Here is another one that puzzles me.
They say to take your after workout drink immediately after lifting weights so that you hit the “window’ of opportunity which I understand to be anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes after you finish lifting. But right after lifting I do anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes of cardio and if I take the drink prior to doing cardio I feel sluggish and sick to my stomach during cardio.
Is it OK to take it after I finish cardio rather than when I finish lifting?

Alright Captain, the whole "window of oppertunity thing" is a load of ****. Never proven and only theoretical. Fact is, once a consistant weight lifting program is undergone, every HOUR (for up to 36 hours) is your window of oppertunity. True that you are in need of calories after calory expenditure, but that is only common sense and of course it is a good idea to eat after your workout, but not because of some mythological "45 mins open window".

Think of it this way, would you eat like **** all day and then only have 1 good meal after your workout?? God, I would hope not!!?? Or, would you rather eat 6 quality meals a day to support your continued growth? Don't get caught up in the marketing hype (although brilliant) of all these 'supplement companies' that claim to have the GREATEST POST-WORKOUT FORMULA there is! And to take advantage of your 45 min window of oppertunity to grow 1600000% more than if you missed that 45 min oppertunity!! It is just down right stupid.

Anyways, that **** drives me NUTS and I gotta do my best to help set the record straight. Eat your post-workout meal AFTER you've completed your entire workout session.

I thank you for your valuable input. I started this whole working out thing rather late in life and while enjoying it immensely I feel that I am as dumb as a brick when it comes to knowing all the what, where & how’s.
I am thankful that I stumbled onto Beverly International’s sight and can ask questions from people with real world workout experience.

quote:

Eat your post-workout meal AFTER you've completed your entire workout session.

There are some other aspects about this and as I get more details, I will post it. On fat loss programs, I understand it is better to wait up to 1 hour after working out. In many cases (people are different), if muscle is used for energy, it is mainly used during the time of exercise, such as endurance not continually after. The use of L-Carnitine, BCAAs or other amino acids, will help to preserve the muscle and shift over to stored fat and use both, aminos and fat for energy. The use of fat is a much longer process to convert but the body will do so more likely during resting and not during intense training as it can convert protein to energy, faster.

In summary, post workout shake or meal immediately after could interfere with fat burning, if that is your goal.

If bulking up I like to have 2 scoops of MP and 30g waxy maize with creatine and L- Glut right after the workout then wait 1-1:30 min later and have a chicken and baked potato meal.

I read in a text book, (don't quote me this is from what I remember) Digestion slows to a crawl during intense workouts. So, I would think wait till your entire workout is finished, or else you got your drink in there sloshing around but not even getting past or even into your duodenum...or is it jejunum...maybe ilium? who knows, I sure don't remember.

If that's true though, glutamine select during workouts would be useless? Then again doesn't your body "digest" water during workouts? If it does, which I would imagine it does, what does the body do with the powder you mixed in? put it on hold? to answer your question, I just came up with more questions sorry.

I remember when my dad poked me in the stomach a few weeks ago and I screamed "Ouch my duodenum!!!"

He was puzzled. My husband almost peed his pants laughing though.

What I recommend in your situation is to take 1-3 scoops Glutamine Select Plus BCAA's and maybe some additional Muscle Mass BCAA’s during your training and a Beverly protein shake or high protein meal after your cardio session.

Your muscle tissue is high in BCAA’s and because BCAA’s are used up in great amounts during training and endurance activity, supplementing with extra BCAA’s (and Glutamine) becomes really important for building muscle, maintaining energy during training/cardio, keeping blood sugar levels stable and preventing overtraining/muscle loss. BCAA’s are also great for fat loss! This drink will make you feel great during your training and cardio - not sluggish at all!

Your nutritional “window of opportunity” is a 24 hr 365 day a year opportunity. All the other hours in the day are just as important as the hour post training. If you are feeding your body high quality protein, essential fats and complex carbs throughout the day (every 2-4 hours) you will have success.