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Appetites and Adventures

Arm Yourself For Summer – Workout & Protein Refuel

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It’s no secret that bicep day is my favorite.

My trainer says it because I’m a “dude.”

When I needed to drag myself back to the gym after 2 weeks in Greece, the most appealing workout to me was my favorite – biceps and triceps.

This workout was just what I needed – challenging and focused on the muscles I wasn’t able to work while I was away.  I think most of these moves are self-explanatory.  In case you aren’t familiar with it, this is what an EZ bar looks like:

EZ bar

There’s a similar looking crimped bar for use with the cables.

For each move, do 4 sets increasing your weight each time.  You should be able to get 12 reps on your first set, and 8-10 on the last set.

Note: If you find you’ve started too heavy, just turn the last set into a drop set.

Arm Yourself For Summer

After that workout, I knew I was going to be sore!  The first thing I did was get home to refuel so my muscles could repair and build back up.  Your body is at it’s peak for absorbing nutrients following a workout!  It’s important to get on at least 20g of protein within 30-45 mins of a workout.

If you ever doubt the importance of protein, here’s some proof.  The pic below is my progress over two years.  The major thing that changed when I started training for figure competitions was my protein intake.  I started tracking what I ate and realized I was only eating 60-70 grams on a good day.  I went from that to eating 1.75x my bodyweight in grams of protein and started to see some real changes!

I think some of those glute workouts helped too…

2 year progress

So how did I refuel after my first workout back?

The trouble was that I had a first day back from a long trip grocery situation (read: NO food in the house).  Thanks to this box of goodies from Premier Protein, I had plenty of protein on hand to make a meal out of:

Premier Protein

The bars were quite good… but they were eaten on the plane to Greece.  Emergency snacks are a must on the airplane!  Packing 30g of protein and 25g carbs, they were the perfect filling snack.

The shakes are my favorite following a workout.  They provide:

  • 30 grams of protein, including all of the essential amino acids
  • 24 vitamins and minerals
  • An excellent source of calcium
  • 160 calories
  • Minimal fat (3g) and sugar (1g)

Typically I’d make a shake, but with the cooler weather San Diego has been experiencing I wasn’t feeling an icy treat.  I also missed American cereal.  It lead to something a bit strange but good!

Protein Milk Cereal

I poured my rice crispies in a bowl with a vanilla shake and topped it with banana and cinnamon for a delicious post-workout meal.  It was the perfect balance of carbs and protein!

With a proper refuel, I was still sore… but in a marvelous hurts-so-good way rather than the tragic crippling it could have been.

Disclaimer: I was provided these products to review from Premier Protein.  All opinions – as always – are my own.

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If you’re interested in starting your own weight training program, I’d love to help!  Click here for more info and to inquire.

What’s your favorite body part to workout?

How do you refuel following a tough workout?

Comments

  1. Oh gosh I definitely struggle to refuel properly after workouts. I tend to try and eat a meal pretty much straight away as it’s easiest! Always involving carbs, protein and a dollop of fats, something like sweet potato, salmon and avocado, but I’m never sure if it’s enough.

    • Good for you! Just make sure that it’s enough to get you 20g of protein and you should be fine! Depending on your goals, I’d keep it fairly low fat post-workout. That way your body can focus on burning what it already has. I try to wait a couple of hours post-workout for my healthy fats.

  3. oooh I LOVE YOU CALL EM NOSE BUSTERS!!
    I think they are my skullcrushers??
    I shall….nosebust this workout today 🙂

  4. Your transformation is awesome Laura- bye bye pancake booty ;)! I love training legs – always come out feeling so recharged…and also very sore but the good kind!

  5. I think I love working my biceps because it’s not essential to running and biking so it’s usually skipped in my cross-training. I DO however, sneak some in while doing single leg squats 🙂

  6. I have mixed feelings about working biceps! I find it so hard to get them feeling the burn and the soreness the next day. I am definitely going to give this workout a try this week. Also are nose busters the same thing as skull crushers?

    • Let me know what you think! Make sure your refueling properly to help with the soreness, but a little sore is a good thing. 🙂

      And yes, nose busters are the same as skull crushers.

  7. Protein cereal is so good. Seriously. It is ridiculous. When I have to get myself back to the weightroom, I go for triceps. I love seeing those horseshoe muscles pop out!

  8. It’s very true about protein and protein in general is so important for hormone balance as well. I realized about 3 weeks ago my protein intake was extremely low. Since I’ve increased mine significantly I’ve finally started to see some changes. I’m still fighting hormones though making it hard to lose in my hips and thighs. I’m getting off the hormones though so hopefully my body will balance itself out.

    • I totally get that… until my lats are so sore I’m looking forward to legs. LOL!

  12. Awesome progress! Even though I KNOW the importance of getting adequate protein post-workout, I often make the mistake of eating more carbs than protein. I feel like I should invest in a good non- dairy protein powder to help combat my carb loving tendencies.

  13. this is perfect for me right now! my favorite workout right now IS arms. I have never focused much on them, because tennis 4+ hours a day always did that for me, but with much less tennis I am needing workouts to keep tennis arms… or, get them BACK to tennis arms…

    I do cereal + protein milk all the time!

  14. Love that bicep/tricep workout!! I am so trying to get my strength/weight training together lol!! I love it but I struggle making the workouts. Gonna have to try this one :). And I definitely struggle getting that protein in. I’ve gotten better but could definitely improve lol.

    • You can do it! Once you get comfortable it’ll be super easy. Just make sure to have a pan before you get tot hr gym so you don’t get lost. 🙂

  16. Biceps and shoulders are my favorites. I’ve gotten to a point where I really hate to train back lately. I need to figure out how to make myself enjoy leg workouts more. Once I get going, it’s not so bad. It’s the forcing myself to get started that sucks LOL

    • I’m with you on leg day. I just have force myself e to jump in and do it… like a cold pool.

  18. FUCKING A – I NEED A TRAINER TO KICK MY ASS EVERY DAY. I am the fucking QUEEN of Cardio and the PAUPER of weight training.

  20. I suck on the protein front! And even worse I usually work out straight after work and then sit in my car for a 1h drive and then I am all ravenous and raid the kitchen when I am finally home. Not so good. Recently I started drinking a protein shake with banana right after the workouts. So much better! And this really gives me time to sit down and have a proper dinner instead of eating handsful of nuts and cheese whilst hectically throwing together some dinner food.

    • I’m glad the protein shake and banana are working for you! That’s the perfect solution!

  21. DId you add your Cardio too? Hehe.
    Oh yes, I loved and hated the Biceps and Triceps workout at the Cesears gym. Especially with our tanned arms.
    Can we meet up tonight and you make such a protein bowl for me?
    Sigh…..

    • Ugh. Yessssss… I’ve been doing lazy cardio. I can only walk right now since my Achilles is injured. But I do it!

      We need a skype date soon.

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