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What To Eat & Drink Before & After Workouts

Okay, so you've been sticking to your New Year's resolution and going to the gym on a regular basis. But wait; are you eating and drinking the right things at the right time in order to maximize your efforts?

Ask any bodybuilder or serious athlete what they consider the most important aspect of their training and they will likely tell you that it has to do with proper nutrition. If you really want to get the best results from all those intense training sessions, here's what you should be eating and drinking before, during and after your workouts.

the basics

During aerobic exercise, such as swimming, jogging and biking -- which all stress endurance over long periods of time -- your body initially uses carbohydrates as fuel. As the duration increases, your body begins to burn fat.

During anaerobic exercise, or short-term, high-intensity activities such as weighlifting or intensive sit-up and pushup workouts, carbohydrates in the form of glycogen (a complex sugar) are the primary fuel source for your muscles. Such repetitive, vigorous activity can use up most of the carbs stored in your muscles.

Now that you know what's going on when you're working out, here's what you should eat and drink to make all that sweating even more worthwhile.

Before

Eat carbs
Whether you're engaging in aerobic or anaerobic activity, foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as whole-grain pasta, rice, and bread, and fruits and vegetables, are the best sources of energy.

Have a small meal an hour beforehand
About 30 to 60 minutes before your workout, eat a small, easily digested meal composed of complex carbs. You will train longer and harder and you won't experience low blood sugar jitters and dizziness.

Drop that candy
Also, avoid simple sugars, such as candy, up to 60 minutes before working out because they can lead to low blood sugar levels during exercise.

Hydrate your body
Most people don't drink enough water when they exercise. Water is an essential nutrient that is critical for optimal physical performance, resistance to injury, and maintenance of normal body temperature.

Drink large quantities of water (20 ounces) one or two hours before exercising to hyperhydrate your body and allow enough time for adequate hydration and urination.

During

Keep drinking
Drink three to six ounces of water every 15 to 30 minutes during exercise.

Get an extra boost
During prolonged periods of intense exercise (1½ hours or more at an intensity of over 50% of heart rate reserve), sports drinks can also be useful.

Most sports drinks are composed of simple carbohydrates (sugars) and electrolytes. Drinks containing up to 10% carbohydrates enter the bloodstream quickly enough to deliver glucose to active muscles, which can help to improve endurance. However, drinks that exceed 10% carbohydrates, such as fruit juices and sodas, can cause cramps, nausea and diarrhea. Avoid these during exercise.

After

Right after -- more carbs
Immediately after your workout, have a small snack that is rich in carbs in order to restore your muscle-glycogen levels.

An hour later -- protein
About 60 minutes after training, have a hearty meal that includes lean protein, such as chicken or tuna, in order to repair your damaged muscle tissues. To restore those glycogen levels, your meal should also include some complex carbs.

More water
Don't forget to drink more water after your workout to rehydrate your body. Monitor your pre- and post-exercise body weight and drink two cups of water for every pound of weight lost.

eat the right amount of protein

Whether you're a bodybuilder or a moderate exerciser protein is indispensable for muscle repair and growth. It is simply a matter of knowing the protein requirements for your particular level of activity.

For instance, a person who is only moderately active, 20% of their diet should come from protein, with another 20% coming from fat, and the remaining 60% coming from carbs. Whereas a bodybuilder should consume a diet that is made up of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs.

be good to your body...

Obviously, it can be really difficult to find the motivation to work out on a regular basis. But once you've gotten past that point and have integrated it into your daily life, you should make that extra effort to eat properly and get the most out of your training.

By following these simple guidelines, you'll find that your performance, energy level and results will vastly improve.

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Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic excercises and strength excercises are the yin and yang of the exercise world. They are two fundamentally different concepts that meet in a "harmony of opposites."

To be clear, aerobics implies low intensity, long duration exercise that is intended to expend calories and burn fat. "Cardio" is something different; it refers to strengthening the heart muscle. Many people use "cardio" and "aerobics" interchangeably, but as is evident, that's incorrect.

Aerobic training low intensity. Strength training is high intensity. Combining the two into one effective, efficient training regimen can be greatly simplified by using rational training principles.

The biggest mistake

The biggest mistake guys make when trying to combine aerobic excercises with strength excercises is that they employ a progressive overload methodology to their aerobic training. For example, they start out by walking a few days per week, then they increase the intensity to jogging, then they mix intervals of jogging with running. Then they run hills, and so on.

That method increases intensity to the point where the body needs extended recovery time, which means more days off without training. In turn, fewer calories are burned and less fat is lost. The key to effective aerobic training that burns a maximal amount of fat is long-term consistency.

build muscle & burn fat 24/7

Muscle is called "active tissue" because it requires a lot of energy to maintain itself. In fact, every pound of new muscle you add to your body will burn about 60 calories per day. That can really add up. Look at the chart below:

The Fat Burning Effect of Muscle

Pounds of New Muscle	Pounds of fat burned per month	Pounds of fat burned per year
1	0.5	6
3	1.5	19
5	2.6	31
10	5.1	62
12	6.2	74
15	7.7	93
20	10.3	123

By adding just 10 pounds of muscle to your body, it will burn off 62 pounds of fat over the next year! And it will keep burning those extra calories year after year. That means that when you've lost the fat, you can eat a lot more and not gain back the fat. Also, with less fat and more muscle, your body will have the lean, toned, fit look that every man aspires to.

