Training with Dane

A few months ago I posted on this blog about starting to train with my PT, Dane Cunningham, at Fit for Free in Bury.  A post about the impact a PT has had on me will follow soon!  On Dane’s advice I decided to invest in a good quality protein shake.  This is what happened when I decided to experiment!

When I first started training, Dane identified a few things which could do with a bit of a lift when it came to my diet.  One was my lack of quality protein.  I wasn’t eating enough calories in order to develop, let alone enough protein.  As a result, I started researching protein shakes which, until that point, I thought were for people looking to bulk up – how wrong was I!  The protein shake industry is a minefield with proteins advertising their different properties and benefits over the next, similar looking but somehow different, brand.  I didn’t know which protein would be best for somebody simply looking to tone up without adding much bulk, but after asking around, an all-in-one protein seemed to be the best choice.

Buying The Right Protein Shake

I initially opted for Grenade’s Cookie Chaos which Martin at the gym recommended.  It fit the bill:  appealing taste, the right sort of protein, and it was on offer, result!

I decided to change my protein shake after a couple of months of having Grenade’s Cookie Chaos All in One.  It wasn’t the case that the protein hadn’t worked, it had.  It was more that I know myself all too well when it comes to anything chocolate flavour, I eat way too much chocolate already!

I initially intended on buying the Strawberry flavour, it sounded the sort of non-offensive-but-not-chocolate sort of flavour that would suit my needs perfectly.  It’s still protein after all.  Unfortunately, neither of my local retailers had it in stock.

And so I made the mistake of buying the sickly Vanilla flavour instead.  The very last thing you need after a gym session is something that will trigger your guts to start churning.  That’s exactly what it did.  Even when I mixed it with the last of the Cookie Chaos, the vanilla was too overpowering.  Still, at least I’ve only got 23 servings to go!

The Disappointment of Bad Food

There’s nothing worse than the sinking feeling you experience when something is hugely disappointing.  Especially when that something is food or drink based and you’ve spent more money than you care to imagine to get it.  That disappointment is only slightly lessened for me if the food/drink is free.  And so I was given some free samples of a high performance sports drink…

Again, the product did the job, this time to increase my performance whilst working out, both in a cardio session and a weights session, but it tasted vile.  Generally speaking I can’t stand doing cardio work in the gym, I’d much rather go for a walk or a run but rowing is something which I can constantly challenge myself with.  It’s intense enough to be a great stress reliever but also challenges my endurance which is one of my few physical strengths.

The old wive’s tale that if something tastes bad then it’s probably good for you comes to mind.  I just hope the bad taste is worth it!