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Copyright © 2005 Peak Performance. All Rights Reserved.
Post-Workout Nutrition Guidelines
What you do after your workout is equally important to how you fuel your body prior and during your workout.
Objective #1: Rehydrate!
- Weigh yourself before and after training/competition
- Replace each kg of weight loss with 1 - 1.5 liters (4-6 cups) of fluids
- Non-caffeine and non-ALCOHOL containing fluids are best!
Muscle energy (glycogen) may be measurably reduced after 45-60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. This means that the tougher your workout is (a function of intensity and duration), the more important it is for you to refuel...ASAP! To maximize muscle glycogen stores, carbohydrate rich foods should be consumed immediately after exercising. Timing is critical to restore muscle glycogen. Research shows that athletes who want to store maximal amounts of muscle glycogen for optimal training and peak performance should shift their intake of carbohydrate-rich foods to immediately after workouts. In fact the best way to rapidly replenish muscle glycogen is to eat or drink carbohydrate immediately after exercise.
Objective #2: Refuel!
Eat and/or drink within the first 15-30 minutes after a training session or competition and then eat a meal within 3-4 hours.
- Choose carbohydrate-rich foods such as breads and cereals, brightly colored vegetables and fruits, and low fat milk products for maximum energy.
- Re-build (your bones and muscles) with protein and other essential nutrients found in low fat milk products, meats and alternatives.
- Re-oxygenate (your muscles) with iron and protein found in meats, leafy green vegetables, fortified grains and cereals.
You need to consume (eat or drink) 0.5 gram of carbohydrate/lb of body weight in the first few hours post workout AND eat a post workout meal within 3-4 hours of training.
| Body Weight | 1sthour post workout (0.5 g/lb) |
2nd hour post workout (0.5 g/lb) |
OR Eat a post workout meal! (> 1 - 1.5 g carbohydrate/lb) |
Consume more if the intensity of the training session is above lactate threshold for more than 45 minutes or if the duration of the training session is longer than 2 hours.
If the intensity/time is below this threshold than water is fine post workout but make sure to eat a meal within the next 3-4 hours.
Post Workout Meal (e.g. After Late Afternoon Training):
Choose carbohydrate rich foods that contain small amounts of protein (3:1 up to 5:1 carbohydrate to protein) as your best choices:
- Skim milk fruit yoghurt or chocolate skim milk are easy to find carbohydrate-protein combinations.
- Skim milk fruit yoghurt, liquid yoghurt drinks, or chocolate skim milk are ways to encourage post workout refueling with LIQUID forms of carbohydrate & protein (casein/whey combination) combinations.
- You can make your own power punch for recovery nutrition by combining fruit and/or fruit juices with milk or enriched soy beverages.
Copyright © 2005 Peak Performance. All Rights Reserved.
