PWO & HIIT

[winchell_j]

I know this question has been asked before. I did a search and I could not really find anything. Basically, is drinking a PWO after HIIT a good idea or bad idea? I'm currently in a cutting phase.

I've read the stuff from Berardi (Post-Workout Revisited, etc.) and he mainly refers to PWO's after a weight workout.

If I understand correctly, the insulin spike of your PWO will help transport nutrients to your muscles. I also understand that it could also increase your fat gain in not managed correctly. I am assuming that after HIIT, there is still some muscle damage and a PWO would still help in the recovery process. Would it be wise to reduce the size of the PWO on HIIT days?

I know this is long winded and all, but I'm just trying to clear up my confusion. Right now, I just don't know what to consume after HIIT.

[massive member]

i treat my hiit the same as a workout.

http://www.wsu.edu/~strength/hiit.htm

i believe its more about calories burned vs consumed over the course of the day then what you burn in and around the workout.

[Johnka]

I agree with Massive Member. As long as you're working the shake into your overall calories for the day, PWO shakes are great after HIIT. In fact, I drink mine during HIIT, to keep cortisol levels down.

[DKing]

One thing to add to what these guys said: If weight loss is the primary goal, you might want to steer clear of the PWO shake. By this I mean if you have significant amount of weight to lose and sparing each lb of muscle while getting shreaded isn't the imediate goal. Often times these people have terrible insulin sensitivity and really shouldn't have that insulin spike and that amount of sugar.

But for someone looking to drop some fat and spare as much muscle as possible, I would do something like a PWO shake. Often times I make it smaller. I have thought of experimenting with BCAA's the next time I decide to cut (a long time from now).

Jonka, have you read much or tried using BCAA's during a diet or HIIT to spare muscle?

Danny

[Ikan Twin]

How about trying something like ICE. It is a BCAA drink with little or no carbs.

[jreimann]

I've found that as far as the insulin spike goes you really don't need to worry about it during/immediately after an intense workout. I've figured out recently that I have hypoglycemia like my mom and have stopped eating any sugars or white flour(basically anything that absorbs too quickly and causes my blood sugar to spike). Basically if I eat anything that absorbs too quickly I get really tired and a headache to go along with it. I still however sip a Gatorade while working out and have a granola bar for carbs PWO with no negative effects or blood sugar spikes. I've found that with the shortage of carbs in my system that having some during my workout is vital to keeping up my intensity.