Contrary to what you might read in some articles, adaptation is a good thing. Your body builds it’s muscle tissue larger in an attempt to adapt to the stress (weights) that you are exposing it to. You want adaptation.
Along the same vein, you do NOT need to switch programs every 4-8 weeks in order to continue to see results. Most big guys find what works and stick with it until they actually require a change in their program. And even then, it’s usually minor change, not major.
Adding more weight to the bar, or doing more reps with the same weight along with eating enough to support the needed growth and repair is all you need in order to keep your body growing in most cases.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Use post workout supplementation. Make sure your shake has Carbs AND protein, not just protein, which is what most people believe is the correct way. It’s one of the most important factors in recovery and muscle growth.
Eating a solid meal after lifting instead of drinking a shake is not adequate, so get that out of your head.[/quote]
This last sentence should state: Eating a solid meal after lifting instead of drinking a shake is not “optimal” so get that out your head.
A solid meal is “adequate” but not optimal for recovery and size purposes. I know a lot of people who can’t get it through their heads that eating after a workout is crucially important. Most ignorant people assume the gym is where you grow and not the dinner table.
As JB once said “If you’re not eating, you’re not growing.”
it’s not always x reps x sets, it’s not about math it’s about connecting to the feeling of the movement and contraction w/ your mind.
if you think it’s too heavy, it will become too heavy. you’ll fail before you start w/ a defeatist attitude. be safe however because lifting outside of what you can handle w/ good form will eventually get you hurt.
be intense, eat, sleep, repeat for decade or so and then post pictures.
[quote]Serd wrote:
This last sentence should state: Eating a solid meal after lifting instead of drinking a shake is not “optimal” so get that out your head.
A solid meal is “adequate” but not optimal for recovery and size purposes. I know a lot of people who can’t get it through their heads that eating after a workout is crucially important. Most ignorant people assume the gym is where you grow and not the dinner table.
As JB once said “If you’re not eating, you’re not growing.”
[/quote]
I almost changed that when I first posted it but then I realized that when you compare a solid meal to a liquid meal PWO, saying it isn’t optimal makes it sound like it’s ok, and it’s not.
Obviously there may be a few exceptions such as pre contest where you have to cut out the shakes to reduce your sodium, but other than that I see no other reason.
[quote]gilesdm wrote:
Great post, some really usful advice. Got me thinking a lot. Thanks all for the usful info, I have lots to think about now.
D.[/quote]
It’s funny how your avatar actually looks like it’s pondering said advice.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Serd wrote:
This last sentence should state: Eating a solid meal after lifting instead of drinking a shake is not “optimal” so get that out your head.
A solid meal is “adequate” but not optimal for recovery and size purposes. I know a lot of people who can’t get it through their heads that eating after a workout is crucially important. Most ignorant people assume the gym is where you grow and not the dinner table.
As JB once said “If you’re not eating, you’re not growing.”
I almost changed that when I first posted it but then I realized that when you compare a solid meal to a liquid meal PWO, saying it isn’t optimal makes it sound like it’s ok, and it’s not.
Obviously there may be a few exceptions such as pre contest where you have to cut out the shakes to reduce your sodium, but other than that I see no other reason.[/quote]
This isn’t necessarily true, I haven’t had a PWO shake in months and I haven’t noticed any detrimental effects with recovery or progress.
Out of interest have most of you found that PWO shakes (or a lack thereof) make a drastic difference with your recovery and/or progress or do you just accept it as a truth?
[quote]IQ wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
Serd wrote:
This last sentence should state: Eating a solid meal after lifting instead of drinking a shake is not “optimal” so get that out your head.
A solid meal is “adequate” but not optimal for recovery and size purposes. I know a lot of people who can’t get it through their heads that eating after a workout is crucially important. Most ignorant people assume the gym is where you grow and not the dinner table.
As JB once said “If you’re not eating, you’re not growing.”
I almost changed that when I first posted it but then I realized that when you compare a solid meal to a liquid meal PWO, saying it isn’t optimal makes it sound like it’s ok, and it’s not.
Obviously there may be a few exceptions such as pre contest where you have to cut out the shakes to reduce your sodium, but other than that I see no other reason.
This isn’t necessarily true, I haven’t had a PWO shake in months and I haven’t noticed any detrimental effects with recovery or progress.
Out of interest have most of you found that PWO shakes (or a lack thereof) make a drastic difference with your recovery and/or progress or do you just accept it as a truth?[/quote]
I don’t worry about drinking a shake after I lift. My main concern is that FOOD of some kind gets into me soon.
This goes back to some here acting like they need to be 100% in line with a scientific study and that not reaching that mark equals less progress.
