From ancient Greece to Arnold and Rocky Balboa, men have been trying to find ways to enhance their muscle growth, strength and recovery. One popular method has been a post-workout liquid shake. Before the days of widespread, affordable powdered supplements, bodybuilders and strength athletes alike used raw eggs and milk to pack on the pounds and to get those precious calories into the body as fast as possible, post-exercise. The bodybuilder Irvin P. Johnson began to popularise and market egg-based protein powders marketed specifically at bodybuilders and physical athletes in the 1950s, but the supplement industry did not really take off until the late 70’s. 

I am sure you have asked yourself the question ‘do I really need to consume a post-workout shake?’ The answer, as always, in the health and fitness world is ‘maybe’. 

Lets first discuss what is loosely termed the “anabolic window”. After exercise your muscles are more insulin sensitive due to the muscle contractions and fuel depletion during your workout. FYI – Insulin is an anabolic hormone that transports nutrients to various cells, including muscle cells. So due to this beneficial physiological environment it’s an ideal time to get in the raw materials to facilitate progress and recovery. However, due the affect stress hormones (which are elevated during exercise) which impact our digestion system and appetite, it’s not wise to eat a solid meal straight after exercise. In fact, after intense training you may actually feel quite sick at the thought of eating food. That’s where protein shakes come in. It’s a far more convenient way of getting those calories in and taking advantage of the aforementioned. Ideally, you want to consume your post-workout shake anywhere between 30-60 minutes post-workout. 

Does this mean you won’t make any progress if you do not consume a post-workout shake? No! Overall daily calories and macronutrient ratios are the most important factors. In fact, unless you are not able to eat a meal within 2 hours of finishing your workout it’s not essential at all. However, if you are a serious gym goer, recreational or elite level athlete then I highly recommend including a post-workout.   

Lets look at some of the other benefits of consuming a post-workout shake. 

• From a performance perspective: You want to replenish glycogen (stored glucose in the muscle) as fat as possible to enhance recovery and increase performance next time around. A post-workout shake containing a specific ratio of protein and carbohydrates will be your best bet.

• From a muscle growth perspective: This is a great time to get in much needed calories, protein and carbohydrates and take full advantage of the increased insulin sensitivity. The goals after training for muscle growth will be to drive as many nutrients into the trained muscles as possible.

• Pre-Diabetic/insulin resistant: If your body is not efficient at metabolising carbohydrates, then consuming the majority of your daily intake of carbohydrates around your workout would be a wise choice. Again, you are just simply taking advantage of the improved insulin sensitivity. This means a higher percentage of the carbohydrates you do consume will be stored in muscle cells as opposed to fat cells. 

• It’s an easy way to get the calories in: Ask any serious gym goer and they will tell you eating to build muscle is not easy. On average a post-workout shake will easily have between 300-600 calories. That’s 600 calories from solid food less you have to eat. In fact, for my leaner clients, I have pre-scribed a 100+ grams of carbohydrates in their post-workout shakes.  

• One for personal trainers: When starting with a beginner client one of these easiest meals you can control is your clients post-workout shake. Typically, you will be with them when they consume it. You can get creative and use this meal as away to get in much important nutrients for the overall health of your client such as, essential amino acids, omgea 3’s and antioxidants. 

Liam Horne – Personal Trainer

The post “DO YOU EVEN SHAKE?” appeared first on Liam Horne Personal Trainer | Earls court, London SW5.

1: A structured plan: If fat loss or building a well rounded physique were easy, everyone that’s ever stepped foot in a gym or gone on a diet would be in great shape and I would be out of a job. The truth is, our modern world has largely created this problem. Years ago the food that was readily available to us and the amount of moving that was required on a daily basis would have largely taken care of people’s body composition issues. However, getting in shape and more importantly staying in shape can be tricky in today’s world. This is why people need a structured personalised plan!

A personalised training and/or meal plan should take into account the following; daily routine and requirements, individual genetics, training and dietary history, current composition, current food intake, stress levels, age, health, sex, specific nutritional requirements, medical history, job etc..

2: Exercise intensity: Most people will not workout hard enough by themselves, especially if they don’t actually like physical activity. If you don’t workout hard enough your results will be mediocre at best and at worst you’ll be wasting your time. I’ve spent enough time in various gyms to know that the majority of people in there are socialising and not actually training. These same people tend to never actually change their appearance beyond their beginner gains.

3: Coaching: This applies to exercise execution in the gym and the psychological aspect of losing weight. At times, it can be psychologically hard and draining when trying to improve health or lose weight, especially with all the additional stress life throws at us. When the going gets tough a personal trainer is worth their weight in gold.

4: Time: Time is the ultimate currency, you can never get more of it! Why waste time when you can higher a professional. Simply put, you’ll save time and stress.

5: Education: Without meaning to sound rude, most people, from all walks of life, have poor knowledge on the topic of nutrition. Once you understand a subject and more importantly your own body, maintaining the shape you’ve spent weeks, months and years acquiring becomes far easier and at times even effortless.

Liam Horne | Personal Trainer Earls Court 

The post 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A PERSONAL TRAINER appeared first on Liam Horne Personal Trainer | Earls court, London SW5.

People overestimate the progress they can make in 3 months and underestimate the progress they can make in 1 year. Implementing small changes that are religiously followed can deliver huge change overtime.

Tip 1: Exercise: Find 30-60 minutes 3x per week for exercise. If you are really busy find 15 minutes 3x per week. If you can’t exercise 3x per week then just exercise 1x per week. Just start! Perform the best bang for your buck exercise. Remember this isn’t for enjoyment, this is for the biggest return on investment.

Circuit training using body weight or external resistance (weights) is best. The bodyweight exercises can even be done at home, making them ideal for someone who doesn’t have the time to go to the gym. Circuit training can include 4-10 exercises performed back to back with very little or no break in between each exercise. Only resting once all of the exercises have been completed. This is typically repeated 2-4 times.

Tip 2: Nutrition: For anyone who is busy, preparing and cooking food can become an inconvenience. If you have the finances, I recommend having food that is already cooked and prepared delivered to either your home or your office. There are countless food delivery services out there now that allow you to order meals with a specific calorie and macronutrient breakdown.

Another option, which I recommend for most people, would be to research what local food shops you have near your home or workplace. Check their websites and look up what food and meals they offer and choose the ones that aline with your goals.

You could also cook in bulk. Stew like meals can be made in bulk 1-3 days in advance. Include a meat source, carbohydrate source and put in as many vegetables as you can.

Tip 3: Lifestyle: The best thing you could do for overall health and fat loss would be to optimise your sleep. Anything that helps you calm down in the evening and get to sleep quicker is going to help. Things such as, a warm bath in the evening, reading before bed, meditation, stretching, no screen time 2hrs before bed and not doing anything work related 2hrs before bed is all going to help. Aim for 6-8 hours of undisturbed sleep.

Enjoy!

Liam Horne | Personal Trainer Earls Court

The post 3 FAT LOSS TIPS FOR A BUSY SCHEDULE appeared first on Liam Horne Personal Trainer | Earls court, London SW5.