Here are some Chamomile Plant Care nutritin how to fuel…. Nutrition and metabolic health 2. and Ristow, M. Eating grams of high-quality, lean protein after a workout will maximize protein synthesis to repair muscles and enhance muscle growth.

Post-workout nutrition for muscle maintenance -

Everybody varies in the amount of water they need, depending on the type of exercise, how much they sweat, how much water they get from foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as other factors. According to research , athletes can maximize performance by being well-hydrated before starting their workout.

To stay hydrated throughout the day, it is best to drink water even before a person notices they feel thirsty. When playing sports such as tennis or football, rehydrating during breaks between play can help prevent dehydration.

The body loses both water and electrolytes while sweating. If a person is sweating heavily during exercise, electrolyte drinks can help replenish salt and other elecrolytes. Endurance sports, such as running, use up more glycogen than resistance activities, such as weightlifting.

Another effect of exercise is that the muscles develop small tears. Getting the right nutritional balance after exercise restores energy levels and reduces fatigue , helping the body to repair muscles and build strength for future workouts.

Exercise supports muscle growth, but the body can only build upon existing muscles if they recover after each workout. Consuming protein after exercise helps the muscles to heal and prevents the loss of lean mass. Lean mass contributes to a muscular and toned appearance.

Anyone who exercises more than seven times a week should consume plenty of carbohydrates, as they quickly replenish glycogen levels. Many people believe that consuming fat after exercising slows digestion and the absorption of nutrients.

For some types of fat, this may be true. However, there is little information about the post-workout effects of fat calories. It may be a good idea to limit fat intake after exercise, but low levels of fat are unlikely to inhibit recovery.

Consuming carbohydrates and proteins after exercising helps to encourage muscle protein production, and promote recovery with the best results. Arrange to eat a snack within the first couple of hours after a workout. Also, remember to replace fluids by drinking water before, during, and after exercise.

A new study looks at how having breakfast before a morning workout affects the body during and after exercise — especially its ability to metabolize…. A person can increase the amount of protein that they consume in various ways, including eating certain….

Muscle dysmorphia can cause a preoccupation with building muscle and the belief that a person's muscles are smaller than they are. Learn more in this…. Learn about relative energy deficiency in sport RED-S. This article looks at symptoms, causes, treatment options, and more.

Pilates is a type of workout that involves simple, repetitive exercises that increase muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, and postural stability…. My podcast changed me Can 'biological race' explain disparities in health?

Why Parkinson's research is zooming in on the gut Tools General Health Drugs A-Z Health Hubs Health Tools Find a Doctor BMI Calculators and Charts Blood Pressure Chart: Ranges and Guide Breast Cancer: Self-Examination Guide Sleep Calculator Quizzes RA Myths vs Facts Type 2 Diabetes: Managing Blood Sugar Ankylosing Spondylitis Pain: Fact or Fiction Connect About Medical News Today Who We Are Our Editorial Process Content Integrity Conscious Language Newsletters Sign Up Follow Us.

Medical News Today. Health Conditions Health Products Discover Tools Connect. What should you eat after working out?

Medically reviewed by Marie Lorraine Johnson MS, RD, CPT — By Lana Barhum — Updated on November 17, What to eat after exercise and why Importance of the post-workout snack Takeaway Consuming protein foods, carbohydrates, and water within two hours post workout may help the body recover its energy levels.

What to eat after exercise and why. The importance of the post-workout snack. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations.

We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Most people with a degree from the University of Google and a Ph. in abstract reading will point to the recent review by Aragon et al. titled " Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?

But, saying that post-workout nutrition doesn't matter is a gross over-exaggeration, simplification, and misinterpretation of the research. Honestly, the truth is that the "necessity" of a post-workout meal depends on a few factors, as we mentioned above. If you're training consists of hopping on the elliptical times per week for 30 minutes at a time or just doing some light circuit training a couple of time per week, then, by and large, you don't need to worry about having a post-workout meal.

You'll do just fine to focus on getting insufficient amounts of protein and enough total calories each day. Now, if you are more physically active, where you train several days in a row, or perform two-a-days, then the importance of post-workout nutrition becomes a bit larger.

