Working a Hard job and Powerlifting

[Erik L]

My question is aimed at the Powerlifters here who work a physically demanding job and still are able to train and make good strength gains.What is your nutrition like and what aids you in recovery? meaning supplements meals etc.. Are there certain supplements that can aid in energy and new muscle growth more then others such as weight gainers protein powders ammino acids etc..

I am asking as i work a physically demanding job and i am pretty tired by the time i hit the gym and lately ive been losing strength as the job takes so much out of me that by the time i hit the gym like if i squat something i can rep, it
suddenly feels like a ton if i can bench x number for so many reps all of a sudden it feels like a house lol.

Im just tryna find out what others on here do to get there energy and strength up after such a hard days worth of work because we all have to eat but at the same time just because you work hard dosent mean you should give up something you love. Ive seen people in this situation just stop working out well im gonna work around it.

[brownstown89]

well idk whats ur deffinition of hard but i worked at a grocery store loading shelves with cases that weight 50 pounds putting heavy water and coke cases around.. i use to seriously eat watever chicken mac and cheese protien shakes, brownies, cake, snickers bars and take a pre workout b4 lifting. just takes a couple days for ur body to get use too

[stullsy]

since upper body recovers faster than lower body, id say ME upper body day every 7 days and a ME lower body day every 10 days...... and maybe a 3rd day doing a high rep method of exercises to help for recovery and rehab..... as far as what you eat id say definately increase carbs and maybe a little bit of caffeine/w sugar before your workout

[JeffD]

A little power nap in the car before I go into the gym does wonders for me after a hard day. What kind of work do you do?

[Erik L]

Hey Everybody i thank you all for your responses brownstown yeah upping the calories might help me.To jeff D right now i am a laborer i do a lot of carpentry and moving heavy objects repetitively .

[brownstown89]

Hey Everybody i thank you all for your responses brownstown yeah upping the calories might help me.To jeff D right now i am a laborer i do a lot of carpentry and moving heavy objects repetitively .

i Have a friend who worked construction on the colts new stadium and he ate fast food, meaning a burger fries and milkshake everyday and actually got leaner than when he was in hs eating clean and lifting..

personally whenever i have a long day i like to rest up b4 the gym 1-2 hr nap. ill eat two taco bell taquitos chicken... 700 cals 70 grams carb 40 gram protien somethign like that and always have good works and feel good threw them.

[Erik L]

Thanx for the reply brownstown from what im reading i need to eatmore im gonna probally buy a quality weightgainer or something then i probally need morew calories for recovery that and maybe some aminno acid pills or something.

[brownstown89]

Thanx for the reply brownstown from what im reading i need to eatmore im gonna probally buy a quality weightgainer or something then i probally need morew calories for recovery that and maybe some aminno acid pills or something.

welcome, just remember, your out there busting ur ass burning calories working all day. prolly getting up pretty damn early. some others are getting up at 8 getting to work by 9 sitting at a desk eating meals every 3 hours and take a pre workout and kill the gym.. obviously they cant slack on quality foods... You might be able to down 3-4 pieces of chicken pizza and still be consuming less calories then them.

[FlexW99]

Man, thats a good question Erik. I can't answer from personal experience as I don't have a physically demanding job, however I suppose I can still add my 2cents.

1. Eating alot of cals sounds like the way to go, however, I don't agree with alot of the junk. The old cliche of 'you are what you eat' still applies.

2. To backup point #1, you don't need to be big to lift big. Alot of impressive powerlifters are at a low weight as well.

3. If it were me, it would be high carb, high protein and fish oil while at work. I'd eat alot of complex carbs, rice, potatos, oatmeal, etc to regulate blood sugar. This way you're not getting the I feel real good, then an hr later, the I feel real bad feeling.

Good luck with this bigman.

[Erik L]

welcome, just remember, your out there busting ur ass burning calories working all day. prolly getting up pretty damn early. some others are getting up at 8 getting to work by 9 sitting at a desk eating meals every 3 hours and take a pre workout and kill the gym.. obviously they cant slack on quality foods... You might be able to down 3-4 pieces of chicken pizza and still be consuming less calories then them.

