Should Aerobic Precede Resistance Training

This question is one that many people ask when trying to implement a strategic approach to their new found fitness lifestyle.  Some may not ask this question and just assume they know what to do, while others have been misinformed by a peer or a heap of misinformation in some strength and fitness magazine.  Consider this the next time you plan to put your program together. 

If your goal is bodyfat reduction, then we recommend that you do your aerobic work directly after your resistance training at less than 60% of your VO2 max. If you are doing cardiovascular work on your off days, then we recommend that you train at 75% to 85% of your VO2 max for the first 30 minutes and drop the intensity the remaining 20 to 30 minutes to less than 65% of your VO2 max.  Warming up for five minutes prior to resistance training while beneficial is not considered cardiovascular work. Warming up for five minutes is necessary because, during exercise, blood flow patterns change. Through the action of the sympathetic nervous system, blood is redirected away from areas where it is not essential to those areas that are active during exercise. Only 15 to 20% of resting cardiac output go to muscle, but during exhaustive exercise, the muscles receive 80 to 85% of the cardiac output. This shift is accomplished by reducing blood flow to the kidneys, liver, stomach and intestines. The warm-up allows for this transition to occur.

Keep in mind that the major factor that determines the role of fat as a substrate during exercise is its availability to the muscle cell. In order to be metabolized, bodyfat (triglycerides) must be degraded into three molecules of free fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol. This splitting allows the free fatty acids to be converted to acetyl-CoA and enter the Krebs cycle. Hence, if fat is not available to the muscle cell then it can not be metabolized.

Fat can only be metabolized via Krebs cycle oxidation. It is essential to recognize that a reduction in Krebs cycle intermediates: whether it is the result of (1) low carbohydrate diets, (2) no carbohydrate diets, or (3) excessive prolonged aerobic sessions, resulting in a diminished rate of ATP production from fat metabolism. When carbohydrate stores are depleted in the body, the rate at which fat is metabolized is reduced. Therefore, carbohydrates are essential in the ability to metabolize fat.  It is only the free fatty acids that are metabolized via the Krebs cycle that are used in ATP production that go toward reducing bodyfat levels.

Therefore, when designing an exercise program to reduce bodyfat stores, it is vital to consider both (1) the total rate of energy expenditure and (2) the percentage of energy that is derived from fat metabolism. You must optimize the availability of fat to the muscle cells through selection of appropriate intensity and duration of exercise sessions. Since it takes approximately 20 minutes for lipolysis (fat burning) to occur, the session should exceed 20 minutes in duration for fat to be made available to muscle cells. At approximately 70% of VO2 max the availability of fat to the muscle cells diminish due to an increase in lactate production, which inhibits fat metabolism. Although engaging in activity at 20% of VO2 max will burn 60% of calories from fat as compared to working at 50% of VO2 max which would derive 40% of energy from fat, the total rate of energy expenditure is 2.5 times greater at 50% VO2 max. The absolute amount of fat metabolized is 33% higher during exercise at 50% of VO2 max. The ideal rate of work would be at 50% of VO2 max for duration of 60 minutes. Unfortunately, this physiological actuality has led many individuals to mistakenly believe that because the body utilizes a greater percentage of fat as fuel during aerobic exercise at a relatively low level of intensity, such exercise is more effective for fat loss than high intensity exercise. These individuals ignore two very important facts. First, the absolute amount of fat calories burned during high intensity exercise tends to be equal to or greater than the number burned during low intensity exercise, even though the percentage of calories burned from fat is higher during low intensity exercise. Second, when you eat, you replenish both carbohydrates and fats. As soon as an excess of calories (from either fats or carbohydrates) exists, your body will begin to store them as fat. Once you eat after exercising (including those activities which burn more fat than carbohydrates), you will rapidly replenish any of your carbohydrate stores you may have used up. Once they are replenished, your body will begin to store the rest of your caloric intake as fat. The net result is that your body’s fat stores will be virtually unchanged—if at all. The critical point is that low-intensity aerobic exercise does not (by itself) cause you to alter your body’s overall energy balance. Keep in mind that you lose weight and body fat when you expend more calories than you consume, not because you burn fat (or anything else) when you exercise. By the same token, all other factors considered, the most positive feature of low-intensity aerobic exercise is that it is relatively well-tolerated (orthopedically) by most individuals.

