Intense workouts can leave us physically depleted, mentally exhausted, dehydrated and with micro tears in our muscles. Strategic post workout nutrition helps us repair damaged muscle tissue, replenish vital nutrients and rehydrate and restore our electrolyte balance. Being proactive about your post workout nutrition will help you to recover faster and have your body primed and ready for your next session. Failure to refuel can impact your progress and ultimately your ability to achieve your goals. Let’s take a look at what you should be doing to optimise your recovery.
What to Eat and When
As with your pre workout nutrition, your post workout nutrition will differ depending on each individual and their goals. The duration and intensity of your sessions will also dictate how you approach your recovery. Your body is more responsive to nutrient intake during the 30min post exercise, this window does diminish with time but depending on certain conditions may stay open for up to 48 hours. To maximise your recovery it is recommended that you consume a combination of high quality carbohydrates to replace lost glycogen and lean protein for the repair and growth of your muscles within this time frame. Utilising this window becomes progressively more important the higher the intensity or duration of your sessions, if you’re training multiple times a day or in quick succession (ie. evening then morning) and if you are an athlete performing at a high level. It is also recommended to limit fats in your post workout meal as fats will slow the digestion of other nutrients.
Rehydration
When we exercise we lose fluid and electrolytes through our sweat, even more so if you typically sweat more then most or train in warmer conditions. It should be a priority to rehydrate immediately after training in order to avoid dehydration and boost recovery. Urgency to rehydrate increases if you have not maintained hydration during your session. You should be aiming to consume approximately 1L of water for every hour of exercise. Along with fluids you must replace lost electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. This can normally be done through standard post workout food consumption.
Post Workout Supplementation
The use of whey protein powder has been shown to be highly beneficial for recovery and muscle growth. Whey protein is rich in branched chain amino acids, easy to digest and a great on the go option. Protein shakes should be consumed within 30min of training and followed by a whole food meal 1-2 hours later. For those who participate in long bouts of exercise or are training in hot conditions it can also be beneficial to consume sports drink for better electrolyte replenishment.
Never underestimate the importance of good post workout nutrition. The nutrients that you consume not only help to refresh us physically and mentally but also provide our body with the building blocks it needs to recover, grow and adapt to our training progressions.
xx Tara
Do you refuel with a shake or do you prefer to have a meal? Let me know in the comment section below.
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