I thought I'd move it up here before it got lost. I also have added some post-workout nutrition info that has made a world of difference for me, maybe it'll help someone else.

    D.

    "I would disagree with the idea of using simple, high-glycemic carbs to aid absorption. This would help some with absorption, but that slight benefit would be more than offset by the detrimental aspects of doing so.
    Taking simple, high-glycemic carbs post-workout will blunt the normal exercise-induced growth hormone release that should occur post-workout. It will also knock you out of the heightened fat-burning state you are in post-workout. Both of these points will lead to a reduced metabolic rate and increased body fat.
    Simple, high-glycemic carbs will have these same detrimental effects if they are consumed at any other time as well, but the effects are especially pronounced post-workout. I discuss all of this in-depth in my book. Gary"

    Gary,
    I personally can’t say enough about post-workout nutrition and how it has greatly improved my lifting. It is without a doubt the single most important key to any success I’ve had on the platform. It dramatically transformed me as a lifter. People spend thousands of dollars on the newest supplements hoping it will be their magic bullet. For me, my post-workout shake is my magic bullet and 100 times more powerful and productive than any health store supplement I can buy or have bought. I really, truly can’t say enough about it, it’s made that much of an impact on me, my body and my strength.

    Okay, as far as growth hormone release is concerned, it’s actually been proven that carbs post-workout actually increase growth hormone release in weight trainers. You may be referring to some studies where drinking carbs DURING endurance exercise was shown to decrease the levels of GH in the blood. Studies done with actual weight trainers and post-workout have shown that a post-workout meal of carbs and protein actually increased GH release when compared to fasting. Now the thing is, post-workout GH release is not particularly spectacular to begin with. Here’s some data:

    -While the GH increase from training is pretty big in untrained subjects (10 fold increase), it's not quite as big in trained individuals (4-5 fold increase).

    -Either way, the GH increase is very brief. It's at its peak immediately after exercise, is double about 15 minutes after exercise, and is back down to baseline at 30-60 minutes after exercise.

    -The GH release you get during the first few hours of sleep time is about a 20-fold increase in GH, while the normal GH pulses that occur during the day are between 10 and 15 fold (5). Not only are these pulses larger than the post-exercise pulse, but they last longer, too (1-3 hours).

    While I think GH release after exercise is a good thing, I really don’t think it’s going to make or break a person’s fat loss. Am I personally going to sacrifice muscle tissue for a tiny increase in GH if in fact carbs did blunt the release? No way, not after I’ve seen the effect a proper post-workout shake can have. Like I said Gary, the results were incredible for me. It is my magic bullet and there is nothing (nothing legal that is ;^)) that has ever come close.

    While we are discussing this whole thing, maybe now is a good time as any to discuss post-workout nutrition. Maybe it’ll be as helpful for someone else as it has been for me.

    Okay, after hard weight training 3 things happen:

    1. Glycogen Stores are low
    2. Protein (muscle) breakdown is increased
    3. Protein Balance is negative

    If you don’t quickly bring your body back into a recovery mode several things are likely to happen:

    1. Prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue
    2. Workouts to follow are poor
    3. Symptoms of / or staleness and overtraining
    4. Minimal gains in muscle mass despite a good workout routine
    5. Losses of muscle mass.

    Before I started paying attention to my post-workout nutrition I was always sore, always tired. My strength was never consistent, some days I was strong, some days I wasn’t a fraction of the lifter I was the previous workout. I could never count on being at the strength level I left the gym at. Very frustrating to train that way and not know which lifter was walking in the door. I also had a horrible time adding muscle. I could train until my eyes bled and wouldn’t add an ounce. I trained for over 10 years this way, always striving to improve yet having very little to show for it.

    Okay, back to business. To rapidly increase your glycogen levels after a workout you need enough carbs available for your body to convert to glycogen and you need high insulin levels to help with glycogen storage and to transport the carbs into your muscles. The recommendation I follow is .8g of carbs / kilogram of bodyweight. This amount seems to work great and doesn’t leave me with a lot of extra calories. I had actually cut this back to .4g of carbs a while back because I thought it might facilitate making weight for a meet. Looking back this was a mistake. It really made no difference on my weight loss and I recently went back to the .8g and have been hitting PR’s at an amazing rate. It’s the only change I’ve made and I am thoroughly convinced it’s the reason. This also again shows the dramatic effect that my post-workout shake has on me.

    So, .8g of carbs / kilogram of bodyweight gives me enough carbs for my body to convert to glycogen but I need high insulin levels to help with glycogen storage and to get it into my muscles. This is where protein comes in. Recent studies have shown that if you add protein to your carb drink you actually increase your insulin levels higher than if you just had carbs alone. To be exact, 103% higher. Because of this .4g of protein / kilogram of bodyweight is recommended. This means that a 154 lb lifter would need 56 g of carbs and 28 g of protein while a 220 lb lifter would need about 80 g of carbs and 40 g of protein after training.

    Now comes that “window of opportunity” that you sometimes hear about. Studies have shown that if you take your post-workout shake immediately after training, glycogen synthesis was three times higher than if you drank it just two hours later. So the sooner you drink the drink, the better the recovery rate. This is also why it’s recommended it be a drink and not a carb/protein meal of solid food. It takes far too long for your body to digest solid food and you will lose the “window of opportunity”. A shake is quickly digested and absorbed so the nutrients can get to your muscles.

