Carbohydrate Timing

This is going to be brief, nothing too crazy, but I'm going to put most of the "technical" stuff I have read into something more easy, something you can apply to yourself and your own nutritional programming.

Now, there is lots of talk over which is the best. carbs? no carbs? fats? no fats? and the ever elusive "how much protein is correct?" question that seems to be popping up in every magazine/media outlet/EVERYTHING.

This is my attempt.

So the very simple answer to all the questions is:
it depends.

On what?
Goals, level of experience, need, progression in current nutrition/training program, tolerance, body type, blood type... LOTS

BUT, like I said, here is my attempt to get rid of a lot of the confusion.

Think of carbohydrates at nitrous. they are packed full of energy, and the body's preferred source of fuel. without "getting into it", what they do best is fuel some form of exercise/movement/voluntary process.
so, having that, when is the best timing? exercise in which you are looking to lay down muscle, not destroy muscle, or not lose strength, no lose weight, etc.

SO

IF you are trying to gain weight, or trying to set some form of timing (sprint, distance, etc) then carbohydrates are a great choice.

IF you are trying to lose weight/bodyfat, carbohydrates need to be looked at on a "when i need them" basis.

Also, while sifting through a lot of paperwork/textbooks, women tend to do better (composition wise) on lowER carbohydrates.

So if you are predispositioned to be fat, carbs timing will help you. I would keep them to morning and post workout
If you are more muscular, and are looking to gain weight, look more into packing yourself full of them around the workout, AND in the morning/daily process.

The more weight you can lift (bench press, squat, deadlift etc) then the more carbohydrates you can potentially use to fuel these processes (recovery, actually lifting the weight, energy levels)

ladies then, cannot lift as much as men, hence their need being lower. I like to use carbs in the first meals, and around workouts if their training has been going very well.

Carbs around cardio?

Unless you are trying to increase speed/timing, I would say no. If you have carbs before a cardio session for fat loss, you're essentially burning the carbs you just ate. afterwords your body could potentially use them to repair/rebuild muscle or another process (immune, injuries etc) and be more efficient at it due to your heart rate/metabolic rate being elevated.

Protein - goes up when carbs go down
fats - go up when carbs go down
carbs - go up when protein and fats go down.

I expect LOTS and LOTS of questions on this.

BUT HAVING SAID ALL OF THIS...

everything is individual. I do not want "But Marty, I'm a girl and eat TONS AND TONS and lose TONS of weight!" to come back at me, or any other case.
If you are not the genetically gifted like myself, you/we need to try harder than others to achieve our gym/physique/fitness goals.

so remember:
carbs fuel exercise
fats can fuel you the rest of the time
protein repairs and rebuilds muscle.

Quick answers to common questions

Hi everyone, sorry I have been busy writing my Precision Nutrition Certification (Nutritionist certification)! In case anyone is Interested, I received 97% on the exam, placing myself as the 1st person in Alberta to receive this Cert, and the 7th person in Canada. Not too bad!

Today's post is going to be quick answers to myths, without getting too in depth. hopefully this squashes even more misconceptions about the industry of which I am so passionate about.

1) crunches/leg raises/ ab exercises give me visible abs/reduce fat:
No. Nutrition will get rid of the fat. no amount of abdominal exercises will do this for you.
2) squats are bad for me knees:
IMPROPER squats are, most definitely. The methods of teaching the squat are horrendous to be nice. a proper squat is actually fanTASTIC for rehabilitation of the knee along with strengthening it.
3) cardio will make me thin:
see my post below on cardio and women training.
4) elliptical is knee/hip friendly:
almost exactly the opposite. most elliptical trainers are on a fixed track, which cause you to go out of your natural stride. the treadmill ( a good one with proper belt/stiffness beneath the feet) will be much more beneficial. if your knees hurt on the treadmill... there is a reason other than the treadmill. you could have tight muscles (aka you need to stretch) or weak muscles (aka get off the treadmill and lift some weights)
5)My Trainer says "insert comment x"
you are going to get a LOT of different trainers out there. who is right? the one who yields exactly what they say. When i say this i mean: are you going in your goal direction? do they answer EVERY question I ask? are they adjusting me properly? John Berardi has a GREAT 10 questions post that I will link all about Personal Trainers.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/you-need-a-new-trainer

6) I need to feel run over for days after a workout to make it "work"
this one I might touch on in a later post. NO. If you are so sore you can't function properly, you definitely overreached that body part (you did too much)
with the EXCEPTION being your first time in the gym/trying an exercise. if you CONSTANTLY feel awful and have a great amount of muscle soreness, you're overdoing it. you could be undersleeping. you could be undereating/not eating properly. but NO the goal is NOT to feel like crap all the time.
7) Cardio before or after weights?:
after. especially when any kind of carbohydrates are in your nutrition program. In short (i might need to go over this in more depth) you use carbs/sugar to fuel anaerobic exercise (aka weights) so, if you do cardio first, you're trying to use fat for weights? you're going to have some serious compromise (seeing as you've learned by now reading these posts, progressive resistance is the answer) in muscular strength/power/recovery. ALSO on a side note, if you have a protein shake/carb drink, drink it AFTER the cardio. the 3 best times for cardio (for fat loss) are:
a) first thing in the morning on empty stomach
b)immediately after a weight session
c) 2-3 hours after a carbohydrate meal
d) (a very, very far away d) anytime of the day.
THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO RUNNERS/SOCCER/BOXERS ETC. THIS IS FOR MAXIMAL FAT LOSS!!!!!!

