Few feelings can beat the post-workout high for athletes. You just came off an intense training session, your body and mind are tired, and you can almost feel your muscles adapting and getting stronger. Unfortunately (or fortunately for us foodies) that battle is only halfway done. What you eat post-workout can significantly help or hinder your body to repair itself from the stresses of physical training and improve fitness so you can keep reaching new milestones. 

The main goal of post-workout nutrition is to give your body the nutrients it needs to recover quickly and retain the benefits of your workout. As discussed in our pre-workout guides and post-meal timing article, carbohydrates and proteins are going to be the main power players here. 

During recovery, your body is tasked with adapting to the stresses and workload from your training session and responding by strengthening itself so the next time it experiences the same activities, it is better prepared to handle them with ease. Carbohydrates and important to replenish depleted glycogen (stored glucose molecules), and protein is important to repair damaged muscle tissues and help rebuild the muscle fibers thicker and stronger. Fluids and electrolytes are also going to be important to rehydrate the body and promote optimal recovery. Your recovery plan is especially important if you train consistently, as the body needs to fully recover and adapt in between sessions to prevent injury. 

PROTEIN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The key to muscle growth and recovery

The other important food category we’re going to cover here is protein. When you train hard, you create tears in the muscle from the stress. Protein helps repair these tears and thicken the muscle fibers, leading to increased strength and muscle mass.

STUDY #1: PROTEIN FOR MUSCLE RECOVERY AND GROWTH

Protein is well-known to be an important pre-workout fuel. However, it's just an important post-workout to help repair muscles and maintain (and improve!) fitness. In a randomized trial with 31 young men, 1/3 were given protein supplements before and after exercise, 1/3 were given a placebo, and 1/3 served as controls. After 21 weeks of high-intensity resistance training, the protein supplemented group had significantly higher muscle mass than either the placebo group or the control. 

STUDY #2: THE BENEFIT OF TIMING

Another study gave 23 male bodybuilders either a supplement with protein, carbohydrate, and creatine directly before and after workouts, or the same supplement in the morning and evening at least 5 hours outside the workout window. Both groups progressively performed resistance training over ten weeks, however, the group given the supplement directly before and after training had a significant increase in lean muscle mass when compared to the other group.

Protein significantly helps to build and repair muscle, and it is important to include in your post-workout regime—especially for athletes who heavily strength train and focus on building muscles.