Larger mitochondria in greater numbers, increased levels of aerobic enzymes, coupled with increased blood flow all boosts the fat burning capabilities of the muscle fibers. Aerobics can lead to more routes for blood to reach working muscles and more oxygen, which is needed for oxidation of nutrients within the mitochondria. The more massive a bodybuilder becomes the more routes in the form of blood vessels are needed to supply these working muscles. From fat burning to improved cardiovascular health to improved recovery abilities, aerobic work should be an integral part of all training programs.

Once you deplete glycogen in your body you will no longer maintain an adequate level needed for resistance training.  You simply do not have enough energy to tackle the intense demands of strength training.  In short, aerobic should succeed resistance training.

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MYTH #3

I genuinely enjoy posting and exposing these controversial myths.  Part of my reason for becoming a personal trainer was, I was tired of getting conflicting answers on how to train and how to diet.  In other words, I had to put down body-building magazines, stop watching workout shows on ESPN, stop listening to steroid junkies in the gym, and stop watching infomercials.  Needless to say, I have become extremely careful with what I read and who I listen to.  Anybody can argue anything and the best salesman is always going to gather the larger audience, however, beware of false “teachers”. 

Myth #3: The best indicators of a good workout are how tired you are after the workout and how sore you are the next day.

This is a myth my most dedicated athletes still have a tough time dismissing. Most hard-working individuals equate a good workout with being exhausted and sore. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had athletes say, “You didn’t even make me puke” after a workout. My response is usually, “I didn’t make you puke because I didn’t want to make you puke. Making you puke would be easy. Getting you stronger, faster and more flexible actually takes some work.”

Puking is one of the most catabolic things you can do to your body. If your goals are increased muscular strength and/or muscular hypertrophy, you should do everything possible not to puke during your training!

Fatigue is another popular indicator people use to rate the productivity of their workouts. Remember that the goal of your training session should dictate how you feel after your workout. For example, if you’re going to perform a plyometric workout with the goal of improving your vertical jump, you shouldn’t be exhausted after the workout.

Actually, a properly designed plyometric workout should stimulate your neuromuscular system and you should feel better than when you started the workout. On the other hand, it’s good to be exhausted after a tough practice that was designed to get you in “game shape” for your given sport.

Finally, I’ve never read any research that links post-exercise soreness to strength gains, hypertrophy gains or improved athletic performance. Who the hell wants to be sore anyway? Think of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) as an unfortunate side effect of training, not a goal of training.

Remember that it’s easy for a coach to make an athlete tired, but it takes a true professional to get an athlete stronger, faster, more flexible and better conditioned.

J. Defranco           #3 of Top Ten Traininig Myths

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IT’S ON YOU

EVIDENCE, CONSPIRACY, URGENCY, TRUTH, WHO KNOWS?  Is there any surprise these days that health care costs are at an all time high?  DECEIT, MISDIAGNOSIS, MANIPULATION, LIES, WHO KNOWS?  Has anyone ever questioned how or why when we need costs to be at an all time low, they are at an all time high?  TRUST, ILLUSION, SECURITY, VULNERABILITY, WHO KNOWS.  Are we all frustrated with how things are going in the medical field in regards to care, treatment, prescription costs?  DESTITUTE, WEAK, HUNGRY, FIEND, WHO KNOWS?  Are we all going to take care of ourselves by exercising, eating right, resting, avoiding stress, managing stress, encouraging others, or, are we going to depend on the institution to do it for us.  FREEDOM, ACCOMPLISHMENT, JOY, SUCCESS! 

