Pre Workout Morning Nutrition

Photo Courtesy of D. Hester

There's  a lot of confusion and questions surrounding pre workout nutrition. Prior to a workout, carbohydrates are essential. Carbs are broken down in your blood stream and provide energy during your workout.

I usually eat 30-60 minutes prior to a strength training session or cardiovascular workout. Here is a list of my favorite pre workout foods:

1. Whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter

2. Banana 

3.  Oatmeal with fresh fruit

4. Greek yogurt with fresh fruit added

5. Low sugar fruit smoothie

Ab Circuit 1

Post Workout Nutrition

Following an intense workout your predominant food choices should be proteins and carbohydrates. Generally, post workout nutrition has three purposes:

1. To replenish the glycogen that has been depleted to help restore energy sources.

2. Decrease the breakdown of protein, which will aid in muscle hypertrophy or muscle tone.

3. Increase the synthesis of protein, which aids in muscle repair and regeneration.

Progress Your Exercises!

James front squatting 335 lbs.

I am fortunate to be in the business where I spend my entire day in the gym.  I get to see people workout all day long. One of the things that I am constantly surprised to see is people performing exercises that are too difficult for them.

Learn how to progress your exercises! If it's too difficult and your exercise technique is poor, than make it easier. Start with exercises you know how to perform properly. Progress to variations of those exercises that become more challenging.

Learn how to properly do a bodyweight squat before putting 3 plates on each side. 

What Should I Do Today? Negative Chins

Negative chin-up are a great way to increase  your upper body strength. If you can't perform a chin-up than this is a great way to progress towards an actual repetition.

1. Start with your chin at the bar.

2. Slowly lower yourself down until your arms are fully extended. This should take approximately 4 seconds.

3. Return to the starting position and perform 4-6 repetitions.

4. I usually perform 3-4 sets of 4-6 repetitions with a 4 second tempo.

Set Short Term Goals To Stay On Track

Setting goals is a great way to stay motivated during a training cycle.

Short term goals can be weekly or daily goals that help you stay focused.

Example of short term goals are:

1. Workout 3 times during the week

2. Lose 1-2 pounds per week

3. Improve strength by 1-2% per week

4. Eat healthier for a week

You Pick Your Exercise Workout

This program allows you to pick exercise you want to perform from a variety of different muscle groups.

Body Weight Workout

This Bodyweight Circuit  includes a total body workout that can be performed with no equipment.

3 Ways To Reduce Body Fat

1. Reduce your sugar intake. There is an abundance of sugar in our diet. Try natural foods that contain no added sugar. Reduce sweets and soft drinks. 

2. Increase protein consumption. This will help to maintain and repair muscle.

3. Decrease carbohydrates. Most of us eat way too many carbs. Try to reduce the number of carbs you intake on a daily basis. 

What Is The Best Cardiovascular Workout?

Unfortunately, there is no magical cardiovascular machine that is going to give you instant results. So which machine should you choose the next time in the gym? My first choices are the airdynne bike and treadmill.

However, the type of machine you choose doesn't really matter. What matters is the intensity that you work out at. This is a better indicator of how hard your working. So regardless of the machine you choose, increase your speed, level, or incline next time you workout. 

The least effective machines in the gym are probably the elliptical and recumbent bike. These are usually the one's being used most frequently.

What Should I Do Today? Lateral Band Walks

I love to to perform lateral band walks. This is a great exercise to help improve hip abductor  and gluteus medius  strength.

Improving strength and stability in these muscles also  help to  reduce ACL injuries. 

How to Perform: 

1. Start with the band flat around your lower leg

2. Start with your feet shoulder width apart

3. In a good athletic position take a large step to the side and continue for 10-12 repetitions.

4. Perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions in each direction

Grab and Go: Snack on This

Photo Courtesy of K. Stephens

A few of my favorite snacks:

1. Banana with Peanut Butter

2. Hard Boiled Eggs

3. Apple

4. Almonds

5. Low Sugar Greek Yogurt

6. Blueberries

7. Strawberries

8. Whey Isolate Protein Shake

Treadmill Interval Workout

If you are looking to change your routine while on the treadmill try this: 

1. Start with a 2-5 minute warm up.

2. Perform a jog at a medium intensity for one minute.

3. Increase your intensity to a more challenging pace for one minute.

4. Try to complete 6-10 receptions and then do a cool down for a couple minutes.

Try These Fats

Fats are an essential nutrient that our body needs on a daily basis. Here are a couple foods that contain fats that you can incorporate into your diet.

