Optimizing your muscle recovery following a workout helps build your muscles and minimizes your post-workout discomfort. Both carbs and protein are essential nutrients during this time, and, although whole foods may be less expensive than supplements, supplements, such as dextrose and whey, offer convenience as well as the nutrients you need. However, consult a sports nutritionist before adding nutritional supplements to your fitness plan.
Muscle Recovery
Strenuous workouts damage your muscle fibers, and, as they recover in the hours and days following your workout, they build back up stronger than before in anticipation of the next workload. Rigorous workouts also deplete your stores of glycogen, a special type of starch you stockpile in your muscle tissue for the purpose of supplying energy as you exercise. Muscle recovery involves providing your body with the nutrients to repair and rebuild muscle as well as replenish your spent glycogen. Dextrose and whey can supply the carbs and protein you need for optimal recovery.
Dextrose
Dextrose is another name for the sugar glucose. It is a commercially available product that originates from the starchy part of corn, isolated using a heat and acid treatment or, alternatively, enzymes. Commonly used in baked goods, dextrose adds sweetness and allows for browning at high temperatures. When you consume it as a nutritional supplement, dextrose serves as a ready source of energy for both fueling your muscles and replenishing your glycogen stores following a workout.
Whey
Whey protein, derived from milk, aids muscle recovery in several ways. It is a complete protein, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids you must supply to your body through your diet. Whey offers the highest biological value of any food protein, as your body digests and absorbs it so efficiently. Additionally, whey is rich in branched-chain amino acids, a special class of amino acids your muscle tissue can absorb directly without prior processing by your liver. These features of whey protein allow your muscles the building blocks they need to repair damaged tissue and lay down new muscle fibers.
Considerations
Sports nutritionist Nancy Clark suggests refueling your muscles with a post-workout shake containing three or four times as many carbs as protein. For example, 100 grams of dextrose and 25 g of whey protein in 1 pint of liquid supplies you with the glucose, amino acids and water your muscles crave following a workout. A final point worth considering is the timing of your post-workout nutrition. Clark states your muscles are primed for nutrient absorption in the 30 to 45 minutes after your exercise session, so refueling during this window maximizes the ability of your muscles to recover post-workout.
References
- "American College of Sports Medicine Fit Society Page"; Protein and Athletes; Nancy Clark; Spring 2009 (PDF)
- Oregon State University: Dextrose
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Creatine and Whey Protein Supplements; December 2008
- "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition"; International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise; Bill Campbell, et al.; September 2007
- Beginner Triathlete: The Athlete's Kitchen; Building Muscles; Nancy Clark; July 2005
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