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OKAY, I’M FINISHED BEING A BABY

 

It’s all good, I think!   

 

MORE MISINFORMATION II

After going through the glycemic index with a friend of mine and explaining how it works, what foods to stay away from, then adding a post on the subject, today I get an email with an attachment.  Don’t get me wrong my friend wasn’t questioning anything we discussed, however, the article was extremely confusing and could have raised concern and credibility issues if she didn’t fully trust me.  Earlier in the day, I receive an adverse comment to my glycemic-index post, and what made that so bad was this person was missing the entire point of my article.  Here’s the comment.  Did I mention I got up at 5:30 this morning. 

Imagine how many people have read this article and had questions regarding this misinformation.  The title itself will give a person a preconceived judgement of the entire article, not to mention, it is somewhat difficult to follow.  Articles like these are the reasons why people are confused and do not know who to trust in the weight-loss industry.  Understand how the media has misguided people into believing what they want you to believe.  It’s amazing, and it’s the reason why I will not post inaccurate information.  

This post is not about the glycemic index, just a quick tutorial in regards to processed foods. 

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STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT

I have been inspired to write this post from a person I don’t even know who told me I was wrong in my thinking on myths.  There is no way I am wrong because if you notice at the bottom Joe D. is the author.  Occasionally I will use other sources to add other reliable information to my blog.  However, I always acknowledge where these articles come from.  I will start out by saying that not only is Joe D. correct, I am also correct or I would have never posted his myth. 

Let me first explain that in order to do any type of aerobic conditioning (plyometrics) you have to have some sort of muscle development.  For example, think of the time you or a person you know broke a leg and had a cast put on it.  What happens to the muscle?  The muscle begins to atrophy (loses muscle), right!  Depending on how long the cast was on or how long a person has gone without using this damaged limb, will determine what a person can or cannot do after the removal of this cast.  Let’s say the cast was on for 8-weeks.  Who does a doctor send you to after the removal of this cast?  A physical therapist right! (Which most people fail to follow through on).  Does a physical therapist have you go out and jog (plyometrics) a mile before they have you do resistance training to rebuild the muscle.  Of course not, even though the bone is healed (and in most cases stronger than before, due to the calcification around the break area), you must develop a level of strength to engage in any high impact plyometrics (running).  We have all seen the knees buckle on a baby that is learing to walk and using the coffee table to hold themselves up? 

Knee pain, joint pain, and lower leg muscle tension is a common concern for most runners, especially if you haven’t developed any level of strength (not in all cases).  Now, take into consideration that both legs have been inactive for a prolonged period of time and are weak in comparison to a person’s overall bodyweight.  Please consider, if you’re overweight or just beginning a fitness program, beware of any type of high impact plyometrics (especially running off/on concrete) before building a solid foundation of strength.   

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FEW DAYS OFF

  At least once every month I slack off for multiple days by not training, eating right, or participating in any type of physical activity.  There used to be a time when I would feel totally guilty with this type of behavior, almost to the point where I would become discouraged and turn a few days off, into a few weeks and even as long as a month.  Naturally, I would justify this behavior by saying things like;  “I needed the time off”, “rest is good”, “I’ll get back on track”.  I could do that in my twenties, but unfortunately, I am  no longer youthful, energetic, and as resilient as I once was. 

My downfall started on Saturday when I decided to play in a fundraiser Texas Holdem tournament, where I thought I would be a favorite to win a 96 player tournament.  Ha!  I lasted a total of 1 hour 20 minutes and found myself on the rail eating another piece of fried chicken.  I had already eaten 4 pieces, a slice of pizza, and drank almost 4 cans of coca-cola (ugh).  Oh, I forgot the jo-joes.    I didn’t mind the amount of food, because I figured I would train Sunday and everything would be fine.  Needless to say, I forgot it was Mothers Day and training was not an option.   

