Congratulations, you made it through yet another challenging workout in the gym. You are on top of the world, you feel rewarded by your hard work and achievements. It’s time to hit the shower and most importantly, refuel that spent body.
Let’s face it, we all work so hard in the gym with the hopes of attaining positive health benefits, strength gains… Even a tighter tush! No matter how hard you work that precious body, you may be deleting the hard work you invested in the gym with one simple meal… The ever- important post-workout re-fuel; the super important foods you choose to successfully replenish and restore all of the nutrients and valuable compounds that your body just lost.
RE-FILL THE TANK
Always eat after you workout, 30-60 minutes after a high-caloric expenditure is key. Your body is your engine and without it re-loaded with good, quality energy upon depletion, it will not recover properly to re-perform at its best.
THE BUDDY SYSTEM
Your post workout meal should always include a blend of low-glycemic carbohydrates and a serving of a good quality, complete protein. Some great carbohydrate sources that do not spike your blood sugar levels are sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice, quinoa and oatmeal. Stick with complete proteins, which contain the entire amino acid profile that are essential to promote muscle growth; Eggs, chicken, fish, lean meat, lentils and whey protein are gold-standard complete protein options. When you ingest this buddy system of power-packed carbohydrates and complete protein sources, they will work together and metabolize at a constant rate to adequately re-fill your energy stores with good, solid nutrition.
SAVE THE FATS FOR LATER
Fats are shown to slow your metabolism down, so eating a high-fat source after a tough work out will actually slow-down the speed of your digestion, ultimately preventing important nutrients to be available for quick recovery. It is true that fats, especially the poly-unsaturated types, are excellent choices for supplying the body its daily fat requirements, but reserve them for meals that are not consumed either immediately before or after your workout. Great fat sources such as avocados, almonds and olive oil will aid in muscular recovery, help sustain energy and create a feeling of satiation and fullness and are best to be eaten during other times of the day.
POST-WORKOUT SUPPLEMENATION
Intensify your efforts by pairing the best post-workout foods with the extra supplementation your muscles will respond to. Glutamine and Branch Chained Amino Acids are amazing choices to intensify recovery in any exercise plan.
GLUTAMINE is an anti-catabolic agent, which ultimately prevents muscular breakdown that can result in a decrease in overall muscle size and mass. In the medical world, Glutamine has benefitted the treatment of serious illnesses, injury, trauma, and even burns and most recently found positive in cancer treatment.
Some of the most effective BCAA’s that are of the highest value to athletes are the three essential amino acids called leucine, isoleucine and valine, Although many amino acids are naturally manufactured by the body, the essential amino acids, such as these, must be supplied from complete protein sources such as whey, which most of the time is just not enough.
