Supplement 101: Proper Post-Workout Nutrition

After years of exercise which resulted in countless days of being so sore it was hard to function… and never getting the physique I wanted… I started taking glucose and rapid assimilating protein post workout.

That was seven years ago... and it has not changed since. The results doing this are amazing and the difference was instantaneous! The next day I was not as sore, I could move effectively, I was able to exercise harder the next day as I felt stronger and more recovered!!!! Come to find out… I actually was.

The window of opportunity post workout is crucial when determining the success someone will have reaching their goal to lose weight, increase size, gain strength, or build muscle. Depending on what you type in a search bar on the web, you will get about a million different “theories” on how to do post workout. But there is only one way to do it properly to get the maximum benefits from the effort you put in … and science stands behind it.

What To Eat After A Workout

When you are doing any sort of resistance training (weight lifting, machines, Crossfit, bodyweight exercises, TRX, etc.) you are doing two things to your body:

1. You are depleting your glycogen stores. (Glycogen is glucose that is stored in your muscle cells to be used as fuel during bouts of intense activity.)
2. You are breaking down your muscle tissue and creating micro-traumas on your muscle fiber.

Proper post workout nutrition will address both of these issues as your body has a set of order of operations it must go through to replenish, repair, and recover. If you do this part right, you will recover faster, reduce soreness, and grow muscle more quickly & efficiently. If you don’t…. you will continually miss out on maximizing the results from your hard work and your workouts will suffer.

Should I Take Carbs Post-Workout?

Your body is genetically built for survival and will always replenish your glycogen stores first and foremost. It does this by refilling the energy tanks with glucose. So, if your body needs glucose – simply give it glucose. Like anything, companies will use different forms of glucose or sneak in other carbohydrate sources (no matter what the bottle says, always read the label!), but the best is a pure dexanhydrous glucose.

What this means is that it is a monosaccharide with water extracted from it, that assimilates rapidly and requires little to no work on the part of your body to break it down and shuttle it into the muscle cell to replenish glycogen stores. This makes it the most rapid assimilating carbohydrate available and it also gives your body one heck of an insulin spike! Oh no, I said spike insulin! Isn’t that a no-no? No, it isn’t… Not for this specific time of the day.

Insulin is an anabolic storage hormone. Spiking insulin at the right time makes your body more prone to nutrient absorption, essentially opening up the door to your muscles to allow more protein and nutrients to enter. Which means pairing a dexanhydrous glucose alongside a rapid assimilating protein, a hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, you are giving your body everything it needs to begin recovery immediately!

What Protein Is Best Post-Workout?

Why do we want a hydrolyzed whey protein isolate for our rapid assimilating protein? A whey protein isolate is whey protein that has lactose and fat out of it (2 things fromdairy that slows down digestion and assimilation). What will be left is a powder that is 90% protein or higher!

If you take that protein and hydrolyze it, you are making it even more rapid assimilating, because  When a product is hydrolyzed, natural enzymes are used to break down the protein strands, essentially pre-digesting them. That way when you drink it alongside your dexanhydrous glucose, everything is on the same timetable.

It wouldn’t be beneficial to spike insulin… open the door to your muscles… then amino acids from protein not showing up until after the door is close would it? This is why taking a dexanhydrous glucose and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate post workout is the most beneficial and effective pair. To do it right you will want to pair them together at the same time as a powerful post-workout stack.

If you’re wondering what protein to use during the day as a meal replacement, we cover that in the next part of the Supplement 101 series. CLICK HERE to read about sustained-assimilation protein for meal-replacement.

*This post was written by Will Grumke. He is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist, NASM Certified Weight Loss Specialist, NASM Certified Behavioral Change Specialist, and CrossFit Level 1 Trainer.

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