hey,
I usually work my abs on rest days, and i was wondering if I should or shouldn’t eat a big post workout meal. Im in a bulking stage still, but im not sure if the abs need the same kind of daily meals to recover like the larger muscle groups.
When I started going to the gym, one of the national level competitors used to work there. I asked him similar question. I asked should I eat as much during off days as when I eat when I workout and I asked him if I should eat in the evening. His answer was pretty much straightforward - are you a man when you do not workout and are you a man in the evening too? This pretty much addresses your question eventhough you will most likely get a lot of very “scientific” minutia replies…
Pump: Great question, and one that brings out a VERY important principle; “rest” or recovery days should be the days when we should be the MOST strict on our diets and we should be literally flooding our tissues with nutrients. That is when they are in a maximum repair mode, and require PERHAPS not quite as much pure energy as our workout days, but do need all the macro and micronutrients, and in abundant supply, to repair (thereby build) our muscles.
Now…you have to define “meal”. Since you are taxing the system, I think that your post-workout WHOLE FOOD meal should remain the same. The need for a post-workout drink/shake/“Surge” may not be needed. It really depends on 1) The intensity of your ab workouts and 2) The recuperative ability of your body as a whole as it relates to your own personal total program. If you are totally spent after your ab workout, take something like “Surge”. If you take it easy (since it is your active rest day)…maybe not. But don’t change your post-workout whole food meal.
Hope this helps!
You don’t need a big postworkout meal after abs, just eat your normal bulking diet, cause even though its a rest day, all your other muscle groups are still repairing from previous workouts.
I think that the answer really depends. I have done some ab workouts that are definately not worthy of quality post-workout nutrition. But, I have also done ab workouts involving rope crunches, reverse crunches(dragon flags), saxon side bends and turkish get-ups in a circuit fashion. That workout definately deserved a nice big shaker cup worth of Surge.
Thanks for the advise!