    As far as what type of carbs to use, glucose and glucose polymers are considered the optimum type. Maltodextrin is made from corn starch, is a glucose polymer, and is what I personally use. It’s cheap and I buy it at a home wine/brewery store, it’s used in adding more body to beer. You can also buy it from most supplement companies but you will pay a lot more for it. It’s also used as a sweetener by diabetics.

    For the protein source you want something that’s absorbed just as quickly as the carbs so that your body will produce as much insulin as possible. Whey protein is one of the fastest to digest and so it is what I use.

    Okay, so we have our body working on replacing it’s glycogen but what about stopping the protein breakdown which is basically your body canabilizing its muscle? This is where insulin comes in. Tests have shown that high blood levels of insulin after a workout decrease protein breakdown by about 30% while not interfering with its absorption. Insulin also causes blood vessels to dilate which allows them to transport more blood and with it, the nutrients that we are trying to get to our muscle cells. So, by drinking the carbs and protein to maximize glycogen storage you are also preventing your body from breaking protein (muscle) down. Can’t beat that!

    Last but not least is protein synthesis. You’d think you could just pound down a lot of protein and everything would be fine but actually, it can be counterproductive. A really high protein meal causes your body to release a hormone called glucagon. Glucagon works against the insulin release you are trying to maximize. It also causes your body to convert amino acids into glucose (carbs), not what you want in this case. When taking protein after a workout the biggest thing you are striving for is high amino acid levels. I know I’ve been mentioning a lot of studies but I’m a freak when it comes to this stuff and can never get enough. Here’s some interesting findings (at least interesting to me ;^)):

    -With increased insulin levels, protein synthesis increased by 50% over normal insulin levels

    -With high amino acids in the blood protein synthesis increased by 150% when compared to normal blood levels of amino acids

    -After weight lifting protein synthesis increased by about 100% over pre-workout amounts

    -After weight training with high amino acids in the blood, protein synthesis increased by 200% vs. after training with normal blood amino acids

    -After weight training with high amino acids AND insulin in the blood, protein synthesis increased by over 400% versus normal post-workout amino acid and insulin levels

    Something I found interesting is that in that last study, only 6 g of protein was taken with 36 grams of carbs. Less protein than normally recommended. It was found as long as insulin was high and the correct amounts of essential amino acids and BCAA were taken, protein synthesis really went up after the workout.

    Because whey hydrolysate is the fastest absorbed protein, I personally use Designer Whey. It has added glutamine and extra Branched Chain aminos. I know some people that take extra aminos in addition to their protein but I feel Designer has enough in it to take care of that.

    Okay, so I take 56 g of carbs and 28 g of protein or in other words, one scoop of Designer Whey and two scoops of maltodextrin. This is done with a 70cc scoop and all of this is mixed with about a cup of skim milk. I also add my creatine to this drink because I want to put the insulin spike to use there as well. This has worked incredibly well for me and I’ve read where if you are looking to bulk up some, take one shake immediately after training and one 30-60 minutes later works great. You would start normal eating about 2-3 hours later.

    Hopefully somebody here will find some benefit in this 4 hr. dissertation, lol. If there is one secret to any success I’ve had it is this, my post-workout shake. It is my magic bullet.

    D.

    In the body, creatine is changed into a molecule called "phosphocreatine" which serves as a storage reservoir for quick energy. Phosphocreatine is especially important in tissues such as the voluntary muscles and the nervous system which periodically require large amounts of energy.

    Studies have shown that creatine can increase the performance of athletes in activities that require quick bursts of energy, such as sprinting, weightlifting, powerlifting, etc and can help athletes to recover faster after expending bursts of energy.

    Now so far everyone agrees to this point I believe.

    Creatine is an essential player in the primary energy source used for muscle contraction. It exists in two different forms within the muscle fiber: as free (chemically-unbound) creatine and as creatine phosphate. This later form of creatine makes up two-thirds of the total creatine supply. When your muscles contract, the initial fuel for this movement is a compound called ATP. ATP provides its energy by releasing one of its phosphate molecules. It then becomes a different compound called ADP. Unfortunately, there is only enough ATP to provide energy for about 10 seconds, so for muscle contraction to continue, more ATP must be produced. Creatine phosphate comes to the rescue by giving up its phosphate molecule to ADP, recreating ATP. This ATP can then be burned again as fuel for more muscle contraction.

    The bottom line is that your ability to regenerate ATP depends on your supply of creatine. More creatine, more ATP remade, and more ability to train your muscles to their maximum potential. It's that simple. This greater ATP synthesis also keeps your body from relying on another energy system called glycolysis, which has lactic acid as a byproduct. This lactic acid creates the burning sensation you feel during intense exercise. If the amount of acid becomes too great, muscle movement stops. But if you keep on using ATP because of all the creatine you have, you can minimize the amount of lactic acid produced and actually exercise longer and harder. This helps you gain strength, power and muscle size; and you won't get fatigued as easily. (i.e. you can work out a little longer and a little harder and recover a little faster)

    Later (newer) studies show that a "loading" dose is unnecessary and may cause some side effects.

    Most of the studies involved giving volunteers powder creatine monohydrate before a workout.

    When you take creatine in powder form - it is in your blood stream for about 1.5 2.5 hours. For muscle growth the creatine must be absorbed into the muscles. So, if you are working out and deplete your creatine supply in your muscles AND you have creatine available in the blood stream, your muscles can replenish their creatine supply from the creatine in your blood.
    Here is the important point - if your muscles are fully saturated with creatine and you are not working out (so you are not depleting your creatine stores) then after 1.5-2.5 hours the creatine in your blood will be converted into creatinine and excreted. (so your body can only hold so much creatine at a time)

    rdc