Training Tips

[ashleypoptodorova]

This is a great forum to share your favorite training tips or motivations with the group! For now, I will kick start us by sharing some of my BEST tips and recommendations with you. These things have worked wonders for Alex and I as well as our team of thousands of clients over the past decade and if you apply this information, you WILL see awesome results (with on point nutrition of course!)

Here are some tips to help you maximize your time spent in the gym:

1. Proper Warm Up: A proper warmup makes your workout more effective and helps prevent injuries. Stay tuned for a video demonstration of our A+A Wellness Medicine Ball warm up. This is an effective series of movements that helps properly warm up your nervous system and whole body. Start with a general warm up of 10-15 minutes of brisk walking either outside or on a treadmill or piece of cardio equipment. This helps increase circulation & body temp to start and will also help break a light sweat and prime your body for the workout ahead.
2. Eat before weights NOT before cardio: The biggest mistake I see people make in the gym is doing the ‘right’ thing the wrong way. The key to properly fueling your body pre and post workout is to know WHAT and HOW to fuel up depending on the exercise you will be doing. For example, you always want to fill your energy stores prior to weight training but NOT before cardio. Why? Because when you do cardio, you want to burn FAT storage as fuel! SO, if you are doing BOTH together… eat, weight train and then go do your cardio afterwards (this is so your carb fuel is used during weight training and fat as fuel during cardio). If you are only going to be doing cardio for exercise then make sure you do it on an EMPTY stomach so your body utilizes fat storage as fuel. You will be surprised at how efficiently this simple change helps you to maximize your gains!

For more info on this topic click HERE.

3. Post Workout Fuel: This is another very simple thing that many people miss. NOT eating after a workout does more to harm you then to help you. After weight training, you have what is known as a ‘one hour window of opportunity’ to replenish needed nutrients to your body. This is essential for helping to maximize muscle rebuilding and to increase metabolism. WHAT DO YOU EAT? A good general rule of thumb is to consume either a high protein smoothie (see our Smoothie eBook under the Nutrition forum!) OR an easily digestible form of protein such as poultry or fish and a gentle complex carb such as a sweet potato or yam. I love to steam potatoes and mash them with a scoop of vanilla whey protein and stevia to make a creamy pudding. I add cinnamon on top with pecans and it is DELISH!

 

 

• This topic was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by A+A Wellness.
• This topic was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by ashleypoptodorova.
• This topic was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by ashleypoptodorova.
• This topic was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by ashleypoptodorova.

[ariahimar]

Should I treat post-work out food as a meal or snack? Does it need to replace a meal? Thanks!

[ashleypoptodorova]

Hi Aria 🙂
GREAT ? – If you are eating a full meal with your protein,carbs and healthy fats immediately after than this would constitute a meal however, if you are choosing a post workout protein shake then your body will assimilate this much quicker and you can eat a meal a few hours later if you are hungry.
The only time I really do a protein shake after is if I am in a rush to head out OR if I won’t be home right after the gym.

Another awesome question.. keep them coming! 🙂

[ashleypoptodorova]

Hey guys!
Just wanted to post a reminder for you that what and how you eat around workouts are KEY to success!
You have a one hour window of opportunity both before and after your workout. People that are prone to nauseousness, lightheadedness or dizziness (or all 3) during a workout is an indication of their blood sugar crashing.

If you find that you are one of these people, make sure you eat a complete meal one hour to an hour and a half prior to your workout. A complete source of protein, complex carb source and a source of a healthy fat.
This will create a low Glycemin Load to ensure that you have a stable and sustaining released energy without blood sugar crashes during the workout!

For proper repair of muscle, make sure you are ingesting a good complex and protein such as whey protein immediately after the workout (try one of the A+A Wellness Smoothies)

Proud of you guys!
A&A