Eating after my workout?
December 21, 2006 3:26 PM Subscribe
I've heard from 3 independent sources now that there is some benefit to eating within 15 minutes after a strenuous workout. What are the benefits of this? What's the basic physiology of it?
No one really elaborates on this, so I don't understand what the benefits are. Is this for if you're trying to gain/lose weight or build muscle mass or help digestion or what? What should be eaten? Is this after a cardio workout or weights or what? Helpful links would be...helpful.
No one really elaborates on this, so I don't understand what the benefits are. Is this for if you're trying to gain/lose weight or build muscle mass or help digestion or what? What should be eaten? Is this after a cardio workout or weights or what? Helpful links would be...helpful.
"Every responsible source in bodybuilding and athletics recommends that you eat after training, and preferably within 45 minutes (maybe up to 60) after a workout. This period, known as the golden hour, is when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. The actual composition of the post-workout meal is a matter of some debate; for optimal glycogen replacement, most people recommend carbohydrates, but a certain amount of protein (at least 10 percent of the meal) is needed for muscle repair and growth."
Link goes to the first result for "eating after working out" on google search.
posted by hindmost at 3:51 PM on December 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
Link goes to the first result for "eating after working out" on google search.
posted by hindmost at 3:51 PM on December 21, 2006 [1 favorite]
Logically, you'd want to eat easy-to-digest food (no steak)
Surely steak would be among the easiest-to-digest foods? It's meat.
posted by -harlequin- at 4:15 PM on December 21, 2006
Surely steak would be among the easiest-to-digest foods? It's meat.
posted by -harlequin- at 4:15 PM on December 21, 2006
Best answer: but a certain amount of protein (at least 10 percent of the meal) is needed for muscle repair and growth."
And this is the good part. Muscles after a work out require protein to build up, so if you're not eating after exercise your mass building will be greatly impeded. There are technical terms for this, but I don't remember what they are exactly (anabolic and catabolic are two, I think).
posted by IronLizard at 6:13 PM on December 21, 2006
And this is the good part. Muscles after a work out require protein to build up, so if you're not eating after exercise your mass building will be greatly impeded. There are technical terms for this, but I don't remember what they are exactly (anabolic and catabolic are two, I think).
posted by IronLizard at 6:13 PM on December 21, 2006
The ideal post-run meal, at least according to Greg McMillan is 1 gram of carbs and .25 grams of protein per pound of body weight, half in liquid form in the first 30 minutes after a workout and the remainder over the next 90 minutes.
posted by djb at 6:30 PM on December 21, 2006
posted by djb at 6:30 PM on December 21, 2006
@IronLizard - does that mean if you don't want to build mass, but slim down, you wouldn't want to eat protein right after your workout?
posted by jesirose at 7:07 PM on December 21, 2006
posted by jesirose at 7:07 PM on December 21, 2006
It would seem so, but since slimming down is really more about losing fat and not muscle mass, some protein is probably still a good thing. (Nice to see someone else from texas around!).
posted by IronLizard at 9:00 PM on December 21, 2006
posted by IronLizard at 9:00 PM on December 21, 2006
This is absurd. In the hours after a workout your splanchnic, or gut, blood flow is lowered while muscles recover. But there's never a shortage of nutritional fantasies available when you start to scratch the surface of professional training.
posted by docpops at 10:19 PM on December 21, 2006
posted by docpops at 10:19 PM on December 21, 2006
Response by poster: Can you explain your answer, docpops. I don't think I totally understand what you're saying.
posted by Slimemonster at 10:26 PM on December 21, 2006
posted by Slimemonster at 10:26 PM on December 21, 2006
Yes, please clarify, I would love to know that everything I've read on the subject is completely incorrect and a shallow attempt at selling supplements or convince people to eat eggs. Seriously.
posted by IronLizard at 10:44 PM on December 21, 2006
posted by IronLizard at 10:44 PM on December 21, 2006
So you're saying that Rocky was propaganda for the United Egg Producers of America?
posted by j-urb at 12:08 AM on December 22, 2006
posted by j-urb at 12:08 AM on December 22, 2006
docpops, what you are saying does not preclude the possibility that there is an optimal time to refill glycogen stores.
