Running or Protein Shake After Weights?

This is a dilemma that I still don’t know the “official” answer to.  After a weight lifting session, I usually opt for protein immediately but I have gone back to cardio enough to make these choices go head to head in my brain.

On one hand you have your protein shake which immediately gets your bulging muscles the nutrients they need to begin growth and repair.  On the other hand, cardio is an essential part of your workout too and I like to get a healthy amount of cardio in to help burn calories and initiate fat loss.  So what to do here?

SXC.hu

My logic is end the workout.  Drink protein, wait 2 hours and then run or engage in some aerobic activity.  The last thing I want to do is deprive my muscle of rebuilding fuel so this has been my answer to date.  If anybody has suggestions, please send them my way.

My workout is off and running now that finals are over.  When finals came, I went against my own advice and dropped my workout.  It isn’t a bright thing to do, but I have a physcological hang up about my finals (usually 100% of my grade).  When finals start I feel that if I dedicate myself to anything else, I’m not concentrating on my finals which I should be so I end up mostly studying and filling my gaps with in between activities.  It shouldn’t be that way, but as of yet it is for me.

Anyways, back to my workout.  Last night I engaged in some good old fashion running and cardio drills, topped off by running back and forth to the nearby middle school instead of driving there.

• Jog to middle school (10:45)
• 10 football field sprints
• 4×12 lateral sprints 5 yard distance
• 4×10 long jumps (jump as far as you can, then jump again, and again, etc.)
• 10 zig zag sprints 50 yards (sprint 5 yards at a slant, then at 5 yard marker change direction to opposite slant)
• 2×12 lateral sprints
• 2×10 long jumps
• jog back home (12:00)

I may have done sets of 12 long jumps but I’m not sure if I did so I don’t want to give myself credit for it.  The total time of this affair was about 1:12.  Today, I was in the weight room and now I’m writing this blog, just after making the decision on the run or shake quandary.  I ran yesterday, but I want to add more fat burn today.  I think I mentioned this previously, but if not I’m in a hurry to get in shape.  I’m tired of messing around with an extra 30 – 40 pounds I don’t need.  My goal is to get in the best shape I possibly can by the end of summer.  I’m more focused on my athletic ability and what I look like than how many pounds I lose, but losing weight will come with that territory so I would have to say my goal is to lose 30 pounds.

I currently weigh 230 so 200 here I come.  So on to today’s workout:

• 3×12 regular bench press 135 lbs
• 3×12 front shoulder dumbell raises 25 lbs
• 3×12 incline dumbell press 50 lbs
• 3×12 tricep rope pulldown plate 7
• 3×8 standing dumbell shoulder press 35 lbs
• 3×12 side bench dumbell tricep pullover 40 lbs
• 3×10 regular pushups

Not a lot of weight on these exercises, but that’s really all I had after such a long layoff (I lose strength very fast).  I would have liked to have added another exercise to each muscle group, but I was happy to get in as much as I did with only 45 minutes until closing.

I’m back at it tomorrow with curls and back taking center stage.  In the background, I’ll be focusing on continuing to stay aerobically active with creative and diverse new exercises to get the heart rate up and my body fat percentage down.

Please keep us posted on how you’re workout is progressing.  If you have a blog charting your progress, let me know and I’ll link to it.  Another feature I plan on implementing into this blog is my entire diet.  That’s probably going to happen soon.

Until next time, just remember everything adds up.