|
What’s the best thing about bodybuilding? Could be the
pump – your workout floods your muscles with blood,
your veins show proudly through your skin and the striations
in your delts, pecs and arms stand out nicely. You just finished
your training session and now it’s time to eat! Or is
it? Maybe you should drink something. You know how vital water
is, and you certainly want to rehydrate. But you’ve
also heard that simple sugars are important in replenishing
glycogen stores. Than again, some one said you should take
branched-chain amino acids immediately after you workout to
prevent muscle breakdown. What about those various drinks
in the fridge behind the counter at the gym - do you choose
the one with creatine or fruit juice? Maybe the one with L-glutamine.
In a bold attempt to determine what you and I should eat or
drink after we weight train, scientists have poked and prodded
lab rats, feeding them dilute glucose drinks after the little
fellows exercise. Ongoing research has produced a flood of
new, supportive nutritional information, but it can be confusing.
So before you throw up your hands in despair and head to the
pizza parlor down the street, here’s my take on what
science says you should eat after your workout to gain optimal
muscularity.
A Matter of Balance
At its most basic level, bodybuilding nutrition comes down
to a balance of nutrients. Without sufficient carbohydrate
intake, your energy drops. Without enough protein, growth
is compromised. Without adequate fat consumption, your ability
to make hormones and maintain strong cells decreases. Without
vitamins and minerals, many other essential bodily functions
suffer. Without adequate hydration, your performance goes
downhill. Therefore, if anyone tells you that a single vitamin,
mineral, herb, protein or magic potion is the end-all, be-all
of post workout nutrition, you’re being misled. Basically,
the trick is to eat the right balance of nutrients in the
right forms at the right time so our body can make optimal
use of them.
The post exercise state is unlike any other during the day,
and recognizing as well as taking advantage of its unique
biological conditions allows you to better nourish or “refuel”
your body. Strenuous exercise changes the production of insulin,
a hormone responsible for transporting nutrients to your cells,
and enzymes, proteins produced by living cells that cause
specific biochemical reactions. Shifts in energy production
and nutrient transport also occur. Stored glvcogen provides
your muscles with the energy they need, in the form of adenosine
triphospate (ATP), to contract and relax. Naturally the greater
the duration and intensity of your training, the greater the
depletion of your glycogen stores. Those stores need to be
replenished, and the recovery or post exercise state may be
the best time to do so.
Refueling
After a weight-training session, particularly an intense one,
your energy stores are quite low and your body craves fuel.
As a result of your cells being in a state of heightened insulin
sensitivity they’re willing to suck up almost any and
all nutrients you’ll give them. Whatever you ingest
will cause your body to produce higher than normal levels
of insulin to transport nutrients to the cells; in this instance,
mostly to muscle. Seeing as you’re somewhat depleted,
simple sugars might be the way to go because your body can
store them more quickly. At this point you’ll say hello
to one of those post workout drinks and save the pasta for
later.
Looking to carbs as the primary source for refueling puts
you on the right track, but you’ll get even more out
of your refueling efforts if you also include some protein
to optimize the insulin transport mechanism. Research shows
that after you train, the best way to get an effective insulin
response to support optimal nutrient uptake is to ingest both
protein and carbs. So, now you know you want simple sugars
as well as some protein after your workout.
How should creatine come into the mix? In my opinion, creatine
monohydrate is the one supplement that has reasonably stood
the test of time and can unquestionably lead to enhanced muscle
strength and, to some degree, size. Since the post workout
state offers an advantage in nutrient transport, and because
you want to optimize muscle growth and strength, you’d
sell yourself short if you didn’t consider enhancing
creatine transport. Yet creatine isn’t magic. You can
take all the creatine in the world, but if the proper biological
and physiological factors aren’t in place, it won’t
bring even the slightest benefit.
To utilize creatine efficiently your body must absorb what
you ingest, then transport it via the bloodstream to muscle
and finally convert it into creatine phosphate, the form in
which it’s used. Recent research supports ingesting
creatine with carbohydrates because creatine has its own transport
mechanism that seems to work more efficiently with higher
insulin levels. Since insulin may transport nutrients to your
muscles more quickly and efficiently after you train, it would
stand to reason the same would occur with creatine.
If you’ve shopped for creatine lately, you ‘ye
probably noticed that many formulas now boast not only creatine
but also glutamine on their labels. Why? While intense training
is a positive stress, meaning it can bring about enhanced
performance and well being, it also depletes your body of
certain vital nutrients. Glutamine is one of the most important.
In the event of stress without adequate recovery, glutamine
levels decrease and your immune system may be compromised.
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue,
and you run the risk of draining your muscles of their most
predominant building block if you don’t adequately supplement
with glutamine. In seeking the most complete and valuable
post workout recovery nutrition, then, you’d probably
want to include this amino acid.
Fuel Review
Let’s put all the above advice together:
• After your workout, carbs are key In fact, this would
be a good time to ingest simple sugars so you can quickly
replenish depleted glycogen stores.
• Adding protein will facilitate absorption due to a
heightened nutrient transport opportunity.
• Including creatine will stimulate the best muscle
response possible.
• Adding glutamine would be beneficial in protecting
your muscular system’s ability to maintain and improve
form and function.
So why can’t you just eat a meal and swallow some creatine?
Well, you can, but your results may not be optimal. If you
eat a large meal, your body may have already passed the recovery
state by the time the nutrients clear your stomach. Theoretically,
this means you could have less than optimal nutrient absorption.
One way to try to circumvent this is to eat a meal that includes
a combination of monosaccharides (simple carbohydrates or
sugars) and polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates), allowing
for quick sugar absorption and ongoing fuel for absorption,
digestion and utilization. In other words, not only are the
simple carbs rushed into muscle for glycogen storage but the
complex carbs consistently supply fuel over a longer time
frame. For protein, look to whey hydrolysate for quick absorption.
It has a high ratio of di- and tripeptides, the form in which
protein is most readily transported through the wall of the
digestive tract.
Recovery Formulas
So a large meal may not do the trick unless you’re quite
careful with nutrient selection. Can you just chug Kool-Aid
mixed with some whey protein powder and creatine and get a
post-workout nutritional benefit? I’d have to say yes,
although many formulas on the market do a much better job
of supplying quality nutrients. In fact, a high-quality recovery
formula can and should include a complete profile of vitamins
and minerals, the micronutrients that would be present in
a regular supportive meal.
Don’t be fooled by labels with endless lists of ingredients
you can t pronounce. Look for products that contain creatine in its monohydrate form, macronutrients designed for quick
gastric emptying, simple sugars to facilitate transport, glucose
polymers for greater energy supply, peptide-bonded glutamine,
an array of vitamins and minerals and whey proteins hydrolyzed
into di- and tripeptides. With these simple rules, over time
you should find that taking advantage of the post workout
refueling opportunity will shorten your journey to optimal
muscularity!
Related Articles
A Real World
Bodybuilding Diet
Eating Before Bed
Post Workout Nutrition
| Popular Products! |
Nutrex
Vitrix
If you are looking for a safe and effective way
to send your own natural testosterone production.. |
|
Universal
NOX3
Nitric oxide. The “perpetual pump.”
Cell-signaling vasodilators. You’ve heard about it,
now..
|
|
Myogenix
AfterShock
After intensive research and field testing, MYOGENIX™
has.. |
|
