Maximize The Windows of Opportunity For Explosive Muscle Growth


You have two main windows of opportunity when your training. One is 30 minutes before you train (pre-workout meal) and another comes about 30-60 minutes after your workout is over (post-workout meal). The pre-workout meal should consist of a starchy carb and lean protein. The starchy carb will supply the energy you need to get through an intense workout. The protein provides the much needed fuel for your muscles, so they keep a positive nitrogen balance. A great pre-workout meal would be consumed 30 minutes before your workout and would consist of 1 cup of natural oatmeal with one scoop of protein powder. Try to stick with whey protein. Mix it with some water and microwave the dish for about 2 minutes. Stir it up and eat it with a big glass of water.

Your post-workout meal should be consumed as quickly after your workout as possible. This should consist of a simple sugar to spike your insulin levels and rush glycogen back into your muscles which are screaming for fuel by now. Try to stick with either dextrose or maltodextrin as your main source of simple sugar. These can be found in your MRP (meal replacement powder). Also, add another supply of protein to the mix. If you are using a post-workout dextrose based drink, add another scoop of whey protein to it and shake it up. If your drinking an MRP, you should be perfectly fine. Shoot for around 20-30 grams of protein before your workout and 30-50 grams of protein after your workout.

Kris Bierek is a fitness specialist for the health and fitness site http://www.ShapeFit.com where you can find FREE fitness tools like fitness newsletters, dieting tips, weight loss help, exercise questions and a free fitness analysis to help you get into the best shape of your life!

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Building Muscle Information:

Related Articles

A Recovered Treasure: The Pilates Method
Uncovered After 80 Years of Dormancy, Pilates is Far From Dead.In a way, he's a lot like Edgar Allen Poe.
Know Your Muscle Building Exercises - The Chest
Every bodybuilder and weight trainer will have his or her favorite exercises for each body part. That's how it should be - as you progress through the various stages of learning you'll understand what works best for you.
The Skinny on Muscle Imbalances - Restoring Order As A Means Of Eliminating Back Pain
There are many causes of back pain. Injury, illness, herniated disks and poor posture are just a few.
Increase Your Training Intensity - Forced Repetitions
You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth.
Muscle Building Tips and Supplements: Dos and Donts
Packing on Muscle mass involves a lot of dedication and care. At times, trying too hard can have its negative effects too.
Can Growth Hormone Boosters Enhance Muscle Growth?
Many experts feel that supplementation with growth hormones offers exciting possibilities to adult bodybuilders, especially those aged over thirty. They should not be taken by anyone aged under twenty.
Comeback Bench Program
For those who are not familiar with my name, I am a National Level Strongman competitor in the United States. I lift stones that weigh just under 400 pounds, flip a 900+ pound tire routinely, and lift logs overhead.
Before and After Photos in Fitness Magazines
Some supplement companies will go to any lengths to prove their products' effectiveness. But sometimes the evidence isn't quite what it's cracked up to be.
Body Part Isolation vs. Complex Movements in Strength Training - Build Real Muscle Instead of Fake!
Working as a fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:"What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice - abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?"It doesn't matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to 'isolate' it.
Power Mass Training for Building Muscle Mass
Many people believe you need to train with a variety ofweights and reps in order to maximize your muscle buildingprogress. I believe that you can find the appropriate repnumber for your muscles and it is best to stick with thatrange most of the time.
The How To Guide for Six Pack Abs
First off I want to mention that, for most people, getting six pack abs is not an easy task. It requires serious dedication, but it is possible! If were blessed with naturally low body fat and good muscle definition, enjoy it! Otherwise, below is a general 2-step guide that, if followed religiously for 3 months, will produce results.
But I Dont Want Muscles! Part 1: What Muscle is, and how to Build (or Avoid) It
One of the common comments I hear from my female clients is, "Please don't give me any weights work - I don't want any muscle, I just want to tone." The reasons differ from client to client, but it most often they seem to be based on a misunderstanding of what muscle is, how we build it, what it has to do with weight loss - or some combination of the above.
Muscle-Building Exercises and Growth-Boosters
I have 'emerged' some subtle bodybuilding techniques that infuse rapid muscle-growth to any trainee. You see, the "factor of top intensity levels" in combination with "aggressive workouts that expel pure testosterone bursts", is the key to a fantastic muscular development.
Resistance Training With Your Dog
You may be wondering, "How can I possibly do resistance training with my dog?" Well, here are a few exercises you can do with the aid of your faithful furry companion.Leg raises - if you have a male dog, he's probably already shown you how to do this one.
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (Lose Body Fat) - Product Review
At first glance, this product manual's title (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) was a bit distracting. While the 300+ page manual does a good job of explaining how increased muscle strength helps lose body fat and why its more important to lose body fat versus lose weight; I wasn't sure about the content of the product manual until I read it in its entirety.
Sneak a Little Intensity into Your Workout
You know you're on autopilot during your workouts when, halfway through you're set on the pec dec, you realize you're sitting on someone's lap. It's time to shake things up a bit.
How To Avoid Injury From Poor Exercise Performance!
Another key secret is your exercise form. Perfect form is critical when performing any specific exercise in your own routine.
"Bodybuilding Sins" That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts
It's one thing for someone who sits at a computer all day and never exercises to have back pain, but for a bodybuilder, someone who spends hours and hours each week pouring everything they've got into building muscle, it should be criminal!The reason we say this is because, if you are going to spend so much time, money, and energy trying to build the "perfect body", you have to make sure that you not only look good, but also feel good?We've identified what we call "Bodybuilding Sins" that lead to back pain, sciatic pain, and other injuries? read em and take action now if you are serious about bodybuilding and are fed up with your back pain.Because there is so much information to share with you, we've broken it down into a series of 5 articles, each covering a different component of how back pain affects bodybuilders.
Know Your Muscles - The Chest And Upper Back
Becoming familiar with the muscles that make up your body has more benefits than simply allowing you to talk shop with your training partners. The more familiar you are with the muscles you're working, the better you'll be able to judge what's needed to make improvements.
Deep Muscle Soreness And Body-Shock Fatigue
In my experience there are two distinct types of muscular fatigue associated with intense progressive resistance training (only intense training is sufficient to trigger muscle hypertrophy) and these two types should be recognized and understood. The first type of fatigue is direct muscle soreness and is the result of a particular exercise targeting a specific muscle.