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Right before your workout: Like you said, it's best not to exercise on a full stomach, so you should avoid large meals for about 1.5-2 hours beforehand. This will obviously vary depending on how long it takes you to digest. However, it's also really difficult to work out if you're hungry, so if you need a snack right before you exercise you should choose ...

The short answer is yes continue your normally scheduled workout session. The soreness will be greatly lessened over time as you get used to using your muscles regularly. It is better to have a light day and keep exercising than it is to skip altogether. Now, severe DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), as it sounds like you are experiencing, is a symptom ...

High heart rate workouts (running, swimming) You need to replenish carbs and electrolytes Sports drinks are probably preferred Fruits help replenish carbs, some better than others Low heart rate/high load workouts (strength training/body building) You need to replenish protein Best consumed within 1 hour post workout Special properties of Bananas ...

There is some good evidence that the body wants to get some carbs and protein in in the first hour after the completion of exercise. Many people recommend chocolate milk for this; it's a good combination of protein and carbs - and is very tasty! For me, I try to do a nutritious shake and something solid. The shake contains a lot of good nutrition (protein, ...

Muscle soreness is caused by damage to your muscles from your workout. This is a good thing, as it tells your muscles to adapt. As long as you are differentiating between soreness and injury, you can work out while sore. In fact, working out the same muscles will probably reduce the soreness you are feeling. Once you warm up, you might find the majority of ...

Carbs post workout are a good thing. If you've exerted yourself you have depleted all your quick reserves and you need to replenish them. However simple carbs (like a candy bar, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc) are never a good idea unless you are dangerously hypoglycemic--a condition that diabetics have to deal with occasionally. The processed carbs ...

Pre-Workout: I use to have a protein shake ahead of time, now I just have some caffeine to help with the intensity of my workout. I also have some ibuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory for my joints. I talk more about pre-workout nutrition below, and some of the Useful links discuss this also. Post-Workout: You should eat as soon as you can after ...

Yes, whey protein can be helpful for elderly people also. The Journal of The American College of Nutrition, JACN, reports that the elderly have greater protein requirements than younger adults. Given that your mother is exercising, ingesting whey protein (or other biologic sources of protein), especially immediately following exercise, may well help her ...

Burn sugars, replace sugars. The majority of the fuel you will be burning for your resistance workout will be glycogen (=stored sugar). Muscle glycogen (glucose = dextrose) will be a large chunk of that (say 100 g from an intense session), while liver glycogen (fructose) will comprise maybe 1/5 of that. An ideal PWO meal should be easily digested/ broken ...

Not eating after any workout is not a good idea, it brings your metabolism to a grinding halt. Agree with Christopher Bibbs and post workout components. Without know what time you get up, it is very difficult to give you the exact times, but something like this will work nicely. 7am; 10am; 1pm; 4pm; 6pm-light pre-workout carbs; 8pm The trick here is ...

This is coming from my running experience, which includes triathlons since 1983, road racing, and cross country teams in high school and college. The main things you want to worry about are the core muscles and the major muscle groups of the lower body, which include the hamstrings (back of leg), quadriceps (front of leg), gluteal muscles (butt), ...

It's called a back hyperextension. If 3x15 is "barely doable" then you feel it the most in the lower back (I assume you mean when compared to other muscles you've exercised) because you're stressing it near the max of what your body can tolerate. The muscle is engorged with blood ("pumped"), tired and stressed. It doesn't sound like you're injured, it ...

Chocolate milk as mentioned above is great. If you have just completed a very hard or very long run, try Endurox. It helps recover the body as well and is aimed at endurance athletes. Yes, the body is looking to efficiently burn calories the first 30-60 minutes after a run, so refuel fast. This includes hydration as well. Chocolate milk is good, but ...

I read that it is actually a disadvantage to hold off eating especially after a high intensity run. Here's a Google books link that features the sept 08 issue of Runners World with an article about post run recovery. (page 50)

It sounds like you've reached the tipping point, and are possibly overtraining at times. Long training sessions will cause a rise in cortisol levels, putting your body into a catabolic state. This will make you feel tired and can even stunt muscle growth. Cortisol levels rise when the body is put under stress. Of course inconsistency plays a big part as ...

You could try exercising more frequently but at lower intensity. For example, try to work out 4-5 times a week alternating weight lifting and cardio instead of doing both on the same day. You said 2-4 times a week... if you're only doing 2 days I'd go up to 4 days and alternate the type of workout; if you're doing 4 days of this kind of workout I'd just back ...

It has been said many times, but bears repeating: weight loss is achieved primarily through diet, not exercise. If you're trying to lose weight, focus on how much and how often you're eating first. Anyway, the thing you want to do is to keep your metabolism going and not let your body perceive that it is starving. Eating early in the morning after you wake ...

As a runner, I tend towards a combination of peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a banana and chocolate milk and/or gatorade (or insert your favorite sports drink). This provides some simple sugars for immediate energy, some complex carbohydrates for long term energy, and a bunch of electrolytes to replace those lost during the run. I started doing this ...