Pre and Post Workout Meals That Jump Start the Muscle Building Process

Pre and post workout meals are a very important part of the muscle building equation.

To jump start the muscle building process…

You need to ensure you have an abundance of amino acids in your bloodstream before, during, and for several hours after your workout.

You want to create the optimal muscle building environment inside your body before, during, and after your weight lifting workout.

Our secret to building more muscle from each workout lies in the pre, during, and post workout eating protocols.

But please… whatever you do: Do not ignore the other meals during the day as the majority of your meals are actually the most important.

Don't eat horrible throughout the day, and then follow the protocols in this section perfectly and expect to get optimal results.

When you have all of your meals outside of the pre, during, and post workout period optimized AND THEN you add the pre, during, and post workout protocols outlined here: you will maximize your muscle building and fat loss results.

You will soon see how powerful these secrets really are …

Pre Workout and During Your Workout

Your pre-workout meal will be in liquid form.

This shake that you'll make right before your workout will also be utilized during your weight lifting workout.

Fix the shake right before your workout. You'll drink about half of this shake before you start your workout and sip on the rest during your workout along with extra amounts of water. You should finish the shake about halfway through your workout.

What exactly should your pre workout shake contain?

• Simple Carbohydrates
• Amino Acids

Simple carbs will raise your blood sugar levels as discussed in earlier sections and invoke an insulin response.

Insulin is a storage hormone, and that's exactly what you want around the weight lifting workout period. You want your body to uptake the amino acids and shuttle them straight to the muscles.

Ingredients for the Pre Workout Shake:

• 0.3 to 0.4 grams of simple carbs per pound of lean body mass
• 0.1 grams of BCAAs per pound of lean body mass

BCAAs = Branched Chain Amino Acids

Good Sources of Simple Carbs (in order of recommendation):

• Waxy Maize Starch
• Dextrose/Maltodextrin (50/50 mix)
• Dextrose

So, let's look at a few examples of some pre workout shakes for different categories of people:

Example 1
180 Pound Male
15% Body Fat
153 pounds Lean Body Mass

Ingredients:
46 to 61 grams of Simple Carbs
15 grams of BCAAs

Example 2
160 Pound Female
25% Body Fat
120 pounds of Lean Body Mass

Ingredients:
36 to 48 grams of Simple Carbs
12 grams of BCAAs

Example 3
240 Pound Male
12% Body Fat
211 pounds Lean Body Mass

Ingredients:
63 to 84 grams of Simple Carbs
21 grams of BCAA's

Example 4
120 Pound Female
15% Body Fat
102 pounds of Lean Body Mass

Ingredients:
30 to 40 grams of Simple Carbs
10 grams of BCAAs

I've included a calculator as a bonus to this course that you will get later so you don't have to worry about making any calculations.

Now you might have a few questions after reading about this pre workout concoction you've got to make up to drink before your workout and during your workout.

What are BCAAs?

Branched Chain Amino Acids. They have proven to increase the release of insulin when combined with simple carbohydratess post workout. And they've proved their effectiveness in building muscle over and over.

You have to know your lean body mass for several calculations throughout this program. How do you know your lean body mass?

You will soon learn how to calculate your lean body mass by taking skin fold measurements with a pair of body fat calipers. Many of you already know how to do this while some of you may not. Don't worry, though…

I've written an easy to understand guide included with the WLC System. You'll only spend a minute or so each time you measure your body fat.

Post Workout Eating Protocol

For post workout, you will have another liquid shake directly after you finish your workout. The contents of the shake will mirror your pre workout shake EXACTLY. So, follow the exact pre workout shake guidelines.

You simply make another shake exactly like your pre workout shake and drink it immediately after you are finished working out.

Always follow these guidelines no matter if your goal is to burn fat or build muscle. You will always optimize the muscle building environment around your workouts. You are lifting weights to build muscle.

After you drink the post workout shake, your blood sugar levels are going to be very high and insulin will be released as a response to the very high blood sugar levels.

You want to eat a whole food meal about 30 minutes after you drink your post workout shake so that your blood sugar levels do not come crashing down.

The whole food meal needs to contain complex carbohydrates and lean protein. Keep this meal low on fat.

You don't want to eat fat during this period because it's the perfect time for your body to store what you are feeding it. So you should feed your body only the best sources of food at this time.

The whole food meal should contain about 0.15 to 0.2 times your lean body mass in pounds of carbs and protein. If you have 200 pounds of lean muscle mass, this means you would eat 30 to 40 protein grams and 30 to 40 grams of carbs.

The amounts do not have to be perfect.

Simply eat a good source of lean protein and a good source of complex carbohydrates. This whole food meal will help stabilize your blood sugar levels so they don't crash on you.

You'll know if your blood sugar levels crash. You'll feel it. It's not a very pleasant feeling. You don't want them crashing, so ensure you eat this whole food meal approximately 30 minutes after you drink your post workout shake.

Let me give you a few examples that will help you with this post workout whole food meal:

Example 1
180 Pound Male
15% Body Fat
153 pounds Lean Body Mass

Whole Food Meal:
(0.15)(153) = 23 grams
(0.2)(153) = 31 grams
23 grams of Protein
31 grams of Carbs

Example Meal:
Chicken Breast and White Potato

Example 2
160 Pound Female
25% Body Fat
120 pounds of Lean Body Mass

Whole Food Meal:
(0.15)(120) = 18 grams
(0.2)(120) = 24 grams
18 grams of Protein
24 grams of Carbs

Example Meal:
Flounder and Lima Beans

Any whole food source of protein and a complex carbohydrate will work here. Remember, you must have the post workout shake first and then the whole food meal 30 minutes later.

Fitting the Post Workout Protocol Into Your Schedule

Once you eat the whole food meal 30 minutes after your post workout shake with simple carbs and BCAA's, you need to have a regularly scheduled meal one hour later.

So, here's the schedule from pre workout to a few hours post workout:

1. Fix pre workout shake
2. Drink half your pre workout shake
3. Workout
4. Finish pre workout shake halfway thru workout
5. Finish Workout
6. Drink post workout shake
7. Thirty minutes later have whole food meal
8. One hour later have regularly scheduled meal

All you have to do is schedule one of your regular meals 1 hour after your whole food meal. So it's easy to fit this pre and post workout eating protocol into your meal plan.

You only have to do this on weight lifting workout days. This pre and post workout protocol only applies for weight lifting workouts — not cardiovascular workouts.

Navigation Links for the WLC System

You are currently within the WLC System section of the website.

– Previous: Meal plan layouts
– Next: Daily calories

Here's where you're at within Weight Lifting Complete:
You're Here: WLC / WLC System / Pre and Post Workout Meals