Tip of the week
TIMING IS EVERYTHING!
No doubt about it, supplements are a critical component to achieving your physique and
performance goals. And, for most of you, that means gaining more strength and endurance
while building lean muscle and shedding as much fat as possible. But even if you know the
right supplements to take, if you don't take them at the right times, their benefits will be
limited.
As they say, "Timing is everything," and that maxim doesn't ring any truer than for
supplements. In fact, research confirms that those taking whey and creatine around
workouts achieve significantly greater results than those taking them at other times. This is
merely one example of the science-backed truth behind supplement timing. To help you get
the most bang for your buck, let us walk you through the perfect day of supplementation,
from wake-up call to bedtime.
Wake Up
Immediately Upon Waking
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————
→ 5g
Caffeine —————————→ 200mg
When you wake up, your body has essentially been fasting for the past 6-9 hours and has
begun turning to your muscles for fuel, so you obviously want to stop this process ASAP.
Eating eggs or other whole-food proteins, like chicken or dairy, will take far too long to
digest and stop the attack on your muscles. The only thing that will work is a whey protein
shake, as whey is the fastest digesting form of protein, and in less than 20 minutes, its
amino acids will start to reach your muscles. Adding some extra branched-chain amino acids
(BCAAs) to the shake will further help stop catabolism (muscle breakdown) and turn on
muscle protein synthesis.
TIMING TIP
If you work out in the morning, this will be your pre-workout supplement plan, in addition
to
any other pre-workout supps you take.
Also, consider eating a piece of fruit with your protein shake. When you fast all night, your
liver uses up its stores of glycogen (the storage form of glucose), which signals the body to
use amino acids from your muscles for fuel. The small amount of glucose also doesn't cause
a huge blood glucose spike just enough to raise insulin a bit, which also helps to signal the
body to stop breaking down muscle.
If you like to start your day with a cup of coffee to give you a kick-start, consider taking a
caffeine pill instead. A recent study found that caffeinated coffee kept levels of the musclewasting hormone cortisol high in the morning. Even research subjects drinking decaf had
slightly higher levels of cortisol than those drinking water, which is likely due to other
chemicals present in coffee. A caffeine pill will give you just what you need: a jolt to wake
you up and increase fat burning without affecting cortisol as much.
Breakfast
30 To 60 Minutes After Waking
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Multivitamin ——————→ 1 dose
B complex 100 —————
→ 1 dose
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Vitamin E ———————→ 400-800 IU
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
After your protein shake and a piece of fruit, you can do your usual morning ritual (take a
shower, get dressed, do your hair and makeup, etc.). About 30-60 minutes after the shake,
it's time to eat again, only this time you want whole foods like eggs and oatmeal. This is also
a good time to get in a good dose of some other critical micronutrients that are better
absorbed when taken with food. First on the list is your multivitamin and mineral complex.
Of course, a hard-training woman needs more of certain vitamins and minerals than most
typical multis provide, so add a B vitamin complex; vitamins C, D, and E; along with calcium.
You'll also need fish oil, which has a laundry list of benefits, including enhancing heart, brain,
and joint health; as well as improving muscle recovery and helping to promote fat loss.
Midmorning
60 To 90 Minutes After Breakfast
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Between breakfast and lunch-perhaps with a snack you have during this window-take a dose
of green tea extract. Green tea, like fish oil, is nothing short of a wonder supplement. It
contains polyphenols, notably EGCG, which not only increases fat burning but aids joint and
muscle recovery as well. Drinking green tea, however, won't produce maximum effect.
Research shows that the polyphenols from green tea beverages aren't absorbed as readily
as those from green tea extract supplements.
Lunch
With Lunch
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
Most of us eat lunch at work. And it's tough following a supplement plan when you never
know whether lunch is going to be at your favorite local restaurant, during a meeting, or at
your desk. Do yourself one favor and store a bottle of fish oil in your desk to take around
lunchtime. Taking fish oil within 30 minutes before or after eating is just as good as taking it
with a meal.
Pre-Workout No. 1
60 Minutes Before Exercise
FUN FACT
Current research suggests that the combination of caffeine and green tea burned more fat
than either supplement alone.
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Caffeine ————————→ 200-400mg
Green Tea Extract ————→ 500-1,000mg
(standardized for at least 30% EGCG)
Pre-Workout/NO Booster → 1 dose
If you want to maximize your endurance, strength, and fat burning during your workout
(why wouldn't you?), your best bet is to take pre-workout supplements within an hour
before training. This is a great time to get in a dose of caffeine to give you the boost you
need for an intense workout. A dose of green tea will further enhance fat burning and
endurance, as well as aid muscle recovery after the workout.
