After workout eats/drinks

[stroke_1t]

I have been thinking about nutrition, and a lot of people have told me what you put into your body in the first 20-30min after a hard workout is one of the most important things about the workout and the recovery afterwords. What do you all eat/drink directly after a hard workout on the erg/boat/weights/whatever intensive stuff you do to prepare for rowing?

[lunchmeat]

There are a number of post-workout shakes available... the best is probably surge by biotest (www.t-nation.com) for after very intense sessions. A cheaper option is a 2:1 mix of gatorade and whey protein (but not near as good!)

[Andy Nield]

Forget protien (unless you are trying to bulk up)

Just take 1g carbs per kg body weight.

And some water.

[starboardstroke]

Carbs are definately the main focus after a hard workout, because you have used up your fuel, you better replace it if you expect to be ready to workout again tomorrow.

Also, I have heard that chocolate milk is a good thing to have right after a workout (if you can stomach it), because not only does it contain complete proteins, simple carbohydrates (replace lost fuel quickly), but also a little bit of fat. It is a complete food, so it is a smart choice for after a workout.

[jbell]

Our coach says white bread and coke are good after a tough workout because they are high in the hypoglycemic index and get absorbed into your bloodstream quickly.

[starboardstroke]

white bread is good, but I wouldn't drink coke as a post-workout beverage. I have heard that the carbonation in soft drinks has an effect on your body's ability to remove lactic acid.

[Strana]

get muscle milk !!!! its like goodness in a cup

[johnlvs2run]

This morning I ate a quarter of a watermelon after running in the hills for an hour.

[HardGainer]

As per some of the suggestions above, high GI carbs are good to replace the depleted glycogen in your muscles. Get the carbs on board straight after your session. Apart from those already mentioned, a banana is another good choice. If you've been giving your muscles a serious workout they'll also be able to make good use of some quickly-available protein to aid in repair. There's plenty of post-workout protein drinks to chose from (even in NZ!).

[TomR]

How about real food? Not white bread and corn sugar.

Eat fruits. Drink fruit juice (real juice, not the phony stuff that's mostly corn sugar and coloring). V-8 has carbs and sodium and potassium.

To row fast, eat well.

Tom

[ragiarn]

I have been thinking about nutrition, and a lot of people have told me what you put into your body in the first 20-30min after a hard workout is one of the most important things about the workout and the recovery afterwords. What do you all eat/drink directly after a hard workout on the erg/boat/weights/whatever intensive stuff you do to prepare for rowing?

Believe it or not there is a great deal of scientific research which has gone into answering your very question.

Preparation for your next rowing session or any other intense workout should begin as soon as you finish prior workout. Intense workouts deplete your muscles or glycogen. The more intense and longer your workout the more glycogen you use up and need to replenish.

The timing of the replacement is very important as well as the make up of the replacement meal. I have excerpted a few articles of note to illustrate this point. There are numerous scientific studies available but the message in all of them in the same ball park.

“ The role carbohydrate plays as a fuel source during exercise has shaped modern sports nutrition. Early studies primarily focused on replenishment of glycogen stores by consumption of a carbohydrate supplement both during and after exercise. Carbohydrate supplementation stimulates insulin, a key element in the glycogen replenishment process. Insulin has two major roles: (1) Facilitates the transport of glucose into the muscle cell; (2) Stimulates enzymes responsible for the synthesis of glycogen from glucose.

Recent studies have extended our understanding of how glycogen is replenished. A post exercise carbohydrate supplement composed of high Glycemic Index Carbohydrates (such as simple sugar) is more rapidly transported into the muscle cell in the critical post recovery period. Enzymes responsible for manufacture of muscle glycogen are maximally stimulated 0-2 hours after exercise. Therefore it is essential that a carbohydrate supplement be taken in this time frame to optimize recovery.

Even more significant are research findings showing that protein and the amino acid, arginine, when combined with a carbohydrate supplement can strongly stimulate insulin levels in a synergistic fashion. The ratio of carbohydrate to protein is extremely important to obtain this synergy. The Optimum Recovery Ratio (OR2) should be 4:1 (four grams of carbohydrate to one gram of protein.) By further stimulating insulin with protein and arginine, muscle glycogen is restored quicker. The result - improved performance and a faster recovery.”

