POST WORKOUT NUTRITION IS THE MOST CRUCIAL TIME FOR NUTRIENTS!
You just finished smashing your PR on dead lifts or a brutal 15 minute HITT session or even moderate level full body circuit with steady pace cardio what’s next? Proper post workout nutrition is the answer for all three.
The 30-60 minutes post workout in my opinion is the most valuable time to get proper nutrition for optimum RECOVERY and MUSCLE/PERFORMANCE BUILDING. This is called the “GOLDEN HOUR” by many for making gains. Utilizing this window properly puts your body back into an anabolic state starting the process to repair muscle tissue and recover. When training, you deplete your stored glycogen and breakdown your muscle tissue so when you are training for anything and performance in particular the quicker you start the rebuilding process the quicker you will be ready to train again. Post workout we want a high glycemic carbohydrate source. This term refers to carbs that are high on the glycemic index (70 and above rates as high).
Normally, it is best to eat lower glycemic foods so as not to initiate an insulin spike (55 and under rates as low). But post-workout, the exact opposite is true.
It is critical to get the carbs (and protein) to the muscle cells as fast as possible. As well, the elevated insulin levels will help to drive nutrients into the muscle cells, high-glycemic carbs are best for this.
A ratio of 2:1 to 3:1 Carbohydrates to Protein is a good guild line to use for ample nutrients to get a huge head start on the recovery process.
- 2:1 ratio would be 40 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein
- 3:1 ratio would be 60 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein
REMEMBER The higher on the GLYCEMIC INDEX the carbohydrate is the faster it is absorbed allowing for a bigger insulin spike to shuttle nutrients to your muscles.
Monosaccharides—consisting of a single sugar molecule.
Disaccharides—consisting of a double sugar molecule. Fructose
FRUCTOSE—FRUIT SUGAR. YOU MIGHT THINK THIS WOULD BE A GREAT SOURCE, BUT THE GLYCEMIC INDEX IS ONLY 11 FOR A 25 GRAM PORTION. THIS MEANS THEN THAT IT IS NOT DIGESTED QUICKLY AND DOES NOT RAISE INSULIN LEVELS TO ANY GREAT DEGREE. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT FRUIT SOURCES ARE NOT A THE BEST SOURCE OF CARBS FOR THE POST WORKOUT SHAKE
Dextrose—also known as glucose. You can buy this as a powder from various different sources. Gatorade mix is sold in a powdered form and Ignition is another great option for a number of reasons. Dextrose has a rating of 96 on the glycemic index for a 50 gram portion. This is one of the more common sugars used in post workout shakes.
DISACCHARIDES
Sucrose—this is common table sugar. It’s made up of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose. It has a rating of 60 for a 25 gram portion.
Lactose—milk sugar. This has a rating of only 48 for a 25 gram portion.
So as you can see, other than dextrose, most of these sources are not ideal as part of the post workout shake.
Some post workout options:
- chocolate milk
- chobani/greek yogurt
- protein shake with milk or fruit juice
- turkey sandwich on white bread
- egg sandwich
- peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- nuts and raisins
- banana with peanut butter
- bowl of cereal
- ALMOST ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING AT THIS POINT
What should you take Post work out? … Phormula-1 and Ignition post workout stack is my recommendation for your best results possible.
Ignition– is pure dexanhydrous glucose crystals – the fastest digesting carbohydrate available. Dexanhydrous glucose is a mono-saccaride that assimilates rapidly and requires little to no work on the part of your body to break it down. It is shuttled in immediately to the muscle cells to replenish glycogen stores that have been depleted during training. In addition to replenishing your glycogen stores, Ignition plays a key part in delivering nutrients (Phormula-1) into the muscle, by giving you an incredible insulin spike. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in your body, and will not only shuttle nutrients to the muscle, but put a hormonal stop to the catabolic (muscle breakdown) state created by training.
Phormula-1 is a 100% hydrolyzed whey protein isolate. When a protein is hydrolyzed, natural digestive enzymes are added to it during processing that take the long Whey Isolate protein chains and split them down into individual protein peptides. This essentially pre-digests the protein so that when you drink it, your body has to do minimal work to assimilate it… It is free to go straight to where it is needed: Your muscles! All this fancy talk means Phormula-1 will assimilate into your body fast enough to be shuttle immediately to the muscle by the insulin spike created from the Ignition. That means faster recovery from a work out, which equals more muscle in less time.
The day after taking Phormula-1 and Ignition or proper post workout nutrition you will notice a huge reduction in soreness, which means you recovered more efficiently from you workout. Challenge yourself to try it for a month, and they will see how much it helps.