It’s a familiar scene, as soon as that barbell is re-racked it’s off the changing room as fast as you can, rummaging through your bag to prepare your protein shake. You’re on the clock, you only have a thirty minute anabolic window otherwise your gains are lost forever!
Well at least that’s the story supplement companies like to tell you and it seems to make sense that your body has been stressed and you need some nutrients in you to start your recovery. Whilst it certainly won’t hurt you by doing this, it is hardly convenient and not even necessary. You can get the exact same results without being so strict about your post workout nutrition.
People that take on some simple sugars immediately post workout is to kick start their glycogen replenishment. The idea is by adding some simple sugars this will “spike” your insulin speeding up the process. Well, first of all during strength training your muscle glycogen only deplete around 30-40% and since you won’t be training the same muscle group for at least 24 hours there is no urgency to replenish them. Your body will have plenty of time to do that naturally.
This may however be legitimate for endurance athletes who train multiple times a day but certainly not for the average gym goer. By following your normal meal times, your glycogen levels will be restored by the time you next go to the gym.
In terms of spiking insulin, you don’t need simple carbohydrates to do that, in fact protein can produce the same insulin response as carbohydrates do. For example, beef will elicit about the same amount of insulin as brown rice or brown pasta.
In term of needing a quick protein source, most people don’t understand just how long it takes to digest and absorb the food you have eaten. It can take hours for your body to break down and then absorb a meal into your body. This is relevant because that pre-workout meal you ate a few hours before your session is still being digested and absorbed when you have finished your workout. For this reason there is no need to drink a protein shake immediately after completing your workout.
People that use intermittent fasting is further proof that you don’t need to have an immediate post workout meal. Looking at your protein balance over a short period of time is a mistake and you should be worrying about your net protein balance over the long term such as 24 hours.
In conclusion, whilst there is nothing wrong with having a post workout shake you should understand that it’s not going to make any difference to your results. It’s much more important to be hitting your macronutrient goals over a 24 hour period than worrying about timing. That’s not to say that timing is not important as 1 meal a day is certainly not optimal. So don’t over complicate and stress about the small things, just follow what your mum used to tell you, get three meals a day and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Well at least that’s the story supplement companies like to tell you and it seems to make sense that your body has been stressed and you need some nutrients in you to start your recovery. Whilst it certainly won’t hurt you by doing this, it is hardly convenient and not even necessary. You can get the exact same results without being so strict about your post workout nutrition.
People that take on some simple sugars immediately post workout is to kick start their glycogen replenishment. The idea is by adding some simple sugars this will “spike” your insulin speeding up the process. Well, first of all during strength training your muscle glycogen only deplete around 30-40% and since you won’t be training the same muscle group for at least 24 hours there is no urgency to replenish them. Your body will have plenty of time to do that naturally.
This may however be legitimate for endurance athletes who train multiple times a day but certainly not for the average gym goer. By following your normal meal times, your glycogen levels will be restored by the time you next go to the gym.
In terms of spiking insulin, you don’t need simple carbohydrates to do that, in fact protein can produce the same insulin response as carbohydrates do. For example, beef will elicit about the same amount of insulin as brown rice or brown pasta.
In term of needing a quick protein source, most people don’t understand just how long it takes to digest and absorb the food you have eaten. It can take hours for your body to break down and then absorb a meal into your body. This is relevant because that pre-workout meal you ate a few hours before your session is still being digested and absorbed when you have finished your workout. For this reason there is no need to drink a protein shake immediately after completing your workout.
People that use intermittent fasting is further proof that you don’t need to have an immediate post workout meal. Looking at your protein balance over a short period of time is a mistake and you should be worrying about your net protein balance over the long term such as 24 hours.
In conclusion, whilst there is nothing wrong with having a post workout shake you should understand that it’s not going to make any difference to your results. It’s much more important to be hitting your macronutrient goals over a 24 hour period than worrying about timing. That’s not to say that timing is not important as 1 meal a day is certainly not optimal. So don’t over complicate and stress about the small things, just follow what your mum used to tell you, get three meals a day and eat a healthy, balanced diet.