Post-Workout Nutrition
Posted by at 15:22 20/12/11
Something I see a lot in gyms is people who will spend a lot of time ensuring their diet is good and who prioritise Pre-workout nutrition and supplementation to ensure they get the best workout possible. The products we see most discussion about on our Facebook page is undoubtedly pre-workout supplements.
Which is the best, which gives the best pumps, most energy and so on. Both what you eat before your workout and what supplement you take undoubtedly has a key role in the quality of the ensuing training session and there is no doubt that pre-workout supplements have earned a place in most people's armoury when it comes to attacking the weights with fury.
More recently, the subject of intraworkout supplements designed to enhance nutrient uptake and delivery to muscles as well as enhance recovery has attracted a lot of interest and there is definitely a trend away from drinking water or some type of carbohydrate beverage during training and a shift towards the use of amino acid based supplements during training. Much like pre workouts, those who try Intra workout drinks usually remain hooked on them as they can make a significant impact in improving muscle and strength gains.
The subject I want to discuss today is post workout nutrition, something which used to receive a lot of coverage but nowadays seems to be relatively little discussed. Those who do implement post workout nutrition often do so based on studies which are more appropriate for endurance athletes than weight trainers. This article will look at the issues involved in post workout nutrition and explore the science behind what is happening in the body to then make recommendations for trainees depending on their goals.
Protein
Most bodybuilders will not need to be told to ensure they consume protein post workout. Protein is the actual contractile element of muscle tissue responsible for producing force and so most understand that by consuming protein it helps build muscles. This makes sense when we consider that both the protein in food or protein shakes is structurally similar to the protein element of muscle tissue.
Whenever we train the body breaks down muscle tissue which leads to protein breakdown. At the same time cellular signals designed to "turn on" protein synthesis are delivered. These twp processes can and will take place at the same time. Although training is an obvious cause of protein breakdown and protein synthesis, other things our bodies do to simply allow us to live such as replacing old cells with new cells (hair, skin, blood etc) also contribute to breakdown and synthesis of new cellular structures.
Protein synthesis is elevated by the ingestion of protein as well as the effect of anabolic hormones such as testosterone and insulin. Where protein synthesis exceeds protein breakdown we will add muscle mass over time. Where the two are the same we end up maintaining our muscle mass (although this does not mean strength cannot increase), and where protein breakdown exceeds protein synthesis we end up losing muscle mass. Clearly we would want to advance a situation where protein synthesis exceeds protein breakdown.
Post-workout
Immediately following a workout and assuming the impact of the last meal before training is factored out, we find ourselves in a catabolic state where the destruction of muscle tissue during our training is not compensated for by any increase in muscle tissue accretion unless we provide the tools for our body to make new muscle tissue. What can we do to turn this around and start the remodelling process that leads to a net gain in muscle tissue? To answer this let's delve into the research conducted in the field.
Research
Most of the research on post workout nutrition in the early years and certainly when I first started reading about nutrition and science in the early 1990's was driven by studies conducted on endurance athletes. Although the fuel utilisation rates, energetic demands and volumes of work performed by endurance athletes are completely different to that done by weight trainers, the net result of these early studies was bodybuilders aping the post workout nutrition regimes of endurance athletes. This meant a large amount of carbohydrates such as dextrose being consumed, up to 200g after a workout was not uncommon. The rationale behind this was that since carbohydrates drive levels of the hormone insulin up, and insulin in turn drives nutrients to muscles, then by consuming a large amount of carbohydrate immediately after training would help to deliver maximal anabolism. Unfortunately, consuming so many liquid carbohydrates in one meal is a surefire way to find yourself in the toilet shortly after your drink and most people who tried to do so would complain of rebound hypoglycaemia and fat gain.
More recently, new research has combined carbohydrates with protein or used protein alone during the post workout period and measured to what extent they impact on protein synthesis and protein breakdown. The results vary across different studies but on the whole what we find is:
- Carbohydrates are superior to protein for the purpose of replenishing muscle glycogen stores (that is, carbohydrate stored in the muscle and liver).