My point is, I still have these weekends where I engage in this type of inactivity, overeating, and ignoring healthy food choices.  What’s even more mind boggling is once I get started, I cannot stop.  I continue to make unhealthy food choices and I always find a way to justify my behavior.  On another note, today is a new day without distractions and justifications.  Nobody is perfect and as long as we all realize that, then even if we have a few down days we can still rebound if we stay positive and our focus remains on our goals.

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Turn Back the Aging Clock

  What are your views on aging? Is fatigue and joint discomfort the inevitable result of growing older? If so, do you believe that the elderly should take it easy when they are tired and suffering from mild aches?

The fact is that many age-associated declines occur not because of the aging process itself, but as a result of our lifestyle habits, including exercise. In our sedentary society, many muscle and joint problems are the result of weakness and inflexibility. By increasing your strength and flexibility, you can prevent injury and slow the age-associated loss of muscle function. This means that some of those old cliches turn out to be true…”use it or lose it” and “you’re as old as you feel”.

Inactive people become more frail than active people and are more likely to sustain a serious fall that could lead to hospitalization, permanent disability, dependence and even death. According to the federal government., Americans live an average of 73.7 years, but spend their last 11.7 years in “dysfunctional life”, which is marked by disease and impairment. Reducing the number of years lost to restricted physical activity has become a national priority.

Exercise itself, can slow and even reverse many components of the aging process. It’s probably the single most effective way to lengthen life. Proper exercise can rejuvenate you and take years off your chronological age- it’s the closest thing to an anti-aging pill. In other words, exercise can add years to your life and life to your years. The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, claims that a 50 yr. old today can expect to live, on average, to over 79. This is a lot of time spent in the “golden years”. Instead of believing that over 50 means “over the hill and declining”, you should view it as “over the hill and picking up speed!”

It was once thought that aerobic capacity and muscular strength decreased dramatically as one grew older: Studies revealed that a sedentary 65 yr. old has only 60% of the aerobic capacity as a young sedentary adult, and that after the age of 30, people not engaged in strength training lose muscle mass amounting to about six to seven pound of muscle each decade. Remember that these declines apply to sedentary adults.

A 25-year study on runners performed at Ball State University found that many of the runners who continued to train had aerobic capacities similar to what they had 20 years ago. A ten year study from the Center for Exercise Science at the University of Florida found that runners who took up resistance (strength) training were able to maintain their muscle over the ten years. Those who did not, continued to loss muscle mass. The results of these studies apply to everyone, not just athletes.

Each person over the age of 55 who I have trained has found that they have marked increases in their muscle tone, strength and aerobic capacity: they have become more fit and vigorous then ever before.

One of the things that happens when you begin strength training is that connective tissue, such as ligaments and tendons, gets stronger along with your muscles. This helps to protect your joints from injury and makes everyday tasks easier, such as walking up stairs, carrying groceries and keeping up with grandchildren.

There are community programs available to help older adults stay active. Many wellness programs include low-impact aerobics and strength training. Bowling, and croquet leagues are also a fun way to stay in shape. Whatever form of exercises you choose to do, you should include ones that employ a mixture of endurance, strength, balance and flexibility exercises.

Before starting, check with your doctor to see if there are any medical concerns. Appropriate exercise can reduce frailty in old age thus helping to make a person’s last few years be filled with active participation instead of the bedridden existence that too many elderly people now experience.

We were designed to be active..don’t rust out before you wear out because you aren’t putting your body to proper use. If you want to stay strong and mobile, look and feel well, and continue to live independently instead of ending up in the care of others,then you better START MOVING!!    Deborah L. Mullen, CSCS

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EIGHTEEN HOLES IS NOT 18 HOLES

  I will never walk another 18 holes of golf again in my lifetime.  I know on some courses walking isn’t even permitted, but for a below average golfer, walking should never be allowed on any course. 

