My pre- and post-workout shake

Since I am new to the whole weight training, strength training world, I am always reading about tips and trends to maximize results. Of course a lot of that is driven by piddly data (if any at all) and, most of all, marketing. So, I never get too excited about the ridiculous array of fat-burning, muscle-building, energy-enhancing, woman-attracting, macho-man-making products on the market. Those who stand by a product have probably just been directed there by a friend or lifting partner who offered their uneducated, biased advice – another victim of good marketing.

The one consistent “supplement” you will see among bodybuilders, weightlifters, and the like, is protein powder. It’s easy to make protein shakes with milk or mix protein powder in certain foods like oats (I’ll stick with the shakes). It serves as a boost to one’s daily protein intake and also may contribute to more effective muscle-building when used before and after workouts.

I picked up a popular brand name of whey protein powder and have been using it with my weightlifting workouts for the past couple months. Prior to that, I was actually using a different kind of protein supplement, but it contained an inordinate amount of fat (and tasted phenomenal!). I encounter enough fat in a day – it didn’t make sense to keep doing that. This newer protein supplement however, just didn’t taste as good and was a bit hard for me to chug down. So, I started buying frozen blueberries in bulk and have been blending it all together for one amazing protein shake with a healthy slurry of antioxidants.

See detailed nutritional info about blueberries at World’s Healthiest Foods.

1. Welcome to my kitchen. Here are my ingredients (10-12 oz. skim milk, two scoops of protein powder, and 1 cup frozen blueberries).

2. Put them all in a blender and blend away.

[What setting? You mean you haven't figured out that all 20 functions are the same?!?!?

I have a sensible blender: Off-Low-High]

3. Half before my workout. Half after my workout. Incredible stuff! Using frozen fruit makes it seem like a malt rather than just a liquid mix.

I almost forgot: here’s the nutrition info on the shake, compliments of FitDay. I know it seems like a lot of calories, but it’s not a big deal when you’re working out like an animal. For one, it’s a double serving of the protein powder recipe – I’m a pig. Plus, if you’re trying to pack on muscle, excess calories are a good thing.

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Making a High Protein Vegan Shake