Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah latihan berat, dia menggigil karena angin malam. - After hard training, he/she shivers from the night wind.

Yes. Both mean after and both work here: Setelah latihan berat, ... and Sesudah latihan berat, ... are equally natural. You’ll also see formal seusai/usai and casual abis/ab habis in speech: Usai latihan berat, ... / Abis latihan berat, ...

Can setelah be followed by a noun phrase like latihan berat, or does it need a full clause?

It can take either. With a noun phrase: Setelah latihan berat, ... (after a hard workout). With a clause: Setelah dia berlatih, ... (after he/she trained). Both are standard.

Why is it latihan berat and not berat latihan?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally follow the noun. So it’s latihan berat (hard training), not berat latihan. If you want to emphasize, you can use latihan yang sangat berat (a very hard training session).

What’s the difference between latihan, berlatih, and (ber)olahraga?

latihan = training/practice (noun): latihan berat.
berlatih = to train/practice (verb): berlatih keras.
olahraga = sport(s); berolahraga = to exercise: berolahraga berat (strenuous exercise), commonly seen in health advice: hindari olahraga berat.

What nuance does berat add in latihan berat?

berat can be heavy (literal weight) or arduous/strenuous. Here it means strenuous or intense. For difficulty in the sense of tricky/complicated, Indonesians often use sulit; for doing something “hard” or “intensely,” keras fits verbs well (e.g., berlatih keras).

Is dia gendered? How do ia and beliau differ?

dia is gender-neutral he/she. ia is a slightly more formal third-person subject pronoun, mostly in writing: Ia menggigil. beliau is an honorific for respected people (teachers, elders, officials). Don’t use beliau for yourself or peers.

Can I drop dia?

Indonesian can omit subjects when context is crystal-clear, especially in casual speech. However, in a standalone sentence like this, dropping dia would sound fragmentary. Keep dia unless the subject is already obvious from the prior sentence.

Why menggigil (with double g)? What’s the base word?

The base is gigil (to shiver). With the meN- prefix, the form becomes menggigil because before a root starting with g, meN- assimilates to meng- and the g remains, yielding ngg in spelling. Pronounce it as ng + g: me-ng-GI-gil.

Is menggigil only for cold?

No. menggigil covers shivering from cold, fever, or fear. For milder trembling, gemetar is common. You’ll also see collocations like menggigil kedinginan (shivering from cold) or menggigil demam (with fever chills).

Would kedinginan be better here? How does it differ from menggigil?

kedinginan means feeling cold (a state) and doesn’t necessarily imply visible shivering. menggigil focuses on the physical shivering. Both are fine: Dia kedinginan karena angin malam or Dia menggigil (kedinginan) karena angin malam; the latter feels stronger.

Does karena work with a noun phrase like angin malam, or should it be a full clause?

It works with both. With a noun phrase, it means because of: menggigil karena angin malam. With a clause, it means because: menggigil karena angin malam bertiup kencang (because the night wind was blowing hard).

What’s the difference among karena, gara-gara, sebab, and akibat?

karena: neutral, all-purpose because/because of.
gara-gara: informal and often blames or highlights a negative cause: gara-gara angin malam....
sebab: cause/because; slightly more formal or written.
akibat: as a preposition/noun, result of; formal: menggigil akibat angin malam (as a result of the night wind).

What exactly does angin malam mean? Any cultural nuance?

Literally night wind/breeze; pragmatically, the cool night air. In Indonesian culture there’s a common idea that night wind can make you unwell (masuk angin), so angin malam can carry a nuance of chilly, unhealthy air, not just a poetic breeze.

Is the comma after the time phrase necessary?

Optional but helpful. Indonesian doesn’t require it, yet a comma after fronted adverbials like Setelah ... improves readability: Setelah latihan berat, dia... Without the comma is still acceptable.

Can I rearrange the parts of the sentence? What are natural alternatives?

Yes. Common options:

Dia menggigil karena angin malam setelah latihan berat.
Dia menggigil setelah latihan berat karena angin malam.
Usai latihan berat, dia menggigil karena angin malam. Putting the time phrase first is very natural for setting context, as in the original.

Any tips to intensify or soften the meaning?

Intensify the workout: latihan yang sangat berat / latihan berat sekali.
Intensify the shivering: menggigil hebat.
Intensify the wind: angin malam yang kencang.
Soften: agak kedinginan (a bit cold), sedikit menggigil (slightly shivering).