Time between W/out and eating

irlirishkev

Hi,

Following on from JimmNeutron's post about late evening workouts, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice on the following:

I go to the gym in the evenings, finishing up around 9pm or so. I walk home, which takes about 30-45mins. I've often read that the sooner you consume your protein and carbs after working out, the better.
With this in mind, I often feel like a lot of what I'm doing is going to waste as it takes so long to get home, and even then, because it's late, and I don't have a very big appetite, I don't tend to eat very much.

So my question is, is there a supplement anyone could suggest, to take when I finish in the gym, to tide me over untill I get home? My diet would be fairly substantial during the day.

I should point out, that I'm not training to become massive, just 'buffed up', or more defined if you like.

Cheers for any advice.

Kev.

rubadub

You could take dry protein in a bag or bottle. Then semi freeze another bottle of water or juice, then when finished it should be pretty much melted and ice cold, add the protein and shake & drink on the spot. Or bring some chicken sambos too.

Degsy

You could dry mix some protein powder,creatine and a couple of tablespoons of glucose in a shaker bottle.Then when you're finished your workout,mix it with water and get it down yer neck.

justsomebloke

R.A.M. is probably the best all in one supplement for post workout and you can get it here http://www.pronutrition.ie/offers.php?action=offer&id=4.

Other then that a 2:1 mix of simple carbs to protein will do you, and so you could use a standard protein supplement for this

irlirishkev

Thanks guys. I've ordered some RAM. Reckon I'll give that a go to start with. I'm new to supplements, so will only use it after my workouts.

Is the 2:1 ratio for carbs to protein the norm?

K.

Dragan

irlirishkev wrote:

Is the 2:1 ratio for carbs to protein the norm?

K.

Generally speaking it a good bet! It also contains some nice electrolyte replacements so it will cut your DOMS considerably.

justsomebloke

irlirishkev wrote:

Is the 2:1 ratio for carbs to protein the norm?

only post workout

Shrimp

Bring a tin or two of tuna to the gym and scoff them down after. No break straight from the can. Wash it down with 500 ml of milk, then plenty of water. And you're sorted.

Only supplement if you have to, whole foods are much better.

irlirishkev

Shrimp wrote:

Bring a tin or two of tuna to the gym and scoff them down after. No break straight from the can. Wash it down with 500 ml of milk, then plenty of water. And you're sorted.

Only supplement if you have to, whole foods are much better.

It's something I've thought about, but..

a) The gym changing rooms smell bad enough without introducing fish into it too..

b) I couldn't sit there eating out of a can of tuna while the guy beside me is drying his nether region..

BossArky

I have been averaging two mini cans of tuna per day for the past weeks, each with 27g of protein. One in the morning, one in the evening after working out. They seem to be helping build up a bit more muscle i.e. leg press and squats which I am concentrating on.

On top of that I am still eating well during the day. This is my approach to building up... will let you know in another few weeks if it works well or not.

Shrimp

I had mentioned both of those points but it crashed when I went to post.

Dont make excuses, grab the tins go out to the front and wolf them there if you've got an issue with the smell. Hardly a problem?

as I said.... Only supplement if you have to, whole foods are much better.

davyjose

Whey is a food.

I would agree that eating wholefoods where possible is ideal due to the fact that you will be getting a much broader range of nutrients, however if all you want is extra protein then you can't do better than a shake. That's why supplement stores sell whey and not cans upon cans of tuna.

Also, surely sitting in a locker room surrounded by naked men is one of those times where wholefoods isn't really ideal, and a shake will have to do

For anyone who isn't sure what Whey is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey

Shrimp

Wiki... unreliable.. if I wanted I could go edit everything about whey on the site.. wiki is a good idea in theory. anyways... i'm sure it's still fairly accurate.

Of course whey does have benefits, however if you are still trying to figure out ur own diet then it's probably best to stay off it. Then again, if you want to use it it's ur choice.

Leave the changing rooms to eat, thats why there are lounges in gyms.

irlirishkev

BossArky wrote:

I have been averaging two mini cans of tuna per day for the past weeks, each with 27g of protein. One in the morning, one in the evening after working out. They seem to be helping build up a bit more muscle i.e. leg press and squats which I am concentrating on.

On top of that I am still eating well during the day. This is my approach to building up... will let you know in another few weeks if it works well or not.

I was doing that for a while, but I got sooo sick of tuna, that for a long time the smell of it made me wretch. I've only recently started eating it again, but would find it hard to eat direct from the can I have to say.

shrimp wrote:

Leave the changing rooms to eat, thats why there are lounges in gyms.

Westwood is my gym. Eating in the locker rooms is too like eating in a toilet for my liking. There's a fairly decent coffee/reception area downstairs, but tbh, after working out and excercising, I just want to get home and relax, not sit in the reception area munching on Tuna.