People were making huge gains long before the latest notion that everyone needs a protein shake specifically right after lifting.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
People were making huge gains long before the latest notion that everyone needs a protein shake specifically right after lifting.[/quote]
Doc, this is one of the main reasons I stopped reading BBing mags for over 15 years (up until a year ago). I felt like every article which prescribed that the reader MUST consume shakes at (insert optimal times of day here) to gain mass and keep from a catabolic state, was just a ploy to sell me one of the many protein powders the magazine was hawking. I’m still terribly suspicious of overhyped products (like fish oil caps).
I will say the best advice I’ve ever received was to take a “What about Bob Approach,” (i.e., baby steps, for those that haven’t seen the movie).
Workout for four weeks and evaluate. If you are making gains, continue for four more weeks and repeat. Otherwise, make small adjustments and reevaluate in four more weeks. This approach seems to keep me from jumping from one training style to the next.
It works for supplements as well. Change/Add one supplement at a time. Give it four weeks to work and evaluate your success. You can then decide whether to keep it or drop it. If you change/add more than one at a time, you will end up taking in 49 supplements that don’t work and 1 that does.
As for supplements, the second best peice of advice I ever received came from one of the biggest guys I’ve ever met. I was just starting to work out and met him at the university gym. He was a great guy and knew a lot about body building. I ask him which supplements I should be on. He explained it to me this way. There is no reason doing a cable crossover when you can’t bench 1.5 times your body weight. You will get more out of your chest workout focusing on the basic bench presses. Similarly, if your diet is crap and you aren’t putting in the effort in the gym, supplements won’t do much for you. Supplements are the cherry on top and only effective when everything else is in order.
I make pretty good progress when I ate a solid meal after my workout. I made even better progress when I started using a shake. In the past two weeks I have doubled everything in my PWO shake and my recovery and progress in the weight room has increased even more.
I guess we all have different views, but for me it is an absolute most.
When someone wants to start lifting with me I always tell them to buy a PWO product and they make great progress. A lot of this is just b/c they eat like shit the rest of the time. but I want to make sure I know they are doing the correct thing PWO so they can grow.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I make pretty good progress when I ate a solid meal after my workout. I made even better progress when I started using a shake. In the past two weeks I have doubled everything in my PWO shake and my recovery and progress in the weight room has increased even more.
I guess we all have different views, but for me it is an absolute most.
When someone wants to start lifting with me I always tell them to buy a PWO product and they make great progress. A lot of this is just b/c they eat like shit the rest of the time. but I want to make sure I know they are doing the correct thing PWO so they can grow.[/quote]
Yes, that is mostly because they ate like shit the rest of the time and not because it was a protein shake specifically. If you see better progress from it, keep doing it. That isn’t the point being made. The point made is that not drinking a protein shake should not decrease anyone’s progress unless there are some major defects elsewhere in what they are doing overall.
I don’t drink a protein shake because I have zero appetite for the first hour after training and that shake would end up on the floor if I tried to shove one down right after a workout. It would end up spewed like the backside of a rocket if I tried to drink one on leg or back day.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
I make pretty good progress when I ate a solid meal after my workout. I made even better progress when I started using a shake. In the past two weeks I have doubled everything in my PWO shake and my recovery and progress in the weight room has increased even more.
I guess we all have different views, but for me it is an absolute most.
When someone wants to start lifting with me I always tell them to buy a PWO product and they make great progress. A lot of this is just b/c they eat like shit the rest of the time. but I want to make sure I know they are doing the correct thing PWO so they can grow.
Yes, that is mostly because they ate like shit the rest of the time and not because it was a protein shake specifically. If you see better progress from it, keep doing it. That isn’t the point being made. The point made is that not drinking a protein shake should not decrease anyone’s progress unless there are some major defects elsewhere in what they are doing overall.
I don’t drink a protein shake because I have zero appetite for the first hour after training and that shake would end up on the floor if I tried to shove one down right after a workout. It would end up spewed like the backside of a rocket if I tried to drink one on leg or back day.
I simply eat as soon as my appetite comes back.[/quote]
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
I make pretty good progress when I ate a solid meal after my workout. I made even better progress when I started using a shake. In the past two weeks I have doubled everything in my PWO shake and my recovery and progress in the weight room has increased even more.
I guess we all have different views, but for me it is an absolute most.
When someone wants to start lifting with me I always tell them to buy a PWO product and they make great progress. A lot of this is just b/c they eat like shit the rest of the time. but I want to make sure I know they are doing the correct thing PWO so they can grow.[/quote]
I don’t how important the protein is right after training, but I sure feel my intensity go down on leg day if I’m not sipping at my shake. I just use a scoop of maltodextrin and a scoop of whey. No doubt it’s the sugar that’s helping. I do seem to recover faster too, with the shake.
Would you drop the workout carbs if dieting, or just cut out starchy carbs outside of the gym, and keep the PWO shake?