The more active you are and the closer your training sessions and competitions are to each other the more critical post-workout meals become as they are necessary to replenish depleted energy stores and supply your body with the essential building blocks it needs to repair damaged tissue.

Furthermore, if you've plateaued with your progress in the gym, or finding yourself horrendously sore for days on end following your intense workouts, then chances are pretty good that you can benefit from proper post-workout nutrition.

The faster that you can get nutrients into your body following a workout, the quicker the recovery process starts.

The faster you recover, the more frequently you can train, and the more productive you'll be in those training sessions. Do this continuously over a long period, and you'll make substantially better progress than what you've been doing. As you're likely aware, the "anabolic window" is the minute window immediately following your workout when you should eat your post-workout meal to capitalize on all the gains made during your training session.

And as we stated up top, failure to consume your post-workout meal in this timeframe leads to gains left on the table and a "wasted" workout.

Is it essential to slam your protein shake the second you finish performing your last set of curls in the squat rack? In this case, the immediacy with which you need to consume your post-workout meal depends on when your last meal was. If you ate a substantial mixed meal protein, carbs, and fats an hour or two before your workout, then the urgency to get in your post-workout meal is considerably less as your body is still digesting, absorbing, and utilizing the nutrients from that meal.

However, if it's been hours since your last meal, then you might want to hurry up and get that post-workout meal in your body. Will you lose out on "all kinds of gains" by not having your post-workout meal shortly after your workout? Not really, but you're not doing yourself any favors as the recovery and growth process can't begin until you give your body some fuel to do the work.

Earlier, we stated that your muscles are primed to utilize anything and everything you throw their way, and while you could go and crush a dozen doughnuts following a tough workout, that's not exactly ideal. Fortunately, you don't have to do much guessing when it comes to figuring out what to eat post-workout, as numerous studies have been conducted investigating this very issue.

Following training, blood flow and insulin sensitivity increases, which increases amino acid transport and uptake into your muscles.

As such, it would make sense that consuming some protein following your workout would be helpful. After all, you just spent the better part of minutes breaking down muscle tissue, which is made of protein.

Therefore, by including protein in your post-workout meal, you're helping stop muscle breakdown as well as providing the building blocks your body needs to repair and grow the muscles you just spent time breaking down. Beyond that, research shows that protein consumed immediately following exercise stimulates muscle protein synthesis to a higher degree than when an equivalent amount of protein is consumed at other times of the day.

As far as how much protein do you need post-workout, research has shown that 20 grams seem to be the minimum necessary to stimulate protein synthesis maximally. Fortunately, we don't have to rely on the fear-mongering of fad diets for our post-workout nutrition recommendations; we have human studies to look to for answers.

However, the group consuming carbohydrates experienced better recovery than the group that consumed protein alone. Additionally, other research has shown that the addition of carbohydrates to the post-workout meal stops catabolism muscle protein breakdown , enhances muscle protein synthesis, and accelerates glycogen replenishment.

It's also worth noting that consuming carbohydrates post-workout increases insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that helps shuttles nutrients from the bloodstream into your muscles. And, it just so happens that in addition to playing taxi driver for carbohydrates and amino acid, it also helps stop muscle protein breakdown.

Now, a lot will be made of the importance of replenishing muscle glycogen immediately after training, but the simple truth of the matter is that if your next training session isn't until tomorrow, you don't absolutely "have" to eat carbohydrates post-workout.

But, for the average trainee looking to build muscle and burn fat that only trains once per day, carbohydrates are secondary to protein in terms of post-workout meal importance. If you want to include some fat in the post-workout meal you can, but it's not going to confer any special muscle-building benefits like protein and carbohydrates can.

It's not going to hurt your muscle-building efforts or glycogen replenishment either if you're only training once per day too. Fat adds flavor to food and helps keep you feeling full, but it also slows down the digestion of your meal. Now, this isn't a big deal if you're only training once per day, but if you are training or competing for multiple times per day, then you would want to minimize fat in the post-workout meal to allow for the carbohydrates and protein to be digested and absorbed as quickly as possible.

