Intense weight training at Coop’s Iron Works can cause micro-tears in your muscle fibers. These tears need protein to repair, and protein breaks down into amino acids, which is where the term protein shakes comes from.
After a workout, it is important to consume protein right away in order to replenish what was lost in your muscles during that workout. This protein should come from food sources, like protein bars or protein powders, rather than shakes.
You should also be consuming carbohydrates after working out because carbohydrates are the best energy source; they work to restore glycogen levels post workout. You may want to consider having fruit smoothies or protein/carbohydrate additives like dextrose powder after workouts, though protein shakes should always be consumed to help with protein synthesis and overall muscle growth.
Best time for optimal absorption
After an intense weight training workout, it is extremely important for muscle growth to replenish and begin to repair the muscles that were essentially torn down. Your window of opportunity for optimal absorption is about 30 minutes post workout.
Most people think it’s all about the protein intake. Where that is definitely an important factor, you must also include some carbohydrates in this equation. How many carbohydrates should you ingest after a full body workout? You would be surprised, but actually the ratio is not what people think. You must do a 2/1 (carb/protein) ratio for optimal absorption. This means if you ingest 20 grams of protein you will need about 40 grams of carbs.
So what are the best carbs to eat post workout? Whole grains, pastas, white rice, potatoes, whole wheat bread, fruit, and dark leafy greens. You want to also keep in mind you weight control. It’s important that you don’t over eat or under eat. Coop’s Iron Works wants to make sure their members know the balance of working out and eating properly pre and post workout. That is why it’s important to identify the muscle group you want to target for each strength training workout and aerobic exercise.
What are good snack foods?
It is important to always lead a balanced and healthy living from your home life to your gym life. At Coop’s we take strength training seriously and work hard to educate our members about the proper workouts, weight lifting, cardio workouts, group fitness classes, indoor cycling classes, and all we have to offer. Our knowledgeable and experienced trainers are here to instruct classes and help all of our members reach their workout and nutritional goals.
When weight lifters repeat the same exercise throughout the week, they need to also include in the right ways of eating. Most people that workout at Coop’s Iron Works on Bay Road in Saginaw, are going from one place to the next and don’t have time for a full meal. So it’s important to not have too many processed foods, but to have healthy snack alternatives. Foods with whole grains are breads, pastas, and rice. So you can pack a healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or maybe a bag full of nuts, fruits, vegetables, dairy products (such as Greek yogurt), or even oatmeal.
There are many foods you want to steer clear of, those are the highly processed items, foods with added sugar, and anything that is going to add weight in the wrong ways. We want to maintain muscle over fat. Having enough physical activity throughout the week will lead to stronger muscles and core strength. Will you always maintain the weight you want, no. That is where Coop’s comes in to help you with helping to add physical activity to your lifestyle with increased muscular strength, proper form, cardiovascular health, and support for your full range workouts.
Not yet a member of our gym? What are you waiting for? Right now Coop’s Iron Works is running our 2022 New Year / No Excuses sale on memberships and indoor cycling punchcards. These incredible rates won’t last long, so sign up for the gym membership that fits your needs and goals for the new year!
Weight training and its benefits:
When it comes to weight training workouts they are a strenuous task, which your body needs to recover from. For those who exercise often, it is important to keep up with the time between strength training sessions and eat what it takes to replenish what you use during each full body workout.
There are many factors that influence how much muscle weight one can gain after weight training exercises such as: genetics, body weight, weight lifting experience, nutrition before and after the weight lifting workout, proper lifting technique, and weight lifting form. Working with one of our medical education trainers will help you to learn the health benefits and the proper strength training exercises. Doing a weight training program and watching what you ingest and how much, will benefit you and your body in the long run.
If you do not let your muscles rest and recuperate after weight training enough then you won’t grow as much muscle as if you were to take sufficient time off between weight training sessions. When you lift weights or do resistance training your muscles become sore and inflamed because of lactic acid build up. This causes the weight training and strength training workouts to not only affect the targeted muscle groups but also surrounding tissues, including tendons and ligaments.
If weight training sessions at Coop’s Iron Works in Saginaw, Michigan are too close together then weight lifters become more susceptible to injury. Due to added stress on their bodies during weight lifting sessions that are less than 48-72 hours apart. The weight lifter’s muscles need time to repair themselves and grow back stronger before the next intense exercise session.
One weight training technique that weight lifters use is to lift weight in sets, with each set consisting of reps. When you do weight training and strength training workouts in sets your muscles become fatigued much quicker than if you lift weights from reps until complete muscle failure. It is said that weight lifting workout has a rate of diminishing returns, meaning that after the first few sets the weight loss per set becomes less and less as fatigue builds up. In order to build maximum muscle growth with Coop’s one should end their weight training work out before reaching this point of diminishing returns.
The proper food intake with strength training
Working out at Coop’s Iron Works in Saginaw, Michigan is the best gym and fitness facility in the Tri-Cities! Our personal trainers know the health benefits of working out and weight training. Each trainer knows how to mix cardio with strength training, weight training, resistance training and full body workouts. Each trainer has experience in sports medicine, dietary nutrition, upper body and lower body workouts, and what each muscle group does for you.
When our licensed trainers work with you on an entire body workout, they take into account so many factors from your body weight, to your diet, to how often you workout and what you do while working out. They will help you develop an exercise plan along with a dietary plan to help your body achieve maximum strength and muscle tone.
Some of the many workouts our trainers will work with you on is free weights, bicep curl, proper ways to warm up to workout, bench press, and help you to prevent injury that may occur if you don’t workout safely and properly. So what are the proper proteins to eat? Well first, we need to have proper hydration. You body needs water to function at its highest! Make sure you are working out with a water bottle and not allowing your body to dehydrate.
A general rule of thumb for protein consumptions is 0.14-0.23 grams of protein per pound of body weight within 30 minutes of your workout. This equation is about 20-40 grams of protein post workout. It’s also healthy have ingest protein before working out, studies have shown that this helps with muscle growth. Protein powders, shakes and bars are the best sources of protein quickly after a workout. It is best to consume a meal balanced with carbohydrates and protein every 3-4 hours if you are exercising consistently.
Weight Training Workout Routine
When you workout you want to always mix cardio into your strength and weight training sessions. When you are working on weight training, be sure to have a spotter while using the bench press, target specific muscle groups, work on particular exercise you enjoy, having good form, and working with a trainer to help with your exercise routine. Having the correct form while weight lifting is crucial. You want to be in the right starting position and start with less weight or free weights, and work up to larger weights. Make sure between workouts you give your muscles time to heal and repair. Allowing your muscle groups time to repair will aid in your weight lifting and training goals.
Are you interested in nutrition classes, health and fitness seminars and strength training? Contact Coop’s Iron Works today for the best instructors, state of the art equipment, fitness facility, and prices around! Our 2022 New Year / No Excuses sales is still running and we want to add you as one of our valued members!