Appreciating all the advice btw.

gary the great

What about nuts for the walk home? Would they not tie you over till you get home and have a proper big does of protein?

Dragan

irlirishkev wrote:

Westwood is my gym. Eating in the locker rooms is too like eating in a toilet for my liking. There's a fairly decent coffee/reception area downstairs, but tbh, after working out and excercising, I just want to get home and relax, not sit in the reception area munching on Tuna.

That Westwood Sandyford?

Personally i like to take a RAM after my workouts. I have used wholefoods in the past but find that the give me a slight pain in my gut. I can only assume this is because all the blood is in the extremeties so to speak, and the shake is easier digesting.

If you have a good wholefood based diet throughout the rest of the day a shake after training will not hurt folks.

t-ha

Dragan wrote:

If you have a good wholefood based diet throughout the rest of the day a shake after training will not hurt folks.

Word.

Also, you'ld swear tuna was the only fish with protein in it around here! Whatever happened to the variety people?

Shrimp

You're pussyfooting around, it takes about 20-30 seconds to eat a tin of tuna? it's less effort than a shake, and has a decent taste to it with a bit of a bite too..

Tuna has one of the highest levels of protein in it, thats the reason why I'm saying it. Plus it's cheap, easier to eat that lobster and every centra/spar sells it.

Low fat, High Protein. Taste good too..

Aedh Baclamh

Hardly less effort than a shake, plus many see the shake as a bit of a treat. Or maybe that's just me. You can only eat so much wholefood in one day.

davyjose

Shrimp, I'm not advocating the use of Wikipedia, I'm advocating the use of Whey. In this case I can vouch for the articles validity.

I_and_I

I would have to agree with the tuna as a source of after workout protein boost, it is quite flaky which means easily ingested and digested also those fish oils are really good at keeping your joints healthy which is fairly important while lifting as you know. I feel that supplements are to specific and you get a whole range of benifits from real food.

t-ha

I_and_I wrote:

I would have to agree with the tuna as a source of after workout protein boost, it is quite flaky which means easily ingested and digested also those fish oils are really good at keeping your joints healthy which is fairly important while lifting as you know. I feel that supplements are to specific and you get a whole range of benifits from real food.

Tuna is good after a workout sure, but it's speed of digestion pales in comparison to a liquid whey-based shake. The other thing is that after a workout you generally have a 'pump', i.e. your blood is in your muscles, not your digestive system. Sticking alot of whole foods in there straight-away isn't easy, and possibly not helpful. I prefer to give it about 45mins before eating after a gym session.

Also, personally I find tuna to be offensive to my taste-buds unless mixed with mayo or otherwise improved. My post-workout shakes on the other hand taste delicious.

As for the fish oils, alot of the fats in tuna are omega 3 - unfortunatley there is damn all fat in tuna to start with so your joints aren't exactly going to be jumping for joy over that one.

Also @shrimp, one of the most important parts of speeding your recovery is to get the simple carbs in after your workout. A can of tuna with some milk falls very far short in that regard - you could try even a tuna sandwich if you're against supplements & see if your recovery improves.

I_and_I

t-ha wrote:

Sticking alot of whole foods in there straight-away isn't easy, and possibly not helpful. I prefer to give it about 45mins before eating after a gym session.

I never reccomended eating directly after your workout, I usually leave it about 30 mins or so myself. And on the subject of taste its true tuna can be quite powerful to some taste wise, but I find that those protein shakes taste terrible either too sweet or like flour or something. Really it just boils down to personal choice I guess.

As for the fish oils, alot of the fats in tuna are omega 3 - unfortunatley there is damn all fat in tuna to start with so your joints aren't exactly going to be jumping for joy over that one.

Well why wouldn't they? You would be consuming the essential oils for joint strenghtening and repair. A small amount is better than none, no?

davyjose

T-ha, what protein do you use?
I and I, I think that t-ha was referring to post workout eating, as the gist of the thread is that it's important to get carbs and protein into our body asap.

t-ha

I_and_I wrote:

Well why wouldn't they? You would be consuming the essential oils for joint strenghtening and repair. A small amount is better than none, no?

yeah yeah OK, I'm just saying it's hardly a significant enough amount to switch post-workout nutrition strategies over it.

Also, the timing thing was directed at someone else who was talking about downing tuna in the changing room.

@daveyjose: it depends, sometimes I use isolate+glucose+cocoa powder+creatine+glutamine+vitC (doesn't taste great) and recently I've gone through a few tubs of RAM. I've also tried Surge, and made up my own mix (...as above but...) with Optimum Nutrition (chocolate mint) and EAS proteins before and think they're all good. For bed-time I've found Metabolic Drive to be good, Muscle Milk would be great except I seem to be allergic to it :mad: .

Just decide how much you're willing to spend on it, then experiment to see which tastes best and which cuts down on DOMS the most?

Edit: Sorry, just re-read my last post. The stuff I was referring to specifically was RAM.