Pre-Workout and Post-Workout

People have all sorts of pre and post-workout routines. Some people use supplements, while others only eat real foods. Tosca Reno, the lady who first introduced me to clean eating and lifting, eats like 8 or 9 times a day and keeps things constant regardless of wherever her training falls on her schedule. I train when it's convenient on a given day and I've been experimenting with different pre and post-workout nutrition and supplementation.

Normally I start my day with a protein shake made with Optimum Nutrition Extreme Milk Chocolate protein powder, Optimum Nutrition creatine, Optimum Nutrition glutamine, and Icebox Coffee New Orleans Blend concentrate. I mix it up with really cold water and it is incredibly tasty. I drink it on the way to CrossFit or Pure Barre if I'm working out in the morning. But recently I have found that I perform better if I drink pre-workout before CrossFit and then drink my shake afterwards. If I workout at noon or later, I drink the shake in the morning and then start drinking my pre-workout about 45 minutes before class is supposed to start.

I have Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Pre-Workout in pineapple flavor. I bought it because I order all my other Optimum Nutrition products from Bodybuilding.com and figured it was a brand I could trust. I really like how is tastes. Pre-workout makes my hands tingly, definitely makes me sweat, and I think it helps me move heavier weight. I wouldn't take it for a running WOD and I certainly wouldn't take it to run 8 miles. It's basically caffeine and creatine. Sometimes I wonder if I take too much creatine and I might adjust my morning shake recipe on days I take pre-workout.

Eat The Bear has two kinds of pre-workouts - a low stim and a high stim formula. I'm interested in exploring the difference between the two, and plan on reaching out to the company about sample sizes they might have for sale (or for free!) They recently took a poll about a new flavor and cucumber mint was an option. If it comes out, I am going to order it ASAP because it sounds delicious.

Sometimes I drink a Kill Cliff after a WOD, but normally I just go home and eat breakfast or dinner. Today my friend Sue was mixing up some Shredz BCAA+Glutamine after this ridiculous WOD called Black Lung, and she gave me some to try. It's fruit punch flavored and really good. I don't normally like fruit punch either. So the only things I know about Shredz are that some of the IG athletes I follow are sponsored by them so they take a bunch of photos in their kitchens while drinking the stuff in Shredz branded workout clothes, and that there's been some controversy about Shredz-sponsored athletes posting other people's success photos and claiming these people are their clients. Either way, the stuff tastes good and Sue says it's really helped her recovery since she started taking it. She wasn't sore after the 12 Days of Christmas WOD! I'm not sure I need more glutamine in my diet though.

I'm trying to become more dialed into my body so that I can share my nutritional needs with my coach. I can follow whatever macros she gives me but I need to know how it's affecting my performance, my hunger levels, and my sleep. I've been known to straight up binge-eat before a heavy lifting day to hit my numbers but that's not helping me with consistency or reaching my body fat goals. I'm a data nerd so I'm excited to start keeping track of supplementation, training times, meal times and figuring out what makes me feel best.

If you have a pre or post-workout routine that works for you, let me know because I am genuinely interested and like geeking out over this stuff.