Post workout nutrient replacement is vital to the success of a particular training session or competition whether the participant is an athlete or just an active individual. Without proper nutrient replacement, you actually waste a majority of your workout, this means that you will not see the results as quickly as you would if you were to give your body what it needs to rebuild.
As you complete a training session or competition your muscles are gradually being broken down and depleted of specific nutrients. In order to restore proper function all of these key nutrients must be replaced post workout. This is absolutely essential! You will actually do more harm than good if you are not taking care of your body nutritionally after you get done exercising. Your muscles can begin to atrophy if they are not re-built post training.
With any type of workout the most important aspect other than actually replacing what you have lost is nutrient timing. This is the amount of time you have to replace the nutrients, for this you have about 45 minutes. After you have reached this time it is too late to get the best results. Different types of workouts require the use of different nutrients and therefore will require slight modifications to what you need to replace. For instance strength workouts differ from endurance workouts as to what macronutrients are being used the most. In order to get the best results from your workout, you need to replenish the proper nutrients
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Endurance Workout:
This type of workout decreases the glycogen levels within the muscle and liver the most. With one hour of intense training, these levels can be depleted over 50% and two hours can completely deplete these stores. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to replace glycogen by consuming glucose or carbohydrates. Without replenishment, eventually the body will not have enough energy to sustain even submaximal energy output. This means that even moderate intensity workouts would be severely compromised.
Strength Workout:
In this type of workout, the muscles are being broken down with each repetition of each exercise. This means that amino acids are lost, and these need to be replaced in order for the muscle to not lose its mass. The main macronutrient that needs to be replenished is protein. This will allow the amino acids to then begin to rebuild the muscle tissue that was damaged during the workout. However, this does not mean that this is the only nutrient that needs to be replaced. As you train your body uses what is called glycogen stores from both your muscles and your liver. Both of these stores need to be replaced and the best way to replace them is carbs. This would need to be replaced in the event that the strength workout was done at high intensity or if power type exercises were involved, because anaerobic (without oxygen) are supplied by carbohydrates.
Post workout nutrient replacement is important no matter the type of exercise because your body needs the proper nutrients to rebuild post exercise. This needs to be done within 45 minutes of finishing training or competition or you can actually lose the majority of the training benefits. A balance of macronutrients along with other vitamins and minerals need to be replaced in order to ensure that your body can recover from this exercise bout and be ready to train during the next session. Otherwise, you can compromise not only your muscles but your health in general.
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