How to Make The Best Post-Workout Shake
After you’ve finished your training session, it’s important to drink a shake to help recover your energy. For this reason, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to make the perfect post-workout shake.
Certainly, many athletes ignore the importance of post-workout nutrition. Some even skip meals because they are short on time, or worse, they don’t want to increase their caloric intake. After you’ve taken the time and effort to reach your fitness goals, the next step is making sure that you eat well after finishing your session.
In fact, if you want to reduce the number of calories you’re consuming, the worst time to do this is just after your workout. Keep in mind that this is the moment when your body’s metabolism is at its peak and is desperate to receive energy in the form of nutrients.
Don’t forget that immediately after your training session, you have around one hour to provide your body with the nutrients it needs. This is in order for it to begin the process of repairing and rebuilding itself.
Many athletes make the mistake of not consuming any post-workout shake or any type of food at all. They think this will allow them to burn fat faster. But, the worst time to deprive your body of nutrients is just after you’ve finished working out.
Next, we’ll explain the reasons why you need to have a post-workout shake and how to prepare it.
Why you need a post-workout shake?
The main reason for having a post-workout shake is to help your body recover part of the energy it has burnt during physical activity. Keep in mind that carbohydrates and sugar are stored in your liver as glycogen. When the muscles need energy during physical activity, the glycogen turns into glucose, the body’s main fuel source. However, these glycogen reserves are limited and once they are used, they need to be restored.
Secondly, the additional stress that exercise has on your body causes small tears in the microfibers of your muscles. When these tears are repairing themselves, you’ll notice changes in your body, such as muscular growth or weight loss. You must know that muscle tissue mainly comprises of proteins. So, if you want to repair these microfibers you need to ingest proteins after your workout.
Lastly, glucose is the body’s main source of energy. During periods of intense and prolonged exercise, the body resorts to breaking down the muscular tissue. When this happens, the amino acids of the broken-down muscle are used as energy for the body. This is something you want to avoid if you want to increase your muscular mass. That’s why post-workout shakes are beneficial since they are ideal for re-energizing your body.
“Eating healthy nutritious food is the simple and right solution to eliminating excess body weight effortlessly and becoming slim and healthy forever.”
-Subodh Gupta
The perfect post-workout shake
We are now going to suggest what you should include in your post-workout shake. Take note!
Proteins
The proteins that you ingest immediately after a weight-lifting session are rapidly broken down by your body. Then, they will be used to repair your muscular fibers. This allows your muscles to gain strength, grow and provide your muscles with fast action proteins.
Carbohydrates
For athletes following strict diets or for those who are lowering their BMI to the minimum, may need to decrease their consumption of carbohydrates. But, even in those cases, the carbohydrate cycle is still an important part of their diets.
By adding a generous portion of simple glycemic index carbohydrates to your post-workout shakes such as dextrose or maltodextrin, you can significantly increase the protein synthesis rate. This will accelerate the nutrients that you absorb.
Fat
After your training sessions, it’s important that you avoid fat consumption since this will slow down the release of nutrients to the muscular cells. This is exactly the opposite of what you want at this point. Even healthy fats from seeds and mixed nuts are to be avoided. Don’t eat them right after your workout.
L-Leucine
L-Leucine is an essential amino acid, which means our bodies can’t produce it. Therefore, you must include it in your diet or consume it as a food supplement. The leucine has an important role in the protein metabolism, the recovery after exercise, glucose homeostasis and insulin action.
Remember that if you want to grow your muscle mass, you can increase your caloric intake. This will promote lean body tissue creation.
You’ll be in the anabolic period right after finishing your training session. Take this opportunity to do the smart thing and drink your post-workout shake!
