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I have a question, and I apologize if this has been asked already. I did a search, and didn't find quite what I was looking for. Is a pre-workout shake necessary if my goal is fat loss? Also, I work out in the morning, within 30 minutes or so of waking up. I drink a cup of coffee, take some creatine, and essential amino acids. After my workout, I have 1/2 a serving of Surge. What do you think?
I have a question, and I apologize if this has been asked already. I did a search, and didn't find quite what I was looking for. Is a pre-workout shake necessary if my goal is fat loss? Also, I work out in the morning, within 30 minutes or so of waking up. I drink a cup of coffee, take some creatine, and essential amino acids. After my workout, I have 1/2 a serving of Surge. What do you think?
Remember that the reality of the workout is that it sets you up to lose fat later. With that in mind, you want all the energy you can get to kick the crap out of that workout. If anything, I'd say the pre-workout drink is more important than the post workout drink. PWO, you can go ahead and have some food, if you'd rather.
Remember that the reality of the workout is that it sets you up to lose fat later. With that in mind, you want all the energy you can get to kick the crap out of that workout. If anything, I'd say the pre-workout drink is more important than the post workout drink. PWO, you can go ahead and have some food, if you'd rather.
1st thing in the morning, yes, preW is more "important" because you don't have any previous meal residuals. Elsewhere in the day, they're even. Matta fact, I'd say in terms of what's optimal, they're both indispensable & thus of equal importance.
Just some big-picture perspective for the original poster...
When getting your nutrition straight, here is the general hierarchy of importance (by order of rank):
#1 - Hit your macro targets by the end of the day over a minimum of 4 nutrient-dense meals (3 meals rarely is practical, although it technically is not metabolically detrimental) consisting of a reasonably wide variety of foods that you personally like the taste of.
#2 - Time the immediate pre & postworkout meals so that you are in the midabsorptive phase of the preworkout meal, and make sure elevated blood nutrient levels are sustained by the postworkout meal.
#3 - Nitpick over what precise food types & subtypes constitute your macro totals, including the macro totals of your pre & postworkout meals.
^Notice which is lowest on the hierarchy of importance. I place nitpicking over subtypes dead last, because frankly it isn't gonna make any measurable difference.
You have to try it for yourself. Don't take anyones word on anything. Everything is trial and error. I found for me I don't like to have anything before I workout in the am. If I do I end up feeling weak and jittery. So I do it on an empty stomach and then have my meal or pwo after that.
You have to try it for yourself. Don't take anyones word on anything. Everything is trial and error. I found for me I don't like to have anything before I workout in the am. If I do I end up feeling weak and jittery. So I do it on an empty stomach and then have my meal or pwo after that.
I agree. You actually pointed out the overriding principle which I call the "Almighty Individual Response". Every aspect of the protocol must ultimately yield to it, & be adjusted according to it. Trial & error is necessary, but it's best to have a scientifically-based ground upon which to carry out the trials. Otherwise, it's just haphazard shooting in the dark.
Knowing too much isn't always good too. I got right into everything when I first started. I got way too much info and it ended up making my gains go backwards, so I went back to the basics. All you need to know is eat healthy and lift, all the science in the world can't help if you don't start there.
Knowing too much isn't always good too. I got right into everything when I first started. I got way too much info and it ended up making my gains go backwards, so I went back to the basics. All you need to know is eat healthy and lift, all the science in the world can't help if you don't start there.
Knowing too much isn't the problem, it's not having a solid foundation of knowledge, & then reading too much without being able to fetter out the facts from the BS. Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the KISS approach, but also realize that even simplicity has a limit of usefulness. A huge part of my career is translating the complex stuff into simpler practical terms that can be put to use by both the pro's the laymen. But I gotta disagree with you that "all you need to know is eat healthy & lift". I think that can be interpreted in any number of ways, & there's too much of a variance of OPINION on what healthy eating is, especially among those who aren't aware of the research evidence behind it.
Alan is right, I have some friends whose idea of eating "healthy and fit" is very different than mine. The difference is that I have lost 55 pounds in the last five months with my idea of what healthy and fit is.
Knowing too much isn't the problem, it's not having a solid foundation of knowledge, & then reading too much without being able to fetter out the facts from the BS. Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on the KISS approach, but also realize that even simplicity has a limit of usefulness. A huge part of my career is translating the complex stuff into simpler practical terms that can be put to use by both the pro's the laymen. But I gotta disagree with you that "all you need to know is eat healthy & lift". I think that can be interpreted in any number of ways, & there's too much of a variance of OPINION on what healthy eating is, especially among those who aren't aware of the research evidence behind it.
I will agree with you on that. Right now people will probably I don't eat healthy because I am eating very low fat and very low carb, but I am trying something to see how I do with it.
Pre-workout nutrition
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