Understanding the importance of Post Workout Nutrition!
Post workout meals have proven to have many health benefits and to be necessary in order to enable the body to go from a catabolic state to an anabolic state. Additionally, post workout meals have been shown to help replace glycogen stores, build muscles by promoting muscle protein synthesis and repair damaged tissue as well as supporting the immune function.
In fact not eating post exercise can cause more harm than good. Recent studies have demonstrated that not eating within 2 hours after a workout can lead to a physical state resembling insulin resistance.
It can also compromise future training by not allowing the body tissue time to heal properly. Additionally, not eating after has been shown to promote muscle breakdown due to the body’s increased cortisol levels experienced post exercise.
Eating straight after exercise will allow the body to replenish glycogen stores more efficiently as Insulin is deemed to be more sensitive at that time. Because Insulin is more potent straight after a workout, it is best to eat in the 45 minutes following a workout to allow carbohydrates to go straight into your muscles and replenish those glycogen stores. Glycogen is the primary source of fuel used by muscles to produce energy. When carbohydrate intake is diminished or intense exercise is performed, muscles can run out of glycogen stores leaving the body feeling fatigued. Thus the importance of consuming carbohydrates post workout.
To make the most out of your workout, it is preferable to eat a combination of carbohydrate and protein within the 45 minutes following your workout. A 2:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein is required.
Research has shown that the timing of nutrient intake may be more important than the total daily intake of nutrients, with the post-workout period, considered to be the most important part of nutrient timing, because of its ability to improve performance and well as body composition (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013).
Supplementing with protein post-exercise has shown to maximize post-exercise muscle protein synthesis rate, which is the process of building muscle mass. Animal-based protein has shown to have a higher response to this process then plant-derived protein. Whey protein is one of the best sources of protein because of its high content branched chain amino acid Leucine and its ability to be absorbed and digested much faster than other protein sources such as Casein. Leucine works in the body by activating the mTOR pathway which then induces the building of muscle mass. Protein supplementation is not only required for muscle protein synthesis but it has also shown that when ingested with carbohydrates it results in an increased muscle glycogen re-synthesis compared to a carbohydrate-only meal or supplement. Supplementing with 20-30 grams of protein 45 minutes post workout is ideal to achieve the above-listed benefits. Post-workouts drinks contain the right ratio of carbohydrates to protein and are widely available on the market – even chocolate milk has proven to do the trick.
Reference :
Aragon, A. A., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2013). Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?. Journal of the international society of sports nutrition, 10(1), 5.
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