Those Hungry Muscles By Calorie Hunter

Those Hungry Muscle Cells

By calorie hunter

Feeling dizzy or light-headed after your workout? Directly following intense periods of exercise, your body’s muscle cells crave replenishment of the nutrients it has lost during the workout. Rebuild your muscles, restore your carbohydrates, and recover what is lost with an effective post-workout nutrition plan.

Over the summer, I worked as a performance nutrition intern at the professional athletic facility known as Athletes’ Performance in Los Angeles, CA. For two months full time, I witnessed NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and MLS athletes undergo a variety of grueling training regimens preparing them for season. My supervisor, one of the few Registered Sports Dietitians in California, always stressed the importance of post workout nutrition to all of the athletes. There was even an intern whose sole responsibility was to make the shakes and hand them to the athletes immediately after their training. The reason why immediate post workout nutrition is held at such a high priority is the scientific evidence supporting its ability to stimulate muscle recovery, minimize tissue breakdown, and ultimately lead to reduced fat stores and lean body mass development. Disregarding immediate post workout nutrition goes against every physiological craving your muscle cells have for the essential nutrients it needs for rebuilding. While there are a variety of different nutrient requirements for weightlifters, I will give some examples of how endurance athletes (man or woman) can create a general foundation for their post-workout plan (with some general scientific background incorporated).

According to Men’s Fitness, an endurance workout constitutes pushing your body to sustain prolonged periods of exercise. Running, swimming, or biking for 45 minutes or more per day comprises a consistent endurance plan, not just riding your bike for 60 minutes on Fridays. It is endurance athletes that run the risk of suppressing their immune systems and depleting their muscle glycogen (carbohydrate storage form in the muscles) to dangerous levels without developing a recovery plan. According to the American College of Sports Medicine and Dr. Liz Applegate, 30-60 grams of carbs should be consumed per hour of endurance exercise. This can come in the form of a shake, snack, or a sports drink and preferably include a lean protein source to yield a larger insulin response and more effective recovery. If this post-workout treat is consumed within 15 minutes to an hour post-workout, glycogen replenishment, protein synthesis, energy levels, and performance in subsequent exercise bouts will all be improved (Athletes’ Performance handbook and Dr. John Ivy, Director of Sports Nutrition at University of Texas)

Every 10-15 minutes post workout, the window of opportunity to take advantage of muscle cells when they are most vulnerable to nutrient absorption begins to shrink. The rate of muscle glycogen replenishment and protein synthesis is decreased and the carb/protein supplement becomes less valuable when delayed recovery is experienced. Once repeated bouts of exercise are met with proper post workout recovery, muscles are rebuilt quicker, endurance is prolonged, and better results are established.

(Athletes’ Performance)

Now that you have established a respectable understanding of post workout nutrition and are unable to ignore the fact that immediate recovery could help with muscle recovery and energy levels, I bet you’d like some examples. Endurance athletes should consider carbohydrates as a first priority nutrient for recovery, but an added lean protein source can stimulate more effective restoration of the muscle. A whey and casein protein (10-20 grams depending on duration of exercise) mixture with extra carbs in the form of maltodextrin, fruit, or Gatorade would be an optimal blend (Athletes’ Performance). There are many store bought shakes that already contain these essential nutrients, but a perfect home-made post workout snack can be created with 8-12 ounce of non fat chocolate milk and a banana. This post workout concoction combines both whey and casein proteins in the milk to stimulate protein synthesis and contains plenty of carbohydrates from the sugars in the chocolate milk and banana to pack the hungry muscle cells full of glycogen (Athletes’ Performance).

I didn’t say that establishing a dependable post workout routine was easy, but it certainly is easier than repetitive treadmill running and tiresome lap swimming. Begin to reward your hard work with post workout nutrition and let the decreased mile time, muscle development, and boosted energy levels speak for themselves.

Resources:

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition: Professor John Ivy Studies in 2004, 1998.

Athletes’ Performance Handbook for Performance Nutrition. http://athletesperformance.com/ http://www.coreperformance.com/

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