Hi Loveveggiesandyoga readers!

I am so very happy to be a guest poster on the amazing, inspirational, chef and mother, Averie! I am Naomi from OneFitFoodie (www.onefitfoodie.com) if you don’t already know me. I am a certified personal trainer and hold a BS in exercise science with a minor in nutrition from Ithaca College. I love to cook, eat healthy, workout and love to motivate my clients to lead healthier, more enjoyable lives through the gift of health!

I myself struggled with my weight growing up, and one day it hit me that I needed a change. I began eating healthier and making exercise a part of my daily routine. I completely changed my body, life and self esteem.

Naomi Before (14)

Naomi Today (23)

I will take this post to answer some fitness questions for you all. I try my best to stay on top of the latest health/wellness and fitness news and always look for new and exciting information or exercises to share with my clients

Here are some questions I get many times from clients and people who work out at my gym. It has to do with exercise and recovery time.

Q: I am a bit sore from my strength workout but I want to do something today, can I workout?

I always try to stress that after a weight training workout your muscles need rest! Depending on how hard the weight training workout, I recommend to give your body 24- 48 hrs to recover before you weight train again. Weight training training creates micro trauma-which basically means that tiny tears are created in your connective muscles every time you train them . The way your body responds to this damage is by making your muscles stronger and bigger, which in turn protects them against damage that you may run into in the future. Working your muscles too soon can lead to muscle breakdown, not strength. I try to stress (and am a huge believer) in the importance of body confusion. This simply means not sticking to the same workouts from day to day or even week to week. I try to change up my routines every time I weight train at the gym so my body is in shock, assuring that it will work at its hardest. it also keeps me from getting bored! You want your body to reach a happy medium where it can stop making adaptations to the stresses you place on it.

There are some activities and workouts that I do advise would be great the day after a hard strength training workout, such as yoga. Yoga is a great for improving improved flexibility, strength, concentration, and improving overall posture. Yoga improves blood circulation as well by transporting nutrients and oxygen throughout your body which is great for the day after a hard workout to get your blood flowing! Swimming, walking, easy elliptical or bike workout is fine just make sure these are not your ‘strenuous’ cardio days

I personally love to a nice run the day after a hard weight training workout. I love the way it gets my blood flowing throughout my entire body. I do not sprint all out or try to run a certain number of miles, just a nice enjoyment jog.

With all of this said, exercise the day after a strength workout will be different for every person because everyone’s body reacts differently to exercise– all I can say is that strenuous cardio workouts will not help you recover from strenuous weight training workouts. I generally recommend no more than 3 strength training days in a 7 day period.

Always remember to warm up before your workout and cool down after your workout. The cool down will help relieve muscle soreness as well as remove lactic acid buildup from your body after a hard workout!

What should I be eating Post workout??

It is super important to fuel properly after a workout! I recommend a mix of protein and carbs within 60 minutes of your workout which will fuel your muscle recovery. Carbs are important because they aid in restoring muscle glycogen. No carbs after a workout means that your body may actually break down muscle tissue. Carbs also create a spike in insulin levels which will help move move nutrients into your bloodstream at a faster pace.

Protein is the next important nutrient you should be eating after a workout. While animal protein, fish or eggs can be a wise choice after a weight training workout, whey protein is highly recommended because this protein is delivered to your body at a must faster pace because it is in a liquid form, also not to mention it is a fast digesting protein.

I recommend .10-.45 grams of protein per lb of body weight. For a 140 lb woman, this would be between 14-63g protein.

Some great post workout meals

• 1 pita w/ 2 tablespoons hummus

• Greek yogurt (protein packed!!)with 1/2 C cereal such as Kashi Go-lean or Puffed rice

• Egg white omelets with 2 pieces wheat toast

• Whey, soy or Hemp Protein shake made with 1 scoop protein, skim or soy or almond milk, berries, 1/2 banana ice and water.

• Low fat string cheese with serving of crackers

• Bowl of cereal made with skim, almond or soy milk with 1/2 sliced banana

Thank you all so much for reading and if you have any fitness/health/food related questions don’t hesitate to visit my blog or shoot me an email onefitfoodie@gmail.com

XOXO

Naomi