So by combining aerobics with strength training, you can transform your body in the shortest possible time, and keep it lean and muscular year round without starving yourself on a low-calorie diet.

opposite principles

The important characteristics of a sustainable aerobic training program are:

1- Low intensity muscular output
2- No progression of intensity from workout to workout
3- Fixed frequency

The important characteristics of a sustainable strength training program are:

1- High intensity muscular output
2- Progressive intensity from workout to workout
3- Variable frequency (to allow for full recovery as intensity increases)

So combining a high intensity strength training system such as Static Contraction Training (SCT) with a regular aerobic program might look like this for the first two months:

SCT/Aerobic Training Schedule

Day of Week	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4
Monday	SCT	Walk	Walk	Walk
Tuesday	Walk	SCT	Walk	Walk
Wednesday	Walk	Walk	Walk	SCT
Thursday	SCT	Walk	SCT	Walk
Friday	Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk
Saturday	Walk	SCT	Walk	Walk

SCT/Aerobic Training Schedule

Day of Week	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8
Monday	Walk	SCT	SCT	SCT
Tuesday	SCT	Walk	Walk	Walk
Wednesday	Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk
Thursday	Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk
Friday	Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk
Saturday	Walk	Walk	Walk	Walk

Notice how the days off between the SCT workouts increase? That's because each workout (if properly engineered) involves lifting heavier weights and creates extra demands on your body's recovery system.

You can fill in every other day with low intensity, longer duration aerobic excercises. So every day you are doing something to burn fat and keep it off long-term!

This combined aerobic/strength training program will maximize the transformation of your body in the shortest possible time.

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Arnold's Work Out

The following is a sample exercise routine he frequently used, as featured in Muscle Mag -- October 1991:
Mon, Wed, Fri
Chest:
Bench press - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Flat bench flies - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline bench press - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable crossovers - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Dips - 5 sets, to failure
Dumbbell pullovers - 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Back:
Front wide-grip chin-ups - 6 sets, to failure
T-bar rows - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated pulley rows - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Straight-leg deadlifts - 6 sets, 15 reps

Legs:
Squats - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg presses - 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg extensions - 6 sets, 12-15 reps
Leg curls - 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Barbell lunges - 5 sets, 15 reps

Calves:
Standing calf raises -10 sets, 10 reps
Seated calf raises - 8 sets, 15 reps
One-legged calf raises (holding dumbbells) - 6 sets,12 reps

Forearms:
Wrist curls (forearms on knees) - 4 sets, 10 reps
Reverse barbell curls - 4 sets, 8 reps
Wright roller machine - to failure

Abs:
Nonstop instinct training for 30 minutes

Tues, Thurs, Sat
Biceps:
Barbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated dumbbell curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell concentration curls - 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Triceps:
Close-grip bench presses (for the all three heads) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Pushdowns (exterior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Barbell French presses (interior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell triceps extensions (exterior head) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Shoulders:
Seated barbell presses - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Lateral raises (standing) - 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Rear-delt lateral raises - 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable lateral raises - 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Calves and Forearms:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Abs:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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Arnold's Diet Chart

Eating and Resting

For those who have a hard time gaining weight, he advises that they should:

# Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day
# Eat carbs half an hour after exercising
# Rest at least 3 days a week
# Sleep 8 or more hours a day
# Eat 30 to 50 grams of protein with each meal every 3 hours
# Not avoid unsaturated fats because they raise hormone levels
# Eat between 60 and 100 grams of carbs per day
# Eat no more than 3 eggs a day
# Substitute beef and pork with chicken and fish
# Avoid sugar -- it contains empty calories; eat fruits and vegetables for carbs instead
# Use supplements and protein shakes to get the required daily amount of protein

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Arnold Scwarzenegger's Training Video

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Arnold Schwarzenegger Views

Arnold's philosophy

"The secret is to make your mind work for you -- not against you."
- Arnold's bodybuilding philosophy

Arnold's approach to bodybuilding was more mental than physical. For him, it was (and still is) all or nothing. While competing, he didn't go through the motions; he worked out to be larger than life.
on working out
Thinking there is a recipe to gaining mass was something Arnold Schwarzenegger frowned upon. He favored execution and the moment over strict routines.

He would mix things up -- sometimes he'd even work out twice a day. He did a lot of forced reps and pyramids by adding weight to each set. He preferred doing 6 to 10 reps per set and sometimes (to break though plateaus) did 20 sets per body part.

For beginners

Arnold always reminds beginners that they have to start somewhere and that it's better to start slowly rather than quit quickly. According to him, it is preferable to spend more time at the gym doing your sets and reps properly rather than rush through your routine, see no results and ultimately give up.

He warns that novice bodybuilders should not neglect any body parts and advises that they should always face obstacles instead of shy away from them.

When Arnold came to America, he had a huge upper body but twiggy legs and calves, and always wore long pants to hide this. To combat this weakness, he purposely started wearing shorts to expose what he was least proud of.

It worked The humiliation forced him to develop some of the biggest calves in the industry (some believe he has calf implants, but that's best left for another article). Too many men, according to him, cover up their weaknesses. By facing your flaws, you will gain the drive to conquer them.

He also warns against using exercises just because others do them. He believes that "in bodybuilding, you're essentially conducting a research experiment on yourself," so one shouldn't use an exercise because it is popular.

On Bulking up

Today Arnold admits that in the past, bodybuilders had the wrong idea when they bulked up to gain mass (they didn't know as much about dieting as we do now and didn't have the supplements available today).

Bulking up is the process of consuming as many calories as possible to gain as much weight as possible. This causes muscular gain, but also makes one gain fat. He now confesses that eating a proper diet all year round is a better approach to health and fitness.

In fact, eating is at the core of his bodybuilding principles. Many come to him asking what the best way to gain weight is. His reply is usually proper nutrition along with intensive training.

Bulking up is a sure way of gaining mass (and it shows when you compare him to today's professionals like Flex Wheeler), but by simply keeping fat content low and recording what you consume in a food log, one can gain, according to him, 12 pounds of pure muscles mass each year until they reach their body-size limit.

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