Thursday, January 19, 2012

IS PROTEIN REALLY THAT IMPORTANT???

Good morning Fitness Friends!  Today's blog will be a quick one in regards to a loyal blog follower and bootcamper who wants to know my opinion on PROTEIN.  Okay, so let's get into it!

First of all, EVERYBODY needs protein in their daily food intake to SURVIVE.  Believe it or not, we actually need Fat, Carbs and Protein to maintain a healthy mind and body.  So why is protein so important?  Well, protein is great for REPAIRING your muscles that you've either worked out hard with weight training, yoga practice, sport activity, bootcamp or any activity in which you have raised your heart rate in a workout for at least 30 minutes.

The "window" for proper protein intake is NO LONGER than 1 hour after a big workout or any workout for that matter.  More importantly, a workout that has made your muscles work at your max potential needs to be repaired afterwards with some good, solid protein.  So what type of protein you ask????  Well, it's up to YOU and what you ENJOY!

Protein powders are a good quick fix for after a workout if you are crunched for time.  I personally like to shake mine up with some ice water and drink it down fast because I'm usually running to train a client after I've taught one of my bootcamps.  The best type of protein powders to consume are the ones that contain BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids).  By drinking a protein powder with this in it, you are helping alleviate some of the soreness that you may feel the next day.  If you want to drink a protein shake BEFORE a workout, my suggestion is to drink it without milk...it tends to make one nauseous if you're putting in some serious work (IE:  training with me or taking one of my bootcamps).  Just to throw out some brands that I back 100% are APEX LITE (less fat and calories in it...and tastes GOOD), APEX SUPREME (BCAAs plus good taste), NO XPLODE (pure protein with BCAAs in it...taste alittle like kool-aid!!) and if you're really looking for some good pure protein and are lactose intolerant...ISO-PURE is fantastic!  All of the brands I suggested are low in fat grams, sugar grams and actually taste DELICIOUS!

Lastly, if you're not really into protein powders but still need to increase your protein intake...get it from FOOD!!  The obvious choices are chicken breast, lean turkey meat, black beans, tuna, veggie patties, steak (if you MUST have red meat...preferably a filet or sirloin), and MILK.  I could really give alot more suggestions on foods high in protein but the ones listed above are the easiest and most likeable ones I like to suggest to clients.

I hope this helps!  So after your BIG workout today, be sure to get in your protein...at least 20% of your daily food intake should be from protein.  Now go MOVE!

Now, let's get into today's video...today we show you busy Moms, Working Gals and Daddies out there a quick 5 to 10 minute workout that you can do to get your heart rate UP and some toning done for your body.  Please be sure to do 3 sets of EVERY exercise that my son Pry'nce and I show you!  Enjoy the video and feel free to share with your friends too...

Hope you enjoyed watching today's video and found today's blog informative!  Have a fabulously fitness filled week!

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)

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