Q: After years of reading the magazines and training, I don’t think I still know the best time to take a protein shake to prevent catabolism – Is it right after lifting and before a cardio session or is it after everything is done?

A: It’s okay to discuss things over again – especially something as important as a nutritional shake that intersects with training. That is probably one of the most crucial times to get nutrition and time it correctly. I’ll start by saying that many people these days simply don’t combine training and cardio in the same session. The reason is, it just goes on too long. If you come in and train for an hour and deplete your glycogen stores, and then chat for 10 or 15 minutes and then get on a treadmill or elliptical trainer for 20 to 30 minutes, you’ve gone about 40 minutes too long to have the benefit of a nutritional shake to help prevent the catabolic process. So, two things… One is you should do cardio first thing in the morning upon putting feet to floor. You’ll burn more fat because insulin is lower right after a night’s sleep, and then will be able to put food in your stomach immediately following. A high protein meal with a little carbohydrate is great here. Second, you should train at some point after your first meal and before 6pm and then immediately replenish after with a shake before you can get home to prepare a meal. I suggest that each of those shakes – the one after cardio and the one after workout – are a bit different too. The first shake should be about 120 to 150 calories, 20 grams of protein, maybe 5 grams of carbs, and a chaser of flax seed oil for an additional 60 or 70 calories. The shake after your workout should be about 200 to 250 grams with about 30 to 40 grams of protein, and about 20 grams of carbs to pull the protein and immediate sugar (carbs) into the muscles to replenish glycogen. Glutamine and other recovery supplements are great here too. Fat isn’t as important here because if you train at 4pm your energy stores aren’t as crucial going into evening and carbs load better as glycogen for the next day’s training session. Go home and eat a good meal of proteins and carbs within an hour.

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