Eating the right kind of food after a workout session will help you to make faster progress. During exercising your muscle tissues get damaged, and after a workout those muscle tissues will start to repair and grow. But in order to make the biggest growth, you need to be eating the right nutrients, so that your muscles can recover faster and also grow.
Protein Helps Repair and Builds Muscle
As we already said during exercise, your muscles will break down, and that depends on training volume, intensity, and frequency. You need to be eating enough amount of proteins daily so that your body will be given the right amino acids to repair those muscle tissues, but to also grow them. Research suggests that eating 20 – 40 grams of protein every 3 to 4 hours will give you the best performance and muscle recovery. It’s also worth pointing out that you need to eat proteins before and after exercise. If your goal is to build muscle, then eating high quality protein within 2 hours after you’ve done your workout will give you the best results.
Carbs Help With Recovery
Your body’s glycogen stores are used as a fuel during exercise, and eating carbs after a workout will help them. Research suggests that we should eat a high carb diet, about 3.6 to 5.5 grams per kg of bodyweight in order to maximize your glycogen stores. You should be consuming between 0.4 grams per pound of body weight with 0.1 to 0.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight each hour in order to restore glycogen faster. But if you’re just lifting weights, then you shouldn’t be eating high carb diet, as its mostly recommended for people who train for endurance. And if you do resistance training, you’ll need less carbs.
Fat May Provide Some Benefits
There is still research which is needed to be done in order to know if we should limit our fat intake after a workout. But many people have this opinion that eating fat will slow down the digestion. And that may be true, but still there are many great benefits of eating fat, that we shouldn’t forget. For example there was study done in 2006 which implied that drinking whole milk will give you more gains after a workout, then drinking skim milk. There was also one study from 2017 which said that eating whole eggs instead of egg whites, built more muscle overall after a workout. There are mixed opinions on this topic, everyone has their own theory, but there still needs more research to be done.
Supplementing Is Also Important
Here are 3 supplements which we recommend for faster recovery and muscle growth.
- Whey Protein – It is one of the most popular supplements on the market. Whey protein is great for post-workout recovery because it’s quickly absorbed by the body, providing essential amino acids that aid in muscle repair and growth. Whey protein is used by many athletes all around the world, and you should also try it too
- Peptides – Peptides can aid post-workout recovery by accelerating muscle repair and reducing inflammation. Certain peptides, like BPC-157 and TB-500, are known for their regenerative properties, helping tissues heal faster and reducing soreness. You can by peptide from online stores like peptide shop. Peptides have been talked about recently by many experts, and i think that peptides have a bright future in fitness world.
- Creatine – I’ll be surprised if you didn’t hear about Creatine already. Creatine boosts energy replenishment in muscles, helping improve strength, endurance, and recovery. It also aids in muscle repair by increasing water retention in cells, promoting faster healing and growth. Creatine is also one of the most researched supplements ever, and there are no serious side effects.
The Timing Of Your Post Workout Meals Really Matters
In order to make the most gains, having a right timing will help you to maximize recovery and build more muscle. Many nutritional experts recommend that eating a post workout meal which is rich in protein is ideal between 45 to 60 minutes after a workout. But it’s also important that you eat a meal rich in protein and carbs before exercising, that will give you the best results.
Foods To Eat After A Workout
The main goal of your post workout, is to fuel your body with right nutrients, in order to maximize recovery and growth. For carbs you should be eating: sweet potato, fruits, oatmeal, rice, quinoa and other grains. For protein you should be eating: chicken breast, eggs, greek yogurt, avocados, tuna, protein shake, protein bar. And for fat you should be eating: nuts, nut butter, seeds.
Make Sure To Drink Plenty of Water
Being hydrated before and after a workout, will help you to maximize results. When you’re exercising your body loses water and electrolytes through sweat. And drinking water after a workout will help with recovery and injury prevention. Most researchers suggest that drinking 2 liters of water every day for optimal results.
