things In Life

Good morning everyone! 

I'm wearing this bracelet today. My daughter made this for me and as we were heading out this morning she grabbed it and said for me to wear it today. So I put it on with a smile and said of course I'll wear it! She's always looking out for me. :)  

This is just another example of why I try to live a healthier lifestyle. So that I can continue to be around to make bracelets with her and gladly let her accessorize my wardrobe as I leave the house with a HUGE smile. :) 

I hope all of you have a great day! :)

-Mike

May - National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

 

Good morning everyone!  Some of you may not know this, but May is National Physical Fitness and Sports month. People of all ages can benefit from regular physical activity and what a better time to start then this month.

 

Here are just a few benefits of becoming physically active:

Children and Adolescents - physical activity can improve muscular fitness and bone and heart health

Adults - physical activity can lower risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancers

Older adults - physical activity can lower the risk of falls and improve cognitive function (learning and judgement skills)

So I encourage you all to make a small change that can benefit everyone in your family. This small change is to take the family out for a walk tonight around the neighborhood after dinner. I will be doing this tonight with my daughter. It's a great way to spend time with the family, talk about how each others day was and to be active in the process.   Have a great day everyone!  :)

-Mike

Have an awesome day everyone!  I believe in all of you!!  :)

-Mike

Any Progress is Good

Good morning everyone! Taking on a healthier lifestyle is a journey and along that journey we might get a little sidetracked or discouraged by results that you might feel you should be seeing. Just keep these words in mind, because as long as you're making progress in your health, any progress is better than no progress. Have a great day everyone! :)

Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips

Hello everyone!  Trying to eat better and cooking healthier can at times be a frustrating task, especially when you don't have the right ingredients in your kitchen.  So what do we do?  We head to the grocery store and get what we need to make those meals we have planned.  But when we get there we sometimes don't have the time to sit and read the labels and figure out which items are the most nutritious for us or to figure out what are the best buys.  Let's face it, there's a lot of choices in the store and it can be a daunting task to make the right choices.  Here are a few ideas that might make things easier for you.

Plan Ahead

This means have a plan before you even get to the grocery store.  Plan your meals for the week and create a grocery list to shop from.  Sundays are usually my days to go grocery shopping, so I'll sit down and figure out my meals for the week and write down all the ingredients I need that I don't already have in my kitchen.  This saves me from making trips back to the store.  Another good idea in planning is looking for coupons to not only save money, but you can also incorporate those sale food items in your meal plan for the week.

Consult the Pyramid

If you're having a hard time figuring out what to put on your grocery list, a good resource to follow is the guidelines of MyPyramid.  This is a good example to follow to help fill your cart with plenty of fruits, vegetables, dairy, lean meat, fish, poultry, whole grains, beans, and nuts.

3 Simple Rules

Here's 3 simple rules to follow while in the grocery store that can help you from spending hours there.

1.)  Shop the perimeter of the store, where fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and fish are generally located.  Avoid the center aisles where junk foods tend to be located.

2.)  Choose "real" foods, such as 100% fruit juice or 100% whole-grain items with as little processing and as few additives as possible.  If you want more salt, add it yourself.

3.)  Avoid foods that more than 5 ingredients, artificial ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.

I hope these ideas helped  with making your grocery shopping a little less hectic.  With a little planning ahead of time and knowing what to look out for when you're in the store, you'll be ahead of the game when it comes to making those healthier choices for you and your family when it comes to eating.  Now it's time for me to get back to my meal prepping for the week and to get back outside and enjoy this beautiful sunshine!  Have a great day everyone!  :) 

TBT - The Warehouse Gym

Happy Thursday everyone! There's been the "TBT" trend going so I thought I'd do one of my own. The larger, franchise gym's if you will, look much much different these days than they did back in the day, like this picture. Treadmills, ellipticals, stairclimbers, AMT'S...let's just say that as technology has been changing with the times, so have our gyms.

Warehouse gyms, like the one you see here, used to be very popular years ago. No treadmills, no ellipticals, no fitness classrooms...just bars, plates, dumbbells, pull up bars and maybe a jump rope or two for the cardio version back then...that's it. However, with all the different franchise gyms you see these days, these old warehouse gyms are starting to make a comeback. I'm sure you've all heard of them. They're basically the new cross fit gyms that are starting to pop up all around the place now.

Now I'm not knocking any gym at all. Not by any means. I'm all for getting a workout in and improving one's health, no matter which location it's at. The generation that worked out in the warehouse gyms got results and the same with our generation with the franchise gyms today. Just thought I'd share a little glimpse into how things have changed over the years and the warehouse gyms of the past. Have a great TBT everyone!