The Mayo Clinic advises eating within 2 hours after exercise if at all possible. So does the UK Food Standards Agency. This US Olympic Team coaching article written by two certified strength and condition specialists (CSCS) has a good summary and references to relevant studies and says :
The highest rate of glycogen storage occurs in the two hours after exercise due to increased permeability of the muscle to glucose, an increased sensitivity to insulin (which stimulates glucose uptake into the muscle) and enzymatic activity. Rates of glycogen synthesis may be nearly two times faster than normal in the first two hours after a workout. After this two-hour time window, the rate of glycogen formation returns to normal levels.
For the average Bob who's hitting the gym three times a week for 25 minutes it probably doesn't matter, but a lot of amateur cyclists and runners can benefit from such information.
posted by hindmost at 2:28 AM on December 22, 2006
The Mayo Clinic advises eating within 2 hours after exercise if at all possible. So does the UK Food Standards Agency. This US Olympic Team coaching article written by two certified strength and condition specialists (CSCS) has a good summary and references to relevant studies and says :
The highest rate of glycogen storage occurs in the two hours after exercise due to increased permeability of the muscle to glucose, an increased sensitivity to insulin (which stimulates glucose uptake into the muscle) and enzymatic activity. Rates of glycogen synthesis may be nearly two times faster than normal in the first two hours after a workout. After this two-hour time window, the rate of glycogen formation returns to normal levels.
For the average Bob who's hitting the gym three times a week for 25 minutes it probably doesn't matter, but a lot of amateur cyclists and runners can benefit from such information.
posted by hindmost at 2:28 AM on December 22, 2006
I'll defer to Mayo on the above remarks regarding glycogen storage. And if one were an athlete at the most rarefied levels of training I would say I'm not even close to a competent resource for what constitutes a training and nutrition regimen that is ideal for them, especially since there is always a psychological element to any self-admninistered therapy.
My response was to the original question, and the notion that eating immediately after a strenuous workout is sensible. I suppose the type of workout (primarily aerobic v. anaerobic, strength v. endurance, etc) is of major importance. My main point is that proper digestion and absorption depends on adequate blood flow to the gut, especially for protein and fats, not so much simple carbs, since they are broken down more quickly and even as rapidly as when they make contact with saliva. So if the question were more along the lines of restoring glycogen stores in the liver, yeah, this certainly seems possible. But loading protein and fats into your gut immediately following a workout makes me cringe - unless someone can point to a valid blinded study.
posted by docpops at 8:47 AM on December 22, 2006
My response was to the original question, and the notion that eating immediately after a strenuous workout is sensible. I suppose the type of workout (primarily aerobic v. anaerobic, strength v. endurance, etc) is of major importance. My main point is that proper digestion and absorption depends on adequate blood flow to the gut, especially for protein and fats, not so much simple carbs, since they are broken down more quickly and even as rapidly as when they make contact with saliva. So if the question were more along the lines of restoring glycogen stores in the liver, yeah, this certainly seems possible. But loading protein and fats into your gut immediately following a workout makes me cringe - unless someone can point to a valid blinded study.
posted by docpops at 8:47 AM on December 22, 2006
Covert Bailey covers the science behind this recommendation in quite a bit of detail in his book Fit or Fat
posted by jbradley at 9:32 AM on December 22, 2006
posted by jbradley at 9:32 AM on December 22, 2006
After a workout, your body's metabolism is faster; you are burning calories and your blood is circulating better.
Think about it this way: if you throw a log into a blazing fire, it will burn faster than if you throw the same log into a smoldering, low burning flame.
posted by adriana at 2:30 PM on December 31, 2006
Think about it this way: if you throw a log into a blazing fire, it will burn faster than if you throw the same log into a smoldering, low burning flame.
posted by adriana at 2:30 PM on December 31, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
I've heard the time-frame quoted as 30 minutes ideally, and 2 hours at the outside.
posted by adamrice at 3:50 PM on December 21, 2006