Post workout nutrition is a critical part of any fitness program or workout regime. The reason why it’s very important is that what you eat after a workout can hugely impact your result. According to Body Transformation Coach Aditya Shrivastava, After an intense training session, your body and muscles need instant nutrition to repair and rebuild. Without providing that fuel, you may feel fatigued, lose muscle and not perform well during the next workout.
Why is post workout nutrition important?
Your body needs the energy to power you through the training session and support the exercise. The body uses carbohydrates as the primary source of energy to support your performance. Carbohydrates are stored as muscle glycogen and they continue to break down as we work out. Over time, this leads to the depletion of glycogen storage and your energy goes down. Hence, post-workout nutrition help in replenishing the lost glycogen level and help you gain back your energy. Post workout nutrition also helps you prevent the breakdown of muscles and boosts protein synthesis. The long training session also causes electrolytes and fluid to decrease due to excess sweating. Thus, post workout nutrition replenishes the lost fluids and prevents dehydration.
What to eat in post workout nutrition?
Carbohydrates: You need carbs for the energy to perform the exercise. As long hours of training can deplete your muscle carbohydrates, you should eat carbs to refill your muscle energy store.
Carbs can also promote insulin release, protein repair and prevent loss of muscle. Eating around 0.5-0.7grams of carbs per pound of body weight within 30 mins can help you restore glycogen.
Protein: Post your workout, your body decreases the rate of protein synthesis and increases its rate of protein breakdown. If immediate protein amino acids are not supplied to these muscles, it may result in loss of muscle. These amino acids help your body to repair muscle protein that is broken down during exercise. YOu should be consuming 0.14–0.23 grams of protein per pound of body weight after a workout.
Fat: Even though fats do not play a major role in post workout nutrition, you should not avoid them either. Consuming a large number of fats after a workout may reduce the rate of absorption of essential nutrients. But you can still take a small number of healthy fats. Focus on consuming a good mix of carbs and protein that also contain some fat.
What is the best timing for post workout nutrition?
Post workout nutrition timing is another factor that can affect your result. No matter how well you plan your post work nutrition, if you don’t eat it at the right time, you may reap the benefits. Your muscles get depleted and require an urgent supply of carbs and protein after exercise. Hence, it’s important to fulfil that requirement immediately. Researchers suggest you should eat your post workout meal within 45 minutes after exercise. When post workout nutrition is delayed by two hours, it can reduce the rate of glycogen synthesis by 50%. Your body’s ability to absorb nutrients to build and repair muscles are at the optimal level after exercise. This stage is often referred to as the ‘post workout nutrition window’. When you don’t provide your body with nutrition right after exercise, this window gradually closes over time. Hence, eating a meal immediately after exercise is the best way to benefit from the window period.
About AnExtraRep
AnExtraRep is a body transformation and fitness company. The company was founded by Aditya Shrivastava, who is a certified fitness trainer with I.S.S.A. Over the last 9 years AnExtraRep has transformed the health and fitness levels of 1000’s of individuals. Read More about AnExtraRep Body Transformation Program at AnExtraRep’s 12 Week Transformation Program
