Timing Your Post Workout Snack.
Before I start, I am making the assumption that whether you be a bodybuilder, strength athlete, endurance athlete or dedicated amateur that your gym sessions are well planned and carried out with some commitment.
Despite this you may well be overlooking an important component, one so key that it will restrict your progress, leaving you tired, sore and demotivated.
Are you serious about your fitness training?
I am assuming that the time you spend in the gym is organised and you train with sufficient intensity but all too often all those hours of effort just don’t seem worth it with negligible progress to show for all that effort.
If you don’t believe me take a good look around the gym, how much real progress is being made by anyone. I have personally been around gyms for the last 30 years and failure to grow or become stronger appears to be the norm,sometimes this is due to poor choice of routines or lack of knowledge. Sometimes this is the case, howevereven those who plan well and train regularly with enough commitment and effort one vital area that is often overlooked is the need for correct and complete post workout nutrition. If you want to get the most out of your training you need to take your nutrition seriously
Why does this matter?
Exercise, whether it be endurance or strength based, yields many benefits both health and aesthetic..
To reap maximum benefits from any training routine you must put the body under sufficient stress to force it to adapt, become stronger and better able to handle that stress.
Intense exercise is itself a strong physiological stressor, some of the symptoms of this exercise induced stress include:
- A feeling of lethargy after exercise.
- DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
- Increase in the levels of catabolic (muscle wasting) hormones such as cortisol~Increase in production of stress hormones~Increaed cortisol levels}.
- Need for more sleep.
- hunger.
If you train regularly you will most likely have experienced some or all of these, they are not necessarily a bad thing just the body telling us it needs more nourishment to aid the repair proces.
Regardless your training goals, training breaks down less capable muscle in order to build stronger more capable muscle. This can only occur if the body is supplied with the right building blocks at the right time. Commonly known as the “Post Training Window of Opportunity” this is the time after training when most benefit can be gained from your post workout snack or supplementation. The ideal time is straight after working out when the body’s fuel and energy reserves are depleted and the muscles are primed and ready to take up nutrients. With each passing hour the body’s ability to repair diminishes, meaning that skipping that all important snack may well negate your training efforts leaving you feeling tired, sore and frustrated.
Post workout Basics.
Whilst many trainee’s post workout recovery snack consists of a shot of whey protein, which does, without doubt help the repair processt, to gain the full benefits from your training, your post training meal should also address the following issues in order to be of most effect.
- Maintain Insulin levels at the time its anabolic effects are most profound.
- Reduce the levels of cortisol, failing to address this may result in the breakdown of muscle proteins to replenish glucose.
- Restoration of electrolyte levels and re-hydration.
- Help reduce DOMS.
- Aid replenishment of energy systems
Attempting to create the optimal post training snack can be a tricky business with so many factors to consider. Luckily some sports supplement companies such as BSN have created excellent post workout nutrition products such as BSN Cellmass NT which combined with your regular post training protein shake will aid the repair process and maximise the results from your training time.
