Pre-Workout Nutrition for Post-Workout Recovery

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Most of us have heard the advice that you need to drink your post-workout shake within 30 minutes of completing the workout and eat a full meal within 2 hours of completing the workout. This is due to the muscles having an increased ability to absorb and store amino acids and glucose following most forms of physical exertion. However, is the meal you eat after your workout really the most important when it comes to maximizing the post-workout recovery window?

“It’s not when you put it in your mouth that counts. It’s when it gets to the cells.” –Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Body

In one of Tim Ferriss’ countless experiments in his book The 4-Hour Body, he uses a glucometer to measure the time it takes for food to cause a blood glucose spike from the time it enters his mouth. What he found is that in most cases he peaked one and a half to two and a half hours after food consumption. This means that the protein shake you drink within 30 minutes after your workout may not be delivering amino acids to your muscles until 2-3 hours after the workout! This can be well after the muscles have lost their increased ability to uptake glucose and amino acids. As far as the meal you eat within two hours after completing the workout? Perhaps it’s really not any more important after all.

Timing Post-Workout Nutrition

If you want to maximize the increased sensitivity of the muscles after a workout, you need to make sure the nutrients are readily available. In other words, the glucose and amino acids you want for recovery need to be digested and in the blood stream by the time you finish your workout. Therefore, you cannot wait until after the workout to eat a meal or drink a shake, but rather, would need to consume them before the workout.

If you feel you are not responding to workouts like you should, take a look at your pre-workout meal in order to optimize your post-workout nutrition.

Do you put as much emphasis on the macronutrients and contents of the pre-workout meal as you do the post-workout meal? Why or why not?

Note: This article is intended for those who choose to eat prior to workouts. It does not take into consideration any differences in protein synthesis, insulin sensitivity, or rates of food digestion that may result from training in a fasted state.

Your body.  Your training.

Post-workout Carbs a Must??

4:1 carb:protein ratio for recovery from movement-training activities, 2:1 for strength-training activities. These were guidelines I once gave in an article of mine called "Recovery 101: Nutrition". Maybe it is time for Recovery 201, because I am no longer convinced that these guidelines are correct.

I'm a big believer in the metabolic typing diet, which individualizes someone's food sources based on their biochemistry. Basically, it looks at what your body can metabolize and what it can't, and from there the diet is created. Because of this, I now hold the view that if your body cannot metabolize carbohydrates effectively, ingesting them will not help you recover faster. In fact, it may be delaying your recovery time.

I've put this theory into practice with myself and have not noticed any delay in my recovery time since removing the fast-acting carbohydrates. I do, however, mix my post-training shake in whole milk (*gasp! Fat post-training??) and must say that I recover very well with this and have achieved solid strength gains while following this protocol.

I guess this post is to be more thought-provoking than information based as I have not done extensive research into this theory. So, it is something to think about. How do you feel when you eat carbs in general? Do you feel sluggish or lethargic after you eat a big bowl of pasta or an entire pizza? Maybe those carbs aren't doing what you think they are in your body.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates is a strength and conditioning specialist and the owner of Self Made® (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

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