I have a few friends that believe golf is a non-physical sport and requires little, if any, physical conditioning.  Little do they realize that the best golfers in the world engage in some sort of strength and/or conditioning, and the ones that don’t consistently train, rarely finish high on the leaderboards.  All physical activities require some sort of general physical preparedness, golf is physical, it is an activity, and you better be prepared.  Watching athletes on television has a tendency of making things look relatively easy while  novice athletes have a misconception in regards to the amount of hard-work and effort required to play on a professional level. 

Lets take into consideration that some of us are decent to bad players, in other words, we are lucky if we play bogey golf.  For a novice golfer let’s add in the fact that you have to swing the club with extreme effort at least 2 times per hole, and on par 5’s sometimes three heavy effort swings.  Now we’ll add in the fact that, if you’re not on the tour or a scratch golfer, you have to play out of trouble most of the time.  Golf courses measure the distances from the tee box to the green., in other words, they don’t zig-zag throughout the course on each individual hole like I do.  (I guess it’s a way of getting my moneys worth)  I actually considered doing the math on how I can turn a standard 5500 yard course into over 8000 yards.  Needless to say, I hit the ball hard, I hit long, and I don’t play very well, which means, I am all over the place.  

Whenever a sport or a game has a large prize pool or hefty salaries you’d best believe that most players stay in some sort of shape.  Could golfers be in better conditioning?  Probably!  However, the same goes for most athletes in every other sport. 

                                                                                                                    

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DIET SODAS

How much of a diet is diet soda?  You may be one of those people that doesn’t want to pick up those extra calories from regular soda, but unfortunately you cannot resist the sting effect that the carbonated drinks have to offer.   There are many things to consider when mixing diet sodas into your strength-training, weight-loss, and fitness lifestyle.  Here’s a few facts worth considering the next time you think it’s okay to drink a diet soda.    

Diet soda is carbonated. A byproduct of oxidative energy production is CO2 carbon dioxide. CO2 is eliminated through normal cardiovascular processes, however during intense exercise CO2 buildup may occur and you do NOT want to add additional CO2 gas from carbonated drinks. In addition, carbonation may interfere with hormone production as well as cause dehydration. Diet sodas contain artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners cause the brain to react to sweet taste (cephalic phase response) by preparing the liver to receive a new supply of sugar. Additionally, if no sugar appears, the liver signals an urge to eat, or possibly over-eat. Irrespective of the possible adverse effects of diet sodas on weight control, no one disputes the lack of nutrition in these diet drinks. Typically, diet sodas sole contribution to dietary and nutritional requirements is a little sodium. 

If you’ve been struggling to control your appetite and your favorite drink is carbonated and artificially sweetened, you may need to eliminate it from your ‘diet’.   

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MYTH #5

I had to post this because my mother just totally annoyed me by telling my daughter that stretch bands are good for women because they don’t give you manly muscles.  I want to make it clear right now, bands develop muscle and they are not isolated for women only.  Where did she hear that?  My mother is 60 years old and I know for a fact that I have exposed the “manly muscle” myth to her.  My point here is, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, please do not engage in conversations if you don’t have facts. 

Myth #5: Women should focus on performing aerobic activities because weight training will give them a “manly” appearance.

This myth just won’t go away, mainly because of bodybuilding magazines. People associate females who strength-train with the female bodybuilders pictured in bodybuilding magazines. Professional female bodybuilders usually resemble men because of the massive amount of anabolic, androgenic drugs they consume. However, these “females” shouldn’t be confused with drug-free women who incorporate resistance training into their fitness programs. The next time that this topic comes up, remember the following facts: 1) Much of the difference in muscle mass between males and females is attributed to hormones, specifically, Testosterone. On average, men produce ten times more Testosterone than females. Unless you’re a female who’s taking anabolic steroids or other male hormones, lifting weights will not make you look like a man! It’s actually harder for most females to build muscle compared to their male counterparts. 2) There’s also a difference in muscle mass distribution between men and women, especially in the upper body. If you do build a significant amount of muscle, you still won’t look masculine. So, it’s important to remember that male hormones and muscle mass distribution are the two main reasons that men usually carry more muscle than woman. Ladies, get in the weightroom!

