Search
Create an Account - | Customer Service | Healthcare Professionals | My Zone |INTERNATIONAL 
Forums > Zone Living Forums > Athletic Performance
Subject: SEARS take on workout meals

You are not authorized to post a reply.   

Author Messages
alex User is Offline
Posts:346
Zoner
Zoner
04/05/2008 12:47 PM
I was wondering if Sears himself touched on the subject of pre and post workout meals- ive read 2 of his books and they dont seem to?
Jeffrey User is Offline
Posts:237
Zoner
Zoner
04/06/2008 12:53 PM
alex, dr. sears' recommendation, iirc, is to eat a zoned snack 1/2 hour prior to working out and 1/2 hour after completing your workout.

you are free to apply this knowledge any way you see fit, just make sure your snack is balanced.

i apply his timing recommendation, although, I do eat different block sizes. for example, if i want to go to the gym an hour after eating breakfast, i will drink about 10g of protein powder (including l-glutamine) and balance it with fats and carbs. on some occasions, i'll make a 3 or 4 block zoned smoothie once i'm done working out (as opposed to a snack).

the point is - feed your body for your workout and your muscle repair cycle.

if you have a competition of some sort and want to optimize your performance for a one time event, i think i've heard dr. sears say to eat an extra block the night before to make sure you have enough energy. also, adding in some extra fat wouldn't hurt, either.
alex User is Offline
Posts:346
Zoner
Zoner
04/06/2008 7:34 PM
ok, so i workout in the morning, i eat a full, 4block PCF before i go to the gym, then right after i am done, ill have a balanced snack, and then wont eat till lunch-is that ok>? and do i count the after workout snack as a part of the 2X snacks a day?
Jeffrey User is Offline
Posts:237
Zoner
Zoner
04/06/2008 7:58 PM
alex, that sounds very reasonable to me. if you get too far from a meal, you would then eat a snack before working out. yes, this counts against your blocks. remember, if you are trying to gain lean body mass, eat an extra block every day, assuming you work out 3 or 4 times a week. try not to work out over 45 minutes - get in, work hard with little rest and get out.

you may already know this, but go for lighter weights and perfect form and control. don't swing the weights and don't drop the weights after lifting them. let them down in a controlled manner - you will lift less weight fewer times, but you will actually get more muscle work in and minimize the risk of injury. i'm currently working the 3 day workout for mass from bodybuilding.com.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hitworkout.htm

i'm not sure how well it is working just yet, but i should know in about a month or so. i'm hoping to reduce my bench 5 lb progression from 21 days to 18 days.

also, track your body measurements and your lifts and reps. you have to progress in reps or weight - that forces your muscle to grow.
alex User is Offline
Posts:346
Zoner
Zoner
04/07/2008 8:16 AM
ive been eating about 12-14 blocks a day and working out w high intensity everyday- i know what you are saying about the shorter workouts: mine are no more than 4 minutes long, but i hardly rest (usually one min at a time)
I just made my measurements or lean body mass and body fat and apparently i should be eating 17 blocks, which seems like a lot of food: the last thing i want to do is to eat too many calories and start putting on fat-right now im doing 3 reps of 8 and once im done w the last rep i swtich excersizes to one that works the same muscle, and go untill failure- the workouts are pretty intense.
Joel User is Offline
Posts:8
Newbie
Newbie
05/18/2008 7:31 PM
Jeff,

I looked over the workout at bodybuilding.com. You may want to consider a split routine. I do push (chest/shoulders/triceps) on 1 day (now further split into 2 short workouts), pull (back/biceps/rotator cuff) on 2nd, legs on 3rd day, 4th day abs but otherwise rest. I did a whole body workout for years but plateaued. At age 49 I find each muscle group requires at least 3 days for recovery.

Joel
alex User is Offline
Posts:346
Zoner
Zoner
05/19/2008 11:49 AM
three days seems a little much for a muscle group to recover-i give it 48 hours. So ill workout chest shoulders and tri on monday afternoon, then let them rest tuesday and wednesday and work them again on thursday
Joel User is Offline
Posts:8
Newbie
Newbie
05/19/2008 9:02 PM
For me, working a muscle group to total failure, at 48 hours post-workout the soreness is still increasing. This depends on individual physiology/genetics, levels of hormones such as testosterone and age. I'm 49 years old and although I take loads of supplements and vitamins take no performance enhancing drugs. I've also been lifting since 1985, so I need to work out each body part much more intensely and there is no way to do a satisfactory whole body workout in 40 minutes. The average 20 year old could work out as frequently as you suggest and make optimal gains. As long as you're making excellent gains just keep doing what you're doing, but next time you hit a plateau try splitting up body parts and increasing rest interval for each body part.

Joel
alex User is Offline
Posts:346
Zoner
Zoner
05/20/2008 9:34 AM
yeah, i dont think i hit a plateua, i just was judging my performance gains on my bench press, which i figured out i had bad form-and would use more of my shoulders, therefore coulnt lift alot of weight and wouldnt work my intended muscle group. Ive been doing dumb presses instead and can get a much better stimulation w them. I think in the next week or so ill be seeing imporovemnts
Dave User is Offline
Posts:23
Aspiring
Aspiring

06/02/2008 11:42 PM
I apologize for hijacking this post but it seems that there is a lot of good info here...

What are your thoughts on using supplements like cee and NO2 along with Zone meal plans?

Dave
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Forums > Zone Living Forums > Athletic Performance > SEARS take on workout meals


ActiveForums 3.6
Enter your email address:
Learn More
Facebook
Sm New

A great way to stay In The Zone!
Start getting Zone recipes, tips, articles and exclusive promotions sent right to your inbox!

After you provide your email address we’ll send you a confirmation email. You can “opt-out” of this program at anytime by following the simple instructions provided at the end of every email we send you. We will never send too many emails (spam) and we’ll never sell of rent your email to another company.

If you are already registerd with ZoneDiet.com and are receiving emails from Dr. Sears Zone then you do not need to provide your email address to us at this time.

To assure your Zone emails reach your inbox, be sure to add our email address,
reply@zoneliving.com, to your address book.
© 2010 Zone Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.        Privacy Statement | Terms Of Use | About Zone Labs | Contact Us | Affiliates | Press Room | Careers | Site Map