The reason for this is simple. Intense exercise damages muscles and depletes muscle glycogen. Your top priority after training is halting muscle breakdown and initiating the repair and growth processes. Now, if you're only training once per day, you don't need to focus on how fast-digesting your meal is as your body will top off its glycogen stores over the next 24 hours, and you'll be all set for tomorrow's training.

If, however, you've got another round of practice, training, or competition later int he day, you want fast-digesting protein such as whey protein powder and fast-digesting carbohydrates white rice, white bread, rice cakes, Cluster Dextrin, etc. Here are some of our favorite post-workout foods broken out according to their predominant macronutrient:.

We'll be honest; there is no "best" post-workout meal for muscle gain. As long as you're getting in quality protein and carbohydrates, you can eat the foods that you enjoy eating. A lot has been made over the years about whether a post-workout meal is necessary or not for muscle gains.

The honest answer is that it depends on what your goals are, how long it's been since your last meal, and when your next training bout is. All that being said, having a post-workout meal for muscle gains has almost no downsides, but it will halt muscle protein breakdown and start the muscle-building process.

The next time you finish a tough workout, give one of these post-workout meals a shot and let us know which your favorite is by tagging us on Instagram steelfitusa! Intermittent Fasting A Beginner's Guide. Close 🍪 Cookie Policy We use cookies and similar technologies to provide the best experience on our website.

Accept Decline. Your cart is empty Continue shopping. Clear Close. Build Muscle What is the Best Post-Workout Meal? So, they've got to be onto something about the importance of post-workout nutrition, right?

Possibly so. So, does that mean post-workout meals are entirely unnecessary? What is Post-Workout Nutrition? Why Eat a Post-Workout Meal? So, what is the purpose of post-workout nutrition? Generally speaking, post-workout nutrition has three main goals: Replenish Glycogen Reduce Muscle Protein Breakdown Increase Muscle Protein Synthesis In other words, individuals working out want to: Replenish Energy Stores that were Depleted During Training Kickstart Muscle Repair Enhance Muscle Building Accelerate Recovery By consuming a proper post-workout meal, you can accomplish all of these goals.

So, Is Post-Workout Nutrition Necessary? This is a bit of a loaded question. Essentially, it boils down to this: The faster that you can get nutrients into your body following a workout, the quicker the recovery process starts.

When Do I Eat My Post-Workout Meal?

Post-workout nutrition for muscle maintenance use cookies and similar technologies Snakebite emergency treatment provide the best experience on our website. Refer mjscle our Privacy Policy for Post-workoug information. When you embarked Post-wogkout your quest for Post-workout nutrition for muscle maintenance healthy lifestyle, you were undoubtedly told of Chamomile Plant Care importance of the post-workout meal and making sure you don't miss out on the "anabolic window. You were also likely told that your workout would be "wasted" if you failed to consume a post-workout shake within 30 minutes of your last set. After all, bodybuilders and gym bros alike have been waxing rhapsodic about the vitality of the post-workout meal for decades, and they're some of the biggest, strongest human beings on the planet. Fort Worth maintenxnce Mansfield Chamomile Plant Care Kuscle — Orthopedics Today Urgent Supercharge thermogenic process Hydration and performance in sports Therapy Maintrnance Worth — Physical Therapy Willow Park mutrition Your post-workout makntenance snack can be much more than a reward for Post-wormout hard effort; choose the right foods for that highly anticipated treat Post-workout nutrition for muscle maintenance aid recovery and build strength and fitness. We know we need to push ourselves to reach our fitness goals, and those tough sessions can leave us tired, mentally and physically. This is because we burn a lot of nutrients during exercise—nutrients that we need to replenish in order to continue to build strength and fitness. Post workout food replaces the carbohydrates that our muscles use during exercise and provides protein we need to repair muscle damage and help build muscle. The duration and intensity of your workout will determine your post-workout nutritional needs.

Video

The Smartest Way To Use Protein To Build Muscle (Science Explained)