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Solving the Post Workout Eating Puzzle The
most critical nutritional period for muscle growth is the post workout
meal. Following a hard
workout, your body is severely depleted of glycogen and glucose. Hard working muscles utilize glucose (usable form) and
glycogen (stored form) for energy.
The proper post workout meal helps create your lean, hard-earned
physique and keeps muscle’s worst enemy, cortisol, in check.
Cortisol chews up muscle tissue for proteins and converts them
into glucose. This is a
protective mechanism to ensure that the body has a supply of energy in
times of danger. Any
training athlete knows that excessive cortisol is not a good thing. The
following outlines the importance or unimportance of each macronutrient
in the post workout meal. The
products suggested are considered the most complete products in the
industry to fulfill these needs. Carbohydrates
– Carbs offset protein catabolism, replenish spent
glycogen and permit supercompensation of glycogen stored.
Most studies done have shown good effects of using 1 to 2 grams
of carbohydrate per kilogram of bodymass, reflective of your body weight
and training volume. Protein
– Get your protein from a combination whey and whey
isolate protein shake. Why? Regular food protein digests too slowly to take advantage of
the post workout processes. You
simply can't take advantage of the anabolic state you're in when that
chicken breast you eat hits your bloodstream 2 hours later!
Whey isolates are absorbed immediately and whey concentrate soon
follows and both are partially predigested through an enzyme bath so
half the work is done for you. 25-50g
of protein is sufficient depending on body weight and training volume. Fat
– Avoid fat post workout.
Fat inevitably delays digestion because it metabolically requires
so many more processes to break down.
Post workout you want efficient digestion and fat gets in the
way. Besides, it is
questionable as to whether or not you need fat for any real nutritional
purpose post workout. If
there is a need, I'm sure that most people would have no problem with
that fat coming from bodyfat sources. Water
– Water is used internally by working tissues and to keep the
temperature of your body down. The
fact that you can lose 20% contractile strength by only dehydrating a
muscle a little should underline the importance of water in effective
training. Maintaining
adequate hydration throughout the day is key.
Suggested amount – drink your body weight in ounces of water
per day, spread throughout the day.
Example: 200lb person should drink at least 200 oz/day. Moderate
your intake of this post workout solution.
Why? Even though you
can process nutrients more efficiently post workout than any other time,
it is still possible to overload your body's capacity to digest. One of the biggest reasons why people get fat is because they
eat too much at one time! Don't
turn a very anabolic period into a fat storing party. Buffer your intake of your post workout meals over 1 to 1.5 hours. Drink them slowly. As a general rule, try to consume half your post workout shake immediately after workout, and then continue sipping on the remainder of your shake within 1 hour after your workout has been completed. Sip on water at the same time too. |
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