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This is the absolute most critical time of the day to make sure your nutrition is on point. Especially if your that person trying to build a more desirable body. With what you consume for the next 2 to 4 hours following your workout will dictate the type of gains you will have, and the outcome of change in your physique.
1) Calories matter here, some experts recommend consuming 50% of your total calorie intake within 4 hours. I’d say make it more like 40%, because the nutrient uptake to your muscles is at it’s greatest. Think of your muscles as a sponge right after any physical activity, and this usually occurs after any hard weight training workout.
It makes sense because your muscle breaks down during the workout and depletes valuable nutrients, and now the body is prepared to take them back. The reason why I suggested 40% because you do not want to go overboard with the calories.
2) With a post workout, insulin sensitivity is at it’s greatest. One of the purposes of insulin is to help transport nutrients like glucose, amino acids, and creatine into muscle cells.
Taking insulin-increasing compounds like chromium, and alpha lipoic acid will help.
3) Staying properly hydrated with water at this time is important to help water soluble vitamins make their way to your muscles, and transport nutrients in your body.
4) Combining carbohydrates with protein immediately after your workout will enhance glycogen synthesis even more that plain alone carbohydrates. Consuming a rich protein and carbohydrate drink within 20 minutes will maximize insulin levels for at least several hours following your workout. Ideally, what your looking for here is a ratio of 4:1 carbohydrates to proteins.
The goal of the post-workout is to increase muscle anabolism, protein synthesis, while decreasing or lowering cortisol levels. Remember, we want to increase cell volume to create a sizable anabolic environment in the muscle.
5) I suggest taking a post-workout recovery drink. This is essential to proper workout recovery as well as building lean muscle tissue.
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