Exercise damages your muscles slightly. This damage accounts for the soreness you feel in the days following a particularly hard or new workout. What you consume after you work out is important for healthy muscle recovery and regeneration. While time and rest are important, there are some nutrients that can further aid in the recovery of your muscles following exercise.
Need for Recovery
According to Dr. John Berardi, founder of Precision Nutrition, Inc., your muscles experience a decrease in energy sources such as carbohydrates and protein when you exercise, resulting in microscopic damage that causes soreness. This muscle damage can lead to an increase in calcium levels, which promotes further damage to your muscles, says Berardi. Once that happens, your body signals an increase in fluid that contains immune cells to repair the damage done to your muscles. This process results in a decreased capacity for your muscles to take up and store energy supplies, such as carbohydrates.
Fluids
It's important to weigh yourself before and after you exercise. A loss of weight during a workout is most often explained by a fluid deficit, according to chiropractor Steven Horwitz, director of Capital Sports Injury Center in Washington, D.C. For every kilogram of weight you lose over the course of your workout, you will have a deficit of about 1 liter of fluid. To allow your body and your muscles to recover properly, you need to replace the fluid you have lost. Consumption of a little sodium, through salty foods or sports drinks, is recommended post-workout along with fluids, as this will improve fluid retention, says Horwitz.
Protein
According to Berardi, your body increases its rate of protein breakdown while decreasing its rate of protein synthesis during and after exercise. If you consume protein products immediately following a workout, you have a chance to slow down this protein breakdown process. It has been shown that consumption of anywhere between 0.2 g and 0.6 g of protein per kg of body weight is helpful in slowing down protein breakdown in your muscles after a workout. Berardi states that consuming a larger amount protein may be more helpful in protein synthesis than consuming a smaller amount. It is important to remember that your body is able to take up nutrients more easily when they are in liquid form. Horwitz recommends drinking a post workout recovery drink containing whey protein.
Carbohydrates
When you are at rest, your muscles store a sugar called glycogen to be used as energy. When you exercise, you deplete the levels of glycogen stored in your muscles, so it is important to replace it when you are finished. Both Horwitz and Berardi recommend that you consume between .6 g and 1.2 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight, depending on workout duration and intensity, post workout. This consumption of carbohydrates raises your insulin levels that aids in moving carbohydrates and amino acids to your muscles, increasing your rate of recovery. Again, your body absorbs nutrients in liquid form better after a workout, so recovery shakes or sports drinks are good options.
Timing
So, when should you eat your post workout nutrition? Berardi states that after a workout, your muscles are set up to take up nutrients more readily, so you should consume your post workout meal or snack immediately after you finish. The longer you go without refueling your body after exercise, it's less likely you will speed up your recovery time, says Berardi. You should eat a small meal or snack, drink a recovery shake, or consume formulated recovery bars as soon as you can after your workout.
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