What To Eat Before & After EVERY Gym Workout Training : Part 2

This article is a continuation of the last topic.

Let's now turn our attention over to what to eat after your workout. Once you finish training the rate of muscle protein breakdown increases, unless you do something about it it'll outstrip the rate of protein synthesis and you'll actually start to lose muscle tissue. That's why it's important to get about 20 to 40 grams of protein into your body within a couple hours after finishing your workout.

The type of protein that you have should be a fast digesting source like a whey protein shake for example, this will quickly deliver the amino acid leucine to your muscle cells and leucine is a powerful stimulator of protein synthesis, it'll also release more insulin which will help prevent muscle protein breakdown. 

• Studies suggest that taking protein immediately after a workout will help you build more muscle than if taking it later on in the day, but how soon after our workout do we have to take these shakes to get these benefits. It used to be believed that there was an anabolic window where you would need to get your protein into your body within 30 minutes of completing your workout.

The truth is that it depends on when you last ate protein, if you've had protein within three to four hours of starting to work out which you would if you had a pre-workout meal then the timing of your protein intake after the workout is not as important as long as you get it within a couple hours you'll be fine. But if you haven't taken in any protein within that time your protein synthesis will be lower after your workout so if you didn't have a pre-workout meal the sooner you can take down some protein after a workout the better it'll be for your muscle. 

For example, if your training fasted you want to have that post-workout shake or a meal sooner rather than later. 

Now let's talk about post-workout carbs, for a long time, it's been suggested that post-workout carbs would spike insulin which would increase protein synthesis. However, protein alone can provide the spike in insulin that you need to increase protein synthesis, this is why you can still build muscle with a targeted the ketogenic diet you wouldn't be having carbs after a workout but this doesn't change the fact that if you're not following a keto diet adding carbs will boost this process even more since insulin levels will rise faster and remain elevated for longer. 

Another reason to take in post-workout carbs is to restore glycogen levels in the muscle cells like I already said having more glycogen in your muscles will help increase your performance and help you lift heavier weights for your next workout, your muscles are in a sponge-like state after workout ready to absorb carbohydrates rather than storing them as fat this is why some studies recommend having even as high as half a gram of carbs for every pound of body weight after your workout. 

However other studies show that your body can just continue slowly refilling the glycogen stores and your muscles with the carbs that you eat throughout the rest of the day. so if you don't want to have the majority of your daily carbs post-workout then you don't need to have such a high amount of carbs unless you're working out twice a day or something like that.

• with all that said to take advantage of the increased insulin response to slow muscle breakdown rates and to promote positive muscle building hormones like growth hormone I recommend still getting a minimum of around 30 to 50 grams of fast digesting carbs like potatoes bananas or white rice after your workout. Now as far as dietary fat post-workout many people believe that you shouldn't have any fat after workout because it'll slow the digestion of your meal or your shake. However one study showed that muscle glycogen resynthesis was not negatively affected even after having a very high-fat meal after working out.

so if you want to have some healthy fats with your post-workout meal go ahead but it's not necessary, and if you're trying to get nutrients to your muscles faster after a workout it may be a good idea to keep fat intake on the lower end post-workout, and instead focus mostly on taking in protein and carbs. 

Foods That You Need To Eat After You Workout.

The primary goal of your post-workout meal is to supply your body with the right nutrients for adequate recovery and to maximize the benefits of your workout.

Choosing easily digested foods will promote faster nutrient absorption.

Carbs

• Sweet potatoes

• Chocolate milk

• Quinoa

• Fruits (pineapple, berries, banana, kiwi)

• Rice cakes

• Rice

• Oatmeal

• Potatoes

• Pasta

• Dark, leafy green vegetables

Protein:

• Animal- or plant-based protein powder

• Eggs

• Greek yogurt

• Cottage cheese

• Salmon

• Chicken

• Protein bar

• Tuna

Fats:

• Avocado

• Nuts

• Nut butters

• Trail mix (dried fruits and nuts)

The last thing that I want to touch on today is post-workout supplementation we've already gone over how a fast digesting source of protein like a whey protein shake can benefit you after a workout, but other than some protein powder the only other supplement that I recommend after a workout is creatine. Creatine supplementation will boost energy production in muscle cells to improve performance and one meta-analysis creatine supplement led to an 8% increase in one rep max and a 14 percent increase in reps at a lower percentage of one rep max. So taking up to five grams of creatine after a workout can help although it doesn't really matter as much what time of the day you take creatine to feel its effects.

Related topics :

Gym Training: The Best Diet For Any Amplification At All (Muscle Net).

Learn About Your Body Type And How To Deal With It For The Best Results.