Insulin, the "Master Recovery Hormone"

Investigators have shown the importance of carbohydrate supplementation in improving performance. The regulator of glycogen replenishment is the hormone insulin which increases the transport of glucose from the blood into the muscle and stimulates the enzyme responsible for the conversion of glucose into glycogen. Recent research has shown that insulin is so important in recovery from exercise that it should be termed the "master recovery hormone". In addition to its vital role in glycogen replenishment insulin helps rebuild and maintain muscle protein. These studies demonstrate that insulin:
• stimulates the transport of amino acids into the muscle. By increasing the cell's amino acid levels insulin speeds the protein rebuilding process following exercise.
• blunts the rise in cortisol following exercise. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for protein breakdown. By decreasing cortisol levels, insulin helps maintain muscle protein. “

Optimal Muscle Recovery by Dr. Edmund Burke (Avery Publishing

“carbohydrate intake after exhaustive exercise should average 50 g per 2 h of mostly moderate and high glycaemic carbohydrate foods. The aim should be to ingest a total of about 600 g in 24 h. Carbohydrate intake should not be avoided during the 4 h period before exercise and in fact it is best to eat at least 200 g during this time. When possible, carbohydrate should be ingested during exercise, generally in the form of solutions containing glucose/sucrose/maltodextrins, at a rate of 30-60 g h-1. Emphasis has been placed upon eating the optimal amount and best type of carbohydrate at the proper times because these practices demand a large amount of food. When diet is not carefully planned according to these guidelines, endurance athletes tend to consume too little carbohydrate because they become satiated with high fat in their diet and they go through periods in the day when recovery of glycogen stores is suboptimal and thus precious time is wasted.

J Sports Sci. 1991 Summer;9 Spec No:29-51; discussion 51-2.
Related Articles, Links

Timing and method of increased carbohydrate intake to cope with heavy training, competition and recovery.

Coyle EF.

Human Performance Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin 78712.

Steps For Quicker Recovery
Make sure you begin to replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores with high glycemic index carbohydrates within 30 minutes after a workout. Select a sport drink that will maximally stimulate insulin, to speed glycogen replenishment and rebuilding of protein. A carbohydrate to protein ratio of 4 grams carbohydrate per gram of protein is ideal.
Limit the amount of protein and fat consumed in the immediate post-exercise period. Too much protein post-exercise hinders recovery by slowing hydration and carbohydrate replenishment. The optimum ratio is 4 grams of carbohydrate per gram of protein.

Recovery Mode
Getting Over the Big Race

Written by:
Lance Watson, CTS Multisport Head Coac

I think that it is important to note there is an upper limit to how much glucose can be handled / hour by the system- Too much in too short of a time span and the glucose cannot be stored in the muscle as glycogen and is converted to triglycerides and stored as fat.

The 2 hour window right after a workout is when the muscles are most receptive to storing glycogen. It is important to replenish the glycogen stores through out the rest of the day.
I hope this helps.

[mumbles]

I wouldn't drink coke as a post-workout beverage. I have heard that the carbonation in soft drinks has an effect on your body's ability to remove lactic acid.

Is this true? Would it stand for red bull also, i often drink the stuff before racing!

[TomR]

Believe it or not there is a great deal of scientific research which has gone into answering your very question.

Ralph,

Based on what you've read, how much importance do you place on the 4:1 carb:protein ratio and how valuable do you think specially formulated sports drinks are?

Tom

[Jim Barry]

I'm just finishing up my first round with a product called Cytomax. Used as directed (pretty much just fancy expensive gatorade) I was fully impressed how well it did to keep my fires stoked in July where I did 3 time trials, a 10k running race, and 30 training sessions on top of that. That is a 60% increase in what I'm used to and I never faltered except when I went for too much the day after a race. In general I was very impressed how it met the challenge to keep my glycogen levels topped off day in and day out.

[TomR]

Jim--

I guess the question is, if you were to have diligently fed yourself the right post-workout foods, would you have done as well?

According to Ralph, researchers have tested the optimal composition of post-workout drinks, but have they compared the performance of those using the drinks versus those relying intelligently on the right foods?

Someone is always eager to sell us the latest thing, even if we don't need it.

Tom