Make the Most of Your Nutrition and Rest Cycles

So you just worked out and are feeling pumped! Good for you, job well done. It’s now time to make the most of your nutrition and rest cycles.

You think your job is done just because you got in a good workout? Well if that’s the case then you’ve really accomplished nothing! You’ve just sung the National Anthem, it’s now time to play the game! That’s right, going to the gym isn’t where you actually build muscle, I hope you realize that. Muscle building happens AFTER you leave the gym and to get that competitive edge you need NUTRITION and REST, all of which happens AFTER you leave the gym.

REMEMBER: the cycle = Gym > Nutrition > Rest!

Time for a big, greasy hamburger? How about a huge pile of spaghetti? Well, you can have that, but what your body really needs is PROTEIN. Yes, protein is the building blocks of muscle. Eating provides your body the necessary amino acids via proteins that your muscles need to repair themselves. Physiologically, you are repairing torn muscles with scar tissue that will exceed future demands placed on it. Our bodies are wondrous mechanisms of growth. Overloading on carbohydrates will not do anything for repairing your muscles.

For proteins, steak, chicken, eggs, etc. are your best friends. I like to cook boneless, skinless chicken in my crockpot over night with vegetables and a small carbohydrate source such as a sweet potato or regular potato. Easy, just chuck it all in the crockpot, add water, and set on low heat for 9 hours! Boom! Oh, yeah, don’t forget to add seasoning. I switch between package seasoning, basic salt and pepper, or curry powder. Just go with what you like. If you’re like me and eat it 5 times a week, you’ll need to change it up!

The best time to intake nutrition is no longer than two hours after your workout.

Most serious weightlifters I know take some kind of protein supplement. I do and would recommend them as the demands of powerlifting on your body exceed what you would normally intake as far as daily nutritional values. I try to intake my body weight in protein each day I lift. I don’t always, but that’s my mission. On non-lifting days I still try and eat as much protein as I can as my recovery cycles can take as long as three days. The trick here is to know your body, know your tolerances, and test out what works and what doesn’t work. In your 20s you can get away with just about anything; however, once you morph into your 30s, it is recommended that you increase your protein consumption the older you get. So, while a 20-year-old may not need to eat his weight in protein every lifting day, a 35-year-old might have to! Again, know your body!

Also, experiment with protein supplements. The ON (Optimum Nutrition) brand is supposed to be better, made with better ingredients; however, after experimenting between ON and MusclePharm Combat, I prefer the latter. ON has more protein (30g) but it is 100% whey; the MusclePharm has less protein (25g) but includes a slew of amino acids that seems to help to speed my recovery. I recommend to stay away from Muscle Milk! I get my optimum recovery from MusclePharm Combat (I have no affiliate relationship with this brand, by the way). Again, know your body.

Now that your body is fed, you need ample rest. Rest is just a simple as getting a good night’s sleep! You don’t even need to get the standard “8” just as long as you get good, deep, REM sleep. If you wake up feeling charged and ready to go, well that’s about the best indicator. If you feel sluggish and cloudy, it’s time to do something about your sleep.

Sleep and weightlifting correlate in several ways: the interval of time between working out and sleeping, the interval between meals and sleeping, and the time of day you normally work out.

Many weightlifters, especially if they lift heavy, experience a high after lifting. That feeling of being ‘pumped’ is physiologically real. For those that work out during the daytime, there are plenty of hours left in the night to come down from that confident feeling of just coming out of the gym. For those that lift at night, finding good sleep may be more problematic because your body may be racing with adrenaline, testosterone, that lactic acid cocktail, endorphins, etc., all of which charge your metabolism up. Finding a routine for you in the interim between lifting, eating, and sleeping is crucial. Have I said this before? Know your body.

Ideally, you don’t want to eat right before you go to sleep. A few hours after you eat is what has worked best for me. I like to eat more carbs in the morning and about an hour and a half before my workout, with some protein too for balance (I am excluding vegetables and other sources of nutrition here, just carbs and proteins). After my workout is when I stack on the proteins, with less carbs.

Remember:
• carbohydrates = sugar = energy!
• Proteins = muscle recovery!

The most crucial factor that will effect your nutrition and rest cycles is the time of day you work out. My body is at its peak performance between 10:30am and 1:00pm. I am lucky because I can work out during this time 3 days a week – I lift 5 times a week. I make it a point to concentrate my heavy days during the times where I know my optimal strength lies. For example, I always do legs on a Tuesday, during the day. It’s my most brutal workout and will require the most nutrition and rest for recovery. Planning your workout routine around your peak strength hours is crucial, it’s what the pros do!

I feel amazing coming out of the gym after a great workout of heavy lifting. I feel even better knowing that I am about to power up with a good meal and that my body is going to heal up stronger than before with a great night’s sleep!

DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed physician, healthcare professional, dietician, or physical trainer. My advice is based solely on my personal successes, for my body, my standards of strength training, metabolism tolerances, age, gender, and overall lifestyle. All of the above statements are provided within that context.

I hope this article has benefited you! Thank you for reading this article and being a part of NOW-Power!

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