- Protein is superior for increasing protein synthesis, where carbohydrate does not help.
- The combination of both does not increase protein synthesis beyond the use of protein alone.
One thing I have seen over time is how frequently the bodybuilding mentality veers wildly from one view to another. For instance, high volume being the best way to train, to high volume will make your muscles fall off and low volume to failure being the single best way to train and back again. Similarly, today I see a change in many people's post workout nutrition plans where they have gone from carbs to protein + carbs, to now taking only protein post workout. This is justified on the basis that carbs, far from being "good" as they were perceived in the 80's and early 90's, are now regarded as the devil's own work and make no contribution to protein synthesis during the post workout period. As such, many have chosen to banish them in favour of protein alone.
From the standpoint of protein synthesis this can appear to be justified, however it omits the importance of carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores. A hardcore group out there has deemed that weight training is an anaerobic activity powered exclusively by non-carbohydrate energy sources and as such carbohydrates are not needed to boost muscle glycogen status. Unfortunately this betrays a clear ignorance of the data which clearly demonstrates that even relatively low volume weight training, not performed to any great number of reps per set, will breakdown muscle glycogen significantly. Given most people will utilise higher volumes than that conducted in the research, there is a clear need to replenish glycogen status as having sufficient glycogen is linked to improved training performance.
It also ignores the role of carbohydrate in having a protein sparing effect meaning it inhibits protein breakdown. By inhibiting protein breakdown we can come out with a superior net balance compared to feeding protein alone.
Essential Amino Acids
Data on the use of essential amino acids show they can positively improve protein synthesis at a relatively low dose but there is a lack of research comparing protocols comparing supplementing with essential amino acids during the post workout period and comparing them to whole protein sources like whey protein. There is anecdotal data which suggests the faster delivery of amino acids to muscles which can be achieved using EAA's may be superior to consuming whole protein but, for now, all that can be said is that a relatively small dose of EAA's can positively improve protein synthesis.
Fats
The role of fats is woefully understudied. There is some research suggesting whole milk was superior to skimmed milk when comparing the two under isocaloric conditions (meaning both groups received equal calories), but beyond that there is not really anything to say about the inclusion of fats in a post workout meal. We can say that having fats post workout is not going to cause any issues except possibly for those engaged in multiple training sessions per day.
A Post-workout protocol for maximising results
Drawing from both research and empirical results in the field the following recommendations are suggested for the post workout meal.
Carbohydrates - Intake should depend on the volume of training conducted and the occurrence of the next training session. For individuals training four times a week using a medium volume of training of around 15 sets per workout with reps in the typical bodybuilding range of 8-12 reps, 40-60 grams of carbohydrates in the immediate post workout meal will help with decreasing protein breakdown and accelerate recovery of muscle glycogen. By consuming them in a fast digesting, liquid form they can be absorbed more quickly.
Protein or Essential Amino Acids - For the average trainee outlined above, using 25g of a fast digesting protein source such as whey protein will increase protein synthesis faster than consuming slower digesting proteins such as casein or whole foods like meat. Whey protein was also shown in one study to increase the rate of fat oxidation compared to casein or soy protein so athletes should prioritise its use. As an alternative, a lower amount of essential amino acids (6-10g) can be utilised in place of whey protein to increase the rate of uptake of amino acids by muscle tissue.
Other Nutrients - There is a lack of research on the use of micronutrients in the post workout meal but a number of dietary supplements can be used during the post workout window to maximise their effectiveness. In particular, the use of nutrient partitioning supplements such as Glycobol are very useful during the post workout meal, but the increased insulin sensitivity which follows a bout of training makes it a great time to incorporate most supplements.
By following the recommendations above you will help to switch from a catabolic to an anabolic phase after your workout and begin the process of replenishing muscle glycogen and protein synthesis, while limiting protein breakdown. After your post workout meal you should look to eat again within ninety minutes to continue the process of repairing and rebuilding muscle.
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Author: Reggie Johal
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