Products
{Only my favorite commercial…}
It’s a common conception that to get ripped you have to pound protein shakes all day long.
Popular belief; however untrue.
I’ve been trying to convince the husband of this for years, yet he still throws back a protein shake before heading to the gym, or whenever he’s trying to feel strong. I think it’s a guy thing. Protein = Swoll.
While it’s true you need protein to build muscle, it’s not so much about how much you consume. It’s about when you consume it. Yes, you need adequate overall protein intake, but most people easily hit this target without trying. What’s really important is that you have protein after a workout.
Consuming protein after exercising aids in muscle growth and tissue repair. By assisting in rebuilding muscle, protein helps you recover faster. Faster recovery means better performance the next time around.
It’s not just about how you work out, it’s about how you fuel and you recover. Daily activity is important, but adequate recovery can make a world of difference.
While protein and post-workout recovery fuel is essential, remember those calories still count for your total daily budget. If your watching your calorie intake, you can always time your sweat sessions so that a meal comes afterwards. That way you can still refuel properly without adding additional calories. No matter what, shoot to refuel within 30-60 minutes post exercise.
Last week I got my butt in gear with Jennifer Cohen’s bootcamp workout. It was a great warm-up to the 8 week bootcamp I started Monday. Crossfit-ters would love it: planks, burpees, jumping rope and more. Oh the dreaded burpee.
I mixed the moves up with some of favorite baby-friendly exercises for a total body workout.
Anytime I do a workout, especially a strength workout, I make it a priority to eat protein as soon as I’m done. One of my favorite post workout snacks are these protein power balls. Protein shakes are a great option too: you can refuel and hydrate at the same time. Sometimes after a tough workout it’s easier to drink something than to take the extra effort to chew. Sounds silly, but I bet you know what I mean.
While Muscle Milk doesn’t actually contain milk, it does have whey protein in it. Whey is a great recovery protein because it’s easily digestible. However, since it is a protein from milk, I’m unable to drink it. {My son is allergic.} In order to test out Muscle Milk as a post-workout recovery option, I recruited my favorite test subject: the husband.
His assessment:
Vanilla Latte– Good, but he’d prefer it as a meal replacement, not an after-exercise supplement. The vanilla-y, cinnamon flavor wasn’t refreshing, but tasted good.
Chocolate– Delicious. A great post workout shake. Better than his typical protein powder because he didn’t have to mix it, it was just ready to go. {Good for me because that means I don’t have to scrap day-old protein off the side of the cup that never quite makes it into the dishwasher. Ugh.}
So there you have it.
How do you refuel after a workout? Do you prefer a drink or a snack?
Muscle Milk® is an ideal blend of protein, fats, good carbohydrates and 20 vitamins and minerals to provide sustained energy, spur lean muscle growth and help provide recovery after tough days.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Muscle Milk via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Muscle Milk.
Roundups
Random thoughts and things to share that have no place of their own:
First off, my baby is half a year old. HALF A YEAR.
They’re here! The very first Fitfluential shirts, sporting the rockin’ new logo.
Best part? The #proof on the back is sweat activated. ViewSport knows how to do workout gear! Available for pre-order now.
Shutterfly is hosting a “Long Live Summer” photo contest! Enter to win a trip to the Bahamas, plus win gifts just for submitting a photo.
Upcoming themes:
7/23: Water Fun
7/30: Sports & Activities
8/6: Parties & Celebrations
Y’all know how I like my photo books. 
Have you heard the buzz about the Mizuno Mezamashii Run Project?
Over the course of the year, Mizuno will give away thousands of shoes and invitations to join the Mezamashii Run Project to runners who are looking to experience more euphoric, brilliant, mezamashii running.
I love this idea of focusing on the beauty of enjoying a run for the sake of a run.
The #SurviveOn35 challenge has raised a little bit of a ruckus- both good and bad. If you’re unfamiliar with it, Anytime Fitness & Fitfluential recruited 10 bloggers to cook healthy and creative meals on $35 a week per person. 2 winners will earn a $1,000 donation to a food bank.
Whether you think this is a good campaign or not, there’s a positive outcome at the end: the chance to help those in need. And now you can help more than just 2 food banks, with the Survive on 35 Fundraiser. The money earned goes to Share Our Strength’s {one of my faves} Cooking Matters program, which teaches low income families how to prepare healthy, affordable meals.
I finally drank the BB cream koolaid. I didn’t understand the fuss, but now I do. I usually wear Bare Minerals but most of the time even that seems like too much effort. I wasn’t impressed with BB Cream at first, but with a little bit of mascara it makes my sleep deprived face look just the slightest bit more put together. Plus, supposedly it’s doing magical things to my skin.
The only problem? I have a baby who loves to lick my face. Think they make a non-toxic, baby safe BB Cream?
I’m going to bootcamp!
Tina is one of my favorite people and I’m excited to have her kick my rear into gear!
Anything you’d like to share?
Training
I guess the internet gods’ way of telling me it is indeed time to get my fitness groove back was by selecting me to do a weeklong at-home bootcamp with personal trainer Jennifer Cohen right after I posted about itching to get back into some regular fitness training. A quick bootcamp is the perfect jumpstart to get back into the training mindset.
The real kicker that now is my time was a text from a friend over the weekend. Just as I was about to sign up for a triathlon {even though the training program was cancelled}, she asked if I was going to do a semi-local charity bike ride coming up in September. Registration was on sale for the holiday…
Nudge, nudge, nudge. Yup, that’s all I needed. A no-pressure event written on the calendar and a training buddy! I really think having a concrete event and training plan is what I need in order to work around the baby’s schedule. Read: not caving in and saying, “it’s ok, I’ll go tomorrow” when I feel bad about needing someone to watch the little punkster.
So mid September I’ll be doing a two day bike ride for MS– somewhere between 15-100 miles each day; distance to be determined once I figure out how the whole breastfeeding thing works into it.
As I clicked submit I got all excited about registering for my first post-baby event. Then I realized it was really my second- the day registration opened for the North Carolina Color Run I was on it. 
It’s a little far away to get my training endorphin fix going since it’s not until November, but I can’t wait. {It’s the first thing I’ll get to cross off my Fitness Bucket List!}
So bootcamp + bike ride = officially excited. Part of the bootcamp entails testing out Muscle Milk’s nutrition shake as a workout recovery tool. I make sure to have protein after every work out to help build muscle and promote quicker recovery. The convenience of not having to make a snack or shake sounds enticing. I’ll let you know how it goes, although the husband might have to be my proxy on this one due to the babe’s allergic colitis & breastfeeding. I have an appointment next week to learn more about his allergies.
So any tips on doing an endurance event while breastfeeding? I’m more concerned about the length of the actual event, not so much the training.
Muscle Milk® is an ideal blend of protein, fats, good carbohydrates and 20 vitamins and minerals to provide sustained energy, spur lean muscle growth and help provide recovery after tough days.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Muscle Milk via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Muscle Milk.