                                                           

J. Defranco           #5 of Top Ten Traininig Myths

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STRETCH OR NOT TO STRETCH?

Most fitness enthusiasts typically tend to overemphasize flexibility training, to the neglect of developing functional strength while in the stretched position.  Significantly improving your joints’ range of motion without also improving the strength of your surrounding musculature (especially at its new range of motion) can be an invitation for injury.

For example, when you improve your flexibility (in a given joint or group of joints) to the point where an additional five degrees of motion exists, the affected muscles now have a reduced amount of overlap between the actin and myosin filaments, resulting in a substantial reduction in force output ability.  For this reason, strength and flexibility training programs must occur concurrently.

During the stretch, the fibers elongate as each sarcomere extends to the point where no overlap between the thick and thin filaments exists at all (specialized elastic filaments comprised of titin keep the sarcomere together in the absence of overlap).  At this point, the remaining stress is taken up by the surrounding connective tissue (sarcoplasmic reticulum, sarcolemma and endomysium).  If the stretch tension escalates beyond this point, microscopic tears develop both in the connective tissues and within the sarcomere itself.  Such microtraumatic injuries eventually heal, but at the cost of scarification and micro-adhesions that may leave the muscle fiber less capable of contraction and extension.

Rather than short, intense bouts of stretching (which tend to trigger the proprioceptors), opt for longer, frequent periods of stretching where less tension is used.  Soreness after a stretching session is a sign that hydroxyproline (an amino acid found in connective tissue) and other biochemicals have been released into the muscle fiber to help repair damaged tissues.  It is probably a sign that you are stretching too hard. 

Warming up before stretching is important in two regards. First, core body temperature is elevated. Second, muscles are subject to thixotropy, which is the tendency of gels (e.g., body fluids) to become less viscous, following a period of being shaken or otherwise disturbed by outside forces. This explains why periods of inactivity tend to cause muscular stiffness, and why muscular viscosity is reduced when muscles are active. The most appropriate time to stretch a muscle (from the perspective of body temperature and the thixotropic effect) is after training.

International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)  8th Edition Text

People often wonder why there are so many injuries in baseball when it is the least physical sport in terms of running, jumping, or physical contact.  Stretching is just another form of physical fitness and should not be taken lightly.  I have added a few thoughts worth considering when planning to stretch.

1. Be sure to improve strength while improving range of motion.  

2. Although you may use stretching as a warm-up, such a practice is often counterproductive. 

3. Prior to performing stretching exercises, core body temperature (not surface) must be elevated. 

4. Always stretch after intense workout sessions. 

 LIFT HARD!  TRAIN HARD!

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18:10

I didn’t have much time to update today but I just finished watching the Mayweather/De La Hoya fight and wanted to give you all the update to the first race.  If any of you saw these athletes, you had to be in awe.  Boxers have always amazed me. 

The two of us are totally pleased with the 18:10 that he ran in his first 5k after a full year lay off.  Sure, we would’ve loved to see him crush the field, however, this is not what we are training for.  Eighteen-ten was good enough for a fourth place finish which kept him a full 2:30+ off the leader.  His next race is a 10k on June 16th.  This gives us a full month and a half to train, therefore, we should really see an improvement.

Remember, training a marathon runner is something new for me and this is the first time that Keir has ever used a personal trainer to improve his speed-strength.  As with any type of training we all must follow a systematic approach for long-term strength, conditioning, speed, athlete specific, weight-loss or whatever else.  I could train him and produce instant results, but the long-term effects would prove detrimental.  Building this foundation is as important as building a house on rock.  I’ve included this piece from one of the best trainers and sports scientists in the world.

