Post-Workout is the Time For Building Muscle

Your body is like a sponge after a hard workout. Most nutrients you consume get soaked up by your body for energy replenishment and muscle repair. To maximize muscle glycogen stores, carbohydrate rich foods should be consumed immediately after exercising.

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 carbohydrates immediately after exercise. When carbohydrate is combined with protein, this muscle glycogen storage is enhanced post exercise. This is also the best time to down your vitamins to halt free radical production produced by intense exercise.

The preferred forms of carbs are the simple sugary carbs that get soaked up fast by starving muscles. Dextrose, fruit juices, Gatorade, cereal bars, white potatoes and white rice are good sources of simple carbs. Also, there are great post-workout drink mixes on the market today which have the right amount of simple carbs as well as electrolytes, taurine and creatine for maximum absorption.

Next should be a source of high quality easy to digest protein such as whey. High quality whey isolate is the cream of the crop for delivering much needed amino acids to your muscles.

After about 30-45 minutes, a regular food meal or meal replacement should be consumed to give your body a steady release of complex carbs, high quality-slower digesting protein, and essential fats. So remember, Feed the Machine!