Post Training Nutrition

I recently had someone ask me if they should be eating after training, in short YES!!!

After training your body presents these three factors:

1. Glycogen Stores are low
2. Protein Breakdown is increased
3. Muscle Protein Balance is negative

Glycogen is muscle energy. Low glycogen stores mean that there's less cellular energy for daily life and certainly less energy for subsequent workouts. In this situation, training and performance suffer.

Protein Breakdown indicates that body tissues (which are made of protein) are being degraded. Increases in protein breakdown can lead to losses of muscle mass.

Muscle Protein Balance is regulated by the balance between Protein Synthesis and Protein Breakdown in the following way:

Muscle Protein Balance = Protein Synthesis - Protein Breakdown

Failure to rapidly bring the body back into recovery mode (i.e., to increase glycogen stores, to increase protein synthesis, and to prevent protein breakdown), has severeal potential consequences:

1. Prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue.
2. Poor subsequent performances on the track, field, and/or in the gym.
3. Symptoms of and or full-flegged staleness and overtraining.
4. Minimal gains in muscle mass despite a well-designed training program.
5. Losses of muscle mass and a secondary lowering of metabolic rate can occur if volume and intensity get high enough

So what should I be consuming after a workout? A good starting point would be (depending on goals and type of training):

Consume one meal of 0.8g of carbohydrate and 0.4 g of protein / kg of body weight immediately after training. Another meal should be consumed either 60-90 minutes later or normal eating should be resumed eating every 2-3 hours depeding on the individuals goals.

These products below are quality supplements that will help solve this post training deficit. If you need more information or would like to place an order, contact me.

Cytofuse - A pioneer in post workout nutrition, Cytofuse transports the most advanced whey protein available. Formulated with all of the naturally-occurring growth factors and bioactive peptides, Cytofuse is a potent trigger to promote protein synthesis and glycogen replenishment. Some information on the company can be found HERE

Ultra Peptide 1.0/2.0 - Strictly premium proteins such as pure undenatured low temperature processed micellar casein, cross flow microfiltered whey isolates, and hydrolyzed whey peptides. Also included are a small amount of "functional carbohydrates" which can help to assimilate the amino acids into the body in a great tasting form while maintaining low and stable blood sugar levels. Important to maximize lean tissue growth, strongly enhance your immune system, and dramatically speed up your recovery between workouts.

ICE - Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) actually have the capability to independently stimulate protein syntheses within the muscles and create an anabolic environment during intense training. They also can tremendously reduce the level of soreness in the days following your workouts therefore dramatically speeding your recovery, which of course is of the utmost importance to the drug-free athlete.