Hey Trainerdan,

Thank you for all the extensive posting you've been doing. I know I and many others have gotten so much out of the information you share.

I know I've brought this up once before, but your earlier response has left me with questions and doubts. Here's my question: the authors of Protein Power state categorically that you should lift weights on an empty stomach, should hydrate yourself during the exercise only with water, and should not eat carbs for an hour after you've lifted, or you can "kiss your growth hormone goodbye." Your earlier statement seemed to imply that there is actually controversy about this advice. I usually lift weights in the morning and I just find it so hard not to have a little something for breakfast about a half hour before I lift, so obviously my stomach is not empty when I lift. Should I worry that I'm "kissing my growth hormone goodbye?" Give it to me straight.

Missydog

I have nearly the same question from that passage of PP! Add to the questions for TrainerDan:

1) They say not to eat carbs for an hour after resistance training. How about a whey protein drink that has 4 gms of carb? Too much?

2) Influenced by another TrainerDan post, I'm doing 20 min. cardio in the morning on an empty stomach and then resistance training later in the day. Four days a week I work from about noon to midnight. On those days would it be better to:
a) Skip the morning cardio and just do the resistance training
b) Do the resistance training 2 hours after the morning cardio
c) Do the resistance training at midnight and then go to bed an hour afterward? (In this last case, would I eat something after the workout?)

MissyDog: Have you read the following thread about am cardio workouts on an empty stomach? It's an all-time great thread and addresses your question on the second page.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=21258

TrainerDan: like MissyDog, I have gotten invaluable information from your posts and I am deeply grateful for the time you've taken to share your vast practical knowledge.

Allison

Allison,

Thanks for the link on AM cardio. I know it's what I SHOULD be doing, but I don't always do it. My question for TrainerDan, however, pertains to lifting weights. I mean, just how essential is it for your human growth hormone that you lift weights on an empty stomach?

Missydog

I am not a doctor, I haven't written a best selling nutrition book (yet). The authors of protein power have me on that.

But, I have trained hundreds of people, conducted thousands of workouts, and have a group of friends that have competed as fitness competitors or bodybuilders.

I am saying all this because the GH response thing is such a SMALL thing to get all worked up over ... IF it even happens.

The body releases its own growth homone aprox. 90 mins after you go to sleep, usually in stage 4 sleep.

It also does it after INTENSE weight training. The arguement is that if there is food in the bloodstream that it will blint the GH response. Again, this is a point of major controversy that is like arguing which came first .. the chicken or the egg?

The universally accepted nutrition strategies that the majority of fitness/bodybuilders use before and after workouts looks something like this:
'
1 hour prior: consume a protein shake or meal replacement bar

during: consume water or sports drink

within 30 mins after: consume protein shake

within 1 1/2 hours: consume meal, protein rich.

People have been doing this for years and adding muscle. Was their GH response blunted? Who knows. But they are more muscular, and leaner so does it matter?

I say stick with what works.

But, do what your body feels right doing. Personally, I can't work out as intense if I have nothing in my system. While that is OK for AM cardio, for weights I would not be able lift anywhere near my normal intensity.

So, for me I get good results following the plan I laid out above. My body gets the amino acids from the protein into it before the workout (to act as fuel) and then again AFTER to be used in the repair/recovery process.

I get my GH every night.

Hope this helps ...

No, not too much. Go for it. Your muscles will thank you.



I say go with B if feasible, but make sure you get a protein shake in there ... If B is too much, go with A. C would probably keep you awake all night.

Trainerdan,

Thanks for your response to my question regarding growth hormone. While you may not have written a best selling nutrition book (yet, as you say), I have enormous respect and faith in your experience when it comes to training, and I am glad to know I have been getting worked up over a relatively minor issue. Now I will enjoy my weight lifting more, and can stop worrying. I'll get my growth hormone after I turn in for the night. Thanks again.

Missydog

Thanks for the advice, Dan. I will follow it.

I am enjoying all this exercise much more than I ever anticipated. I think my past reluctance came from bad experiences exercising while following low-fat, low-cal diets. Poor results from low-intensity aerobic exercise also made me feel like it was futile.

Allison