1. Walnuts: They contain the highest amount of omega 3 fats of any other nuts

2. Avacados: A food high in monounsaturated fat

3. Eggs: A good source of fat and protein

4. Olive oil: Helps to reduce the risk of heart disease and lowers blood pressure

My Favorite Indoor Cardiovascular

The Airdynne bike might look like something you would find in your grandmother's basement, but I have to admit that it's one of my favorite cardiovascular exercises.

There are a variety of different workouts you can do while on this bike, such as intervals, and long or short distance rides.

My favorite workout while on this bike is the 2 mile sprint. Try to complete this under 6 minutes. 

Ankle Mobility While Squatting

If you're having trouble squatting here's a quick fix.

Place a strip or plate under the heel of your feet. This will help you improve your depth while squatting. 

This is a quick solution to a larger issue. Why can't you squat properly without the strip or plates?

There are a few possible reasons:

1. You have poor ankle and hip mobility. If this is the case than you need to improve mobility in these joints,

2. You have poor flexibility. Incorporate a flexibility program into your routine.

3. You have poor strength in your lower body.

4. Do you have a previous injury that is reducing your range of motion?

Post Exercise Heart Rate

Post Exercise heart rate is a great indicator of cardiovascular fitness. With so much confusion around formulas to find maximal heart rate, I have begun to focus on post exercise heart rates to evaluate cardiovascular fitness.

Most of the research states, that following exercise, if your heart rate drops 20-22 beats per minute this is an indicator of superior cardiovascular fitness. The slower your heart rate drops following exercise the more time you should dedicate to improving heart health! 

EPOC and It's Role in Weight loss

Following exercise at a high intensity, your body experiences an increase in oxygen consumption.  This increase in oxygen consumption is elevated due to increased catecholamine release, increased cardiac and pulmonary function, lactate and H+ removal, and to help restore metabolic processes to baseline levels.

This increase in oxygen consumption has been termed excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and can be beneficial to weight loss. The magnitude of EPOC increases with increased exercise intensity for both submaximal and maximal exercises intensities. So start working harder during your next cardio session.

Program design and the manipulation of variables such as intensity and duration can have a significant effect on the outcome of a training program. Compared to continuous, lower intensity activity, sprint intervals create a significantly greater increase in EPOC. 

It's a good idea to incorporate sprints or intervals during your next cardio session to help increase metabolic rate after exercise. This increase can potentially occur for up to 24 hours with appropriate combinations of duration and intensity leading to greater improvements in body composition.

The Role of Excess Post- Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) In Weight Loss Programs; National Strength and Conditioning Association, McNeely, Ed. 

Band Long Jumps

Most new and young athletes have trouble jumping and landing while training. It sounds like a simple process, however it's hard for some to do. One of the first things I work on with a new athlete is their ability to jump and land under control. 

If your knees come together when you jump or land than try this. 

1. Start with a band below the knee.

2. The band should stay tight during the counter movement.

3. Dip and explode forward. The band should stay tight the entire time so the knees don't come together.

4. Decelerate and land as soft as possible with the band tight

5. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-10 repetitions

What Should I Do First? Weights or Cardio

This is another question I hear on a regular basis and I usually answer this by asking, " what is the goal of this workout". Are you trying to focus on strength or cardiovascular fitness today? Do you have a goal or event your training for?

My general rule is to perform the mode of exercise that will require the most intensity or difficulty first. You will have the most energy in the beginning of your workout to perform more challenging exercises.

If your focus for the day is strength or hypertrophy than perform your strength training exercises first. If you are training for a cardiovascular event than that would be the primary focus for the day.

Regardless of what you choose, don't get into a routine where you do the same thing each day.