Lunch Time Workouts
Adam Milner
Guest Blogger
HK life is busy at the best of times, particularly when work is crazy and we are trying to stay in shape for summer! Lunch time is a perfect time to workout for people who can’t train before or after work. Some people like to train in the morning and some in the evening, however if your energy levels peak midday then a lunch time workout may be the best for you. Midday energy peaks can be linked to a person’s cortisol curve (stress hormone).
Naturally cortisol peaks in the morning and reaches its lowest point in the evening, however for some people cortisol doesn’t peak until lunch time, giving them the highest amount of energy release which is a great time to workout.
Lunch time training will mean that you have to prepare ahead to ensure that you can get out of work on time, ie if you have a lot of work to do, head into work slightly earlier to get tasks done and also ensure you prepare your training clothes the night before. Training at lunch can be done within one hour, however if you do have slightly more time then a personal training session can be highly effective in ensuring that you get a high amount of work done within one hour.
If your goal is fat loss, make sure that you train before you eat lunch, so you can ensure that the body is a in a catabolic fat burning state. If your goal is muscle gain or strength then ensure that you have eaten some protein and fats such as steak and nuts one hour before you train. This is to ensure you have a steady flow of blood sugar and have protein readily available for your muscles.
Once you have completed your workout, for fat loss it is best to eat within one hour, to ensure you stabilise your blood sugar levels. A good healthy option would be a lean meat or fish option and healthy fats such as olive or coconut oil with salad. For muscle gain, research has shown that a post workout shake of whey protein isolate combined with simple carbohydrates is the best option to supply the muscles with nutrients and to restore glycogen into the muscle.
Happy training!
Adam started in the fitness industry 7 years ago as a gym instructor at a local health and fitness club. He decided to go into the field after spending four years in the British Armed Forces. During this time, he learned to be physically fit and healthy. He set his sights on moving abroad and chose Hong Kong, within this time he has completed over 10 body transformations and progressed into a senior trainer and mentor.