At 11:43 PM 05/15/2000 -0700, you wrote:

>Wow - I think we are all in agreement on virtually all points!

        Anyone that is making significant gains naturally is most likely training
this way.

>
>I would disagree though, with Justin, on just the post workout meal aspect -
>here is a quote on this subject:

        I also disagree with the recommendation of eating carbs post workout. I
agree with Sears following statements but strongly disagree with 40% of
calories from carbs or that you need more carbs if you are an athlete. You
might eat more carbs than a non athlete but only because you are eating
more calories not because the percentage of carbs is greater. I eat about
4-6000 calories a day depending on appetite. About 10% of my calories come
from carbs and this equates to between 4-600 calories or about 100 grams of
carbs. This is much more than some would think is low carb eating but is
the same percentage.

>
>" Different events occur during anaerobic exercise where you are trying to
>enhance the release of human growth hormone and testosterone.  Actually, the
>release of these hormones (growth hormone in particular) doesn't occur during
>exercise, but in a window 15 to 30 minutes after exercise.  The more intense
>the
>exercise, the more growth hormone and testosterone are released.  This is why
>anaerobic training, like weight-lifting and wind sprints, is ideally
suited for
>maximizing new muscle mass development.
>
>  Growth hormone release is primarily needed to repair the micro-tears in the
>muscles that occur during intense anaerobic exercise.  The more intense the
>training, the more damage to the muscle tissue.  Growth hormone not only
>repairs
>the damaged muscle tissue, but also increases the size of the existing tissue.
>In addition, weight training also causes the increase of testosterone that
>works
>in concert with growth hormone to form new muscle mass.
>
>  Unfortunately, the more insulin in the bloodstream, the less growth hormone
>will be released regardless of the intensity of your anaerobic training.  This
>means that all of the hormonal benefits of anaerobic exercise can be quickly
>undone by a high-carbohydrate sports "energy" drink consumed just after
>exercise.
>
>  And like aerobic exercise, it is possible to overtrain with anaerobic
>exercise.  Anaerobic exercise produces far more stress than aerobic exercise.
>After approximately 45 minutes of weight-lifting, the levels of cortisol have
>increased to such an extent that diminishing hormonal returns take place.  In
>addition, testosterone levels begin to drop as more precursors of testosterone
>are diverted to facilitate increased cortisol production in response to
>exercise-related stress. "
>
>- from pg. 102-103 of "The Anti-Aging Zone" by Barry Sears, PhD

        Sears still recommends far too many carbs in my opinion. I prefer to eat
about 1-2lbs of red meat following an especially intense training session
otherwise I notice that my soreness is for a longer period of time, peaks 2
days after training, and is more intense. Were as when I eat meat I either
don't get post workout soreness or that it peaks a couple of hours
following training and is minor.
        Sears says in the above mentioned book that growth hormone and
testosterone are at their highest immediately following intense training
yet recommends 40% of calories from carbs. This a contradiction as far as I
can tell. Not that these are the only substances needed to promote muscle
repair and growth but they are obviously major players.
        My advice is to wait for hunger to set in after a training session and eat
only meat or maybe some vegetables with the meat but to avoid carbs like
the plague. See what happens to post workout recovery ability. I've been
training for over 20 years and have found this to be very important in my
post workout recovery scheme besides if you don't fully recover from
exercise you are killing yourself. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
only if you recover from it!

Dave