8)whats the ansnwer? low carb? low protein? low fat? high everything?
Here is the answer: INDIVIDUALIZATION. MAYBE. SOMETIMES.

confusing? maybe! ask questions! want elaboration? ask!

Nutrition & Training Myths Part 3

Hi Everyone !
Due to popular demand, I'm going to continue on writing up what I feel are the most unexplained aspects in the fitness industry today, as much as I can without seeing/talking to you in person.

Once again, this is unedited, and off the cuff. I just type and don't stop!

The "question/myth" is "don't I need to be in the gym forever/constantly to get the best results?"

Today is going to focus on over training/over reaching.
What are the 2 definitions? one of my idols, Lyle McDonald defines them as the following :
"Overtraining occurs when there is a long-term imbalance between the training load and recovery processes that, for a given athlete, leads to a decrement in performance that takes more than 2-3 weeks to return to normal."
and also this:
" if you recover within 2-3 weeks, you were only overreached. By definition, overtraining only occurs if it takes longer than that roughly 2-3 week period to get back to or past your previous performance level."

so, what does that all mean? and how does it apply realistically to current gym goers?
Well, I see a LOT of overreaching and some overtraining.
most don't even know they're doing it. most people have NO IDEA that the recovery process is VASTLY more importantly than the training process.
As some of you know, I'm a big fan of short, intense to the point workouts. I am not a fan of staying in the gym for hours on end. 5 hours a week (especially to start) is a MAXIMUM. most ladies I have start out as I have mentioned around 3 hours a week. why so little?
First off, if you were doing nothing but sitting, and now you're standing... that is a new stress. the body has to adapt.
so then we take you to standing for a while.
then you start walking. body sees a new stress again.
the body is okay with this, and can handle it. let me ask you this. if we take a typical inactive office worker, and ask him/her to jump up and sprint, what do you think the results will be? exactly. not very good. they wont last long. they'll tire out VERY quickly. andddd they'll be huffin and puffin like crazy. taking them a while to recover. if i ask a marathon runner or sprinter to do this same task (properly trained one of course) the outcome will be severely different.
that is why we don't go from sitting at an office to sprinting when we first get you in the gym. you must be built up to it.
so, back to overtraining?overreaching.
so, everyone has seen them. maybe you are "them" the guys/girls that are in the gym, everyday. every hour. for hours on end. spending 9 days a week in there, pumping weights. and then cardio. running. for an hour or more.
now, just because you don't see it, there is a GREAT chance this person is being compromised. the body is smarter than you, as i have said before. one, or multiple of the following factors are probably present:
a) poor mood outside/inside the gym
b) sleep is lacking, either in length, or disturbances
c) weights are down (how much they're lifting, and general stamina)
d) progression has ceased. in most cases, a long time ago.

these are just examples of the "side effects" of overtraining.
I personally lift weights AROUND 4 hours a week. I consider myself an intermediate to advanced lifter. and I do cardio yes, but it is LISS (low intensity steady state) for my current goals (aspiring eventual bodybuilder). I DO NOT sprint, and I'm also going pretty aggressive at the moment with my fat loss.
SO where am i going with this? would you like to feel like any of the factors I've mentioned? ARE you feeling any of the factors I've mentioned already?

If you are training with some serious weight (2 plate bench press, 3 plate squat, 4 plate deadlift) then around every 3 months.... beat it. get out of the gym completely. relax. eat. recover. the body CANNOT constantly handle that kind of beating.
but, if you are under these approximate weights, and you're training 3-4 days a week, proper nutrition and program, you're probably fine. but take a serious look at your body. mentally. how are you doing? how are you sleeping? am I progressing? is my mood off/am I snapping when i usually wouldn't be?
Its probably time to tone it down. are you coming in on your saturday just to do 4 sets of 5 exercises because you feel your arms need the extra work?
come on guys... thats not the way. recovery. I'd rather you miss a workout than miss a meal.

women over reach too. a lot. usually with the amount of cardio (as i discussed in my cardio myth) tone it down ladies. marathon runners and elite athletes STILL need to take a break too... but they are elite for a reason. genetics allow them to withstand that workout, and they are usually not beginners.
beginners usually can last around a year at least without overtraining. unless you are in the gym wayyyy too much. 5 days a week to me is too much. running 5 days a week is too much. a combination of running and training 5 days a week is way too much. especially for you "i want to be healthy and look good"people whom most of this is geared towards.

starting fitness?
no more than 4 days a week of weights.
no more than 3 days a week of cardio/walking. no running to begin.
this is MORE than enough stimulus for your body to adapt to.
once this stops working aka results are compromised.. THEN look into training SMARTER, not LONGER.
also... ask yourself these questions:
a) am i lifting more weight? or am I swinging more weight?
b) how is my nutrition? am I eating at least 80% which my nutritionist tells me to?
c) am i sleeping well? am i getting 7.5-8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night?
d) am i exhausted during my day?

overtraining/overreaching might be there...

I expect questions on this one, fire away.