If you're really serious about training intensity, consider taking a pre-workout nitric oxide
(NO) supplement. Boosting NO levels has been shown in clinical studies to increase
endurance and strength during workouts as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss. Many
NO-boosting products provide caffeine as well, killing two birds with one stone.
Pre-Workout No. 2
15 To 30 Minutes Before Exercise
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
BCAAs —————————
→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
As the workout gets closer, within 15-30 minutes, think about fueling your body. Although
most people think of carbs when they hear the term fuel, your first line of thought should
actually be whey protein. Your muscles use amino acids for fuel during intense workouts,
and if you don't provide your body with a quick source of aminos (whey), it will take them
from your muscles. Pre-workout whey will also be there to help with muscle recovery and
growth during the workout. Confused about how muscles start recovering during workouts?
Well, you typically train more than one muscle group each workout-for example, chest,
triceps, and abs. When you're training triceps, your chest is already in recovery mode, and
you don't want to wait until the end of the workout to give it aminos. You'll also want to add
BCAAs to this shake. These amino acids are the most critical when it comes to fueling your
muscles during workouts. They also trick your brain into blunting fatigue so that you can
stay stronger for longer. Then there's creatine, which is not for men only; it is another
critical source of fuel for your working muscles. Finally, if you want to further boost energy,
endurance, and strength, as well as aid muscle growth and fat loss, add beta-alanine to the
mix. This amino acid is gaining the kind of respect that creatine has garnered in the
supplement world.
Post-Workout
Within 45 Minutes Of Exercise
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Whey Protein ——————→ 20g
Casein Protein —————→ 10-20g
BCAAs —————————
→ 5g
Creatine ————————→ 2-5g
Beta-Alanine ——————→ 2-3g
Fast Carbs ———————
→ 30-60g
After workouts, you have a 45-minute window, at the most, to refuel your muscles. Miss the
window and you just blew your opportunity to maximize muscle recovery. The nutrients
here need to work very quickly, so drinking a whey protein shake is your best bet. You also
need more BCAAs to ensure that muscle protein synthesis is maximized, as well as more
creatine and beta-alanine to restock your muscles for the next workout.
After workouts, you should also add some casein protein to your protein shake. This veryslow-digesting protein keeps protein synthesis going for many hours after the workout to
enhance recovery and results.
TIMING TIP
If you're fearful that late-night carbs will be converted to body fat,
limit fast carbs
post-workout to 20-30g.
During the workout, you burned up a good deal of your muscle glycogen, so you also need
to get carbs to your muscles in a hurry. Anything with fructose won't get to your muscles
fast enough, so try to avoid foods like fruit or table sugar (sucrose). If you want to go the
supplement route for carbs, good choices are dextrose powder (which is essentially glucose)
or Vitargo, a branched chain of glucose molecules that has been found to reach muscles
faster than sugar. If you prefer to have some fun after workouts and treat yourself, take a
look at Wonka candies. The Pixy Stix and Bottle Caps use dextrose as the main sugar; few
other candy companies make fructose-free candy. Other good carb options are white bread
and white potatoes, which are pure starch
(glucose chains).
Dinner
With Dinner
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Vitamin C ———————→ 1,000mg
Calcium ————————→ 500-600mg
Vitamin D ———————→ 1,000-3,000 IU
Whether you compete in sports or not, a woman who trains as hard as you do, for all intents
and purposes, is an athlete. Research shows that athletes lose a lot of micronutrients
through training, so make sure to get in another dose of the more critical ones-vitamin C,
calcium, vitamin D-with dinner.
Bedtime
30 Minutes Before Going To Bed
WHAT
HOW MUCH
Casein Protein —————→ 20g
Fish Oil ————————→ 2-3g
We already discussed what happens in your body while you sleep. The good news is, you
can help to prevent the muscle breakdown that normally occurs with the help of the slowdigesting protein casein. Just be sure the casein you choose lists micellar casein first on the
ingredients list. This is the slowest digesting protein you can get; it takes a good 7-8 hours,
providing your body a slow and steady stream of amino acids all night long. Your body will
use these amino acids for fuel instead of breaking down the aminos from your muscle fibers.
Also, get in one final dose of fish oil at this time. Fat will help to further slow down digestion
rate, and the omega-3s will provide a host of other health benefits.