 A premature velocity increase negatively influences the devleopment of the degree of training.  Thus, in sports disciplines requiring speed-strength, this method causes excessive muscular fatigue (in some cases even injuries) and an alteration of the bio-dynamic structure and rhythm of movements.  As a consequence, the morphological and functional specialization process is slowed down, while motor co-ordination is created that does not correspond to competition conditions.  A gradual increase in the intensity of the load, spread over a longer period, produces a greater and more stable development of the functional possibilities.  (Y. Verkhoshansky)

This applies to any ‘instant results” methods used in todays weight-loss, strength, and fitness societies.  They may satisfy a short-term want, but the negative future impact will prove detrimental.  Long-term progress, improvement, health and conditioning will likely suffer. 

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FIRST RACE

My marathon runner (Keir) is racing today in his first 5k of the season.  Even though I do realize what we have done so far has only helped with his endurance, I also know that it has had a minimal effect.  Today I will share the first two of the five strength and conditioning phases that we have to go through in order for Keir to be in peak conditioning for the September marathon. 

Our first phase is his Adaptation period.  This period is utilized to help his body become accustomed to the new demands that strength-training will place on him.  Even though Keir has maintained some conditioning year round, we still utilize this brief period of training to avoid shocking the central nervous system and potentially injuring muscles or joints with this added stress.   

The second phase is his Foundational period which is pretty much where we are right now.  This is where I have placed a little more stress on the muscles to prepare his body for heavier weights (strength).  During this period of training I will incorporate high reps with about 55% of his one repitition max.  This is where I need Keir’s body to respond to strength-training by developing total body-strength and muscle endurance. 

We all have to realize that becoming an above average athlete is a slow gradual process, sometimes taking multiple years to peak.  Some novice runners or weight-lifters fall prey to the “more is better” fallacy.  When we take on this “more is better attitude” we are more susceptible to injury, overtaining, and failure (burnout).  It is imperative that we take the human body through its much needed transitional phases of training to ensure a positive training effect.    

You can read my previous entries here http://mcgheetraining.wordpress.com/2007/04/29/first-session/ on Keir’s strength- training in preparation for this years marathon.

LIFT HARD!  TRAIN HARD!

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OREO COOKIE ICE CREAM

Well, yesterday I managed to figure out a recipe to accomplish my daily 4200+ calories.  With my son’s baseball game last night I was forced to train later than I normally do, therefore, my post-training meal would have to be later than normal.  

During the time I was training, my wife went to the grocery and for whatever reason decided to buy two half-gallons of ice-cream.  Naturally, I wasn’t happy because I knew I would eat some and because I have a sweet tooth, I might not be able to stop.  On the other hand, I knew I needed more calories and because she buys natural ice-cream (no additives or high fructose corn syrup),  I began to rationalize and justify why eating this ice-cream wouldn’t hurt.  Boom, here’s my bright idea. 

About 30 minutes after training I always take a protein supplement, glutamine, and my BCAA’s.  At this point I knew I was way under my caloric requirements and because I had a three hour window of opportunity post-workout to consume about 1/3 of my calories, I was going to take full advantage.  This is when I looked at my protein, looked at this ice-cream, then looked in the cupboard to see if the blender was still there (you never where anything might be around here).  My last ditch efforts to consume these calories were between 8:30 and 11:30 pm.  During this time frame I managed to mix 96 grams of protein with 2 cups of Oreo cookie ice-cream, in two separate shakes.  :)  With milk added that’s a grand total of 1340 calories in a 2 hour period of time.  I’m pretty sure I got my 4200, but the problem came when I went to mix a protein shake today, I almost got nauseated. 

If you have read my MENTAL TOUGHNESS post, it explains that I am on a mission to gain 15 or more lbs. by eating like a pig, training hard, and eliminating all cardio so that I can build muscle then lean back down to around 8% LBM.  It’s not a matter of gaining that worries me, it’s a matter of hating cardio and seeing if I have the mental toughness that it requires to attain my goals.    

LIFT HARD!  TRAIN HARD!

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