Hi Brownstown89 your right getting up early and doing physical type of work your exerting a lot more calories i dont eat as much as i probally should cause i can't i have sometimes for breakfast a shake and then for lunch maybe a few sandwhiches then i eat maybe a steak or 2 for dinner so im probally not getting what i need to fuel my body for what im trying to do thanx again all the help is greatly appreciated.

Man, thats a good question Erik. I can't answer from personal experience as I don't have a physically demanding job, however I suppose I can still add my 2cents.

1. Eating alot of cals sounds like the way to go, however, I don't agree with alot of the junk. The old cliche of 'you are what you eat' still applies.

2. To backup point #1, you don't need to be big to lift big. Alot of impressive powerlifters are at a low weight as well.

3. If it were me, it would be high carb, high protein and fish oil while at work. I'd eat alot of complex carbs, rice, potatos, oatmeal, etc to regulate blood sugar. This way you're not getting the I feel real good, then an hr later, the I feel real bad feeling.

Good luck with this bigman.

Hey thanx for the response Flexw99 I definately agree with getting quality calories in and not just junk.I pretty much eat clean i just need to up my calories right now i think but im definately going to give this a try eating higher carbs like potatoes rice etc.

And yes you are definately right you dont have to be big to lift big ive seen monsters in powerlifting like geroge halbert out lift 300 + monsters at around 200 lbs body weight.But yeah i definately appreciate the nutrition advice i am going to start eating more complex carbs and try to get in more lean meat and a occasional hamburger or 2 lol Thanx again.

[CJPopovich]

Eat more, don't do as much cardio, don't do super high volume as a method for getting in shape, a good pre-workout supplement is a must, and your post workout nutrition becomes even more important.

FWIW, I've done both carpentry/masonry as well as desk jobs before lifting, and they both suck. One makes you physically tired, the other mentally. Try not to let it get to you. Don't use it as an excuse, but modify your training/diet to accomodate it. Good luck!

[Erik L]

Eat more, don't do as much cardio, don't do super high volume as a method for getting in shape, a good pre-workout supplement is a must, and your post workout nutrition becomes even more important.

FWIW, I've done both carpentry/masonry as well as desk jobs before lifting, and they both suck. One makes you physically tired, the other mentally. Try not to let it get to you. Don't use it as an excuse, but modify your training/diet to accomodate it. Good luck!

Hey Cjpopovich Thanx for the advice dont worry im not gonna give up i will never use this as and excuse ive worked far to hard to get where im at,as all of us have i just want to make sure i continue making progress i am definately eating more and i still do cardio just not a tremendous amount lol.Thanx again for the advice.

[PumpYouUp]

Im a shipping clerk and constantly pulling orders, loading pallets and other bs, but I eat all day long.

breakfast
snack 3hr later apple/pb sanwich
lunch
snack 3 hr later protein shake or a protein bar
pre-workout sups- JP8 grape
GYM ( Woot) 3 days a week split
dinner
500-700 cal protein shake before bed

[brownstown89]

Im a shipping clerk and constantly pulling orders, loading pallets and other bs, but I eat all day long.

breakfast
snack 3hr later apple/pb sanwich
lunch
snack 3 hr later protein shake or a protein bar
pre-workout sups- JP8 grape
GYM ( Woot) 3 days a week split
dinner
500-700 cal protein shake before bed

ahh yess thats the job i had i was 16-17 just getting into lifting so ya know typical overstraining new to supplements. so i would eat macroni and cheese brownies grilled chicken protien shakes etc... alll day during work. it was bad ass and i stayed lean.. from all that pulling and ****

[Blacktail]

Sleep a lot, keep your calories up , keep your sets in manageable ranges and don't be afraid of extra rest days.

[one8seven]

I do paving stone, retaining wall work in high elevated areas (carrying 100+lbs up a goat path 8-10hrs a day+laying an setting the stone) an I find lots of sleep, Pre W/O Drink with stims, lots of carbs, an I sip a mix of malto/fructose/pepto/bcaa/taurine while I work an it does wonders keping hydrated throughout the day until I go an rip up the gym.