Post-run recovery nutrition

Research has identified a two-hour post exercise nutritional recovery window – within 2 hours replace hydration, carbohydrates and protein. Even within this window, the sooner you eat or drink, the better. This post-exercise nutrition accelerates muscle recovery so you can perform at a higher level in the next workout. Carbohydrates replenish muscle and liver glycogen stores, protein repairs and remodels muscles, and water rehydrates.

It is during this acute-recovery period that your body makes its physical adaptations to the training stimulus. Consistently taking in the right nutrients in the right amounts during this muscle-recovery window will help you to recover faster, adapt more fully, and eventually wind up far ahead of those who do not take advantage of the window.

Immediate post exercise carbohydrate and protein intake is even more important during the first hour after exercise. The muscle cells are much more receptive to insulin, the hormone responsible for transporting amino acids and glucose.Thus the body can synthesize glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate) and build muscle proteins two to three times as fast during the first hour or so after exercise than in can at other times – as long as it is provided with the raw materials. As a general guideline, try to consume 10 to 20 per cent of your daily carbohydrate intake in the first 1 to 2 hours after a workout.

The balance of certain key hormones during the first hour or so after exercise renders your body especially ready to make the best use of the nutrients it needs for recovery. Finally, exercise-related muscle damage can actually continue for some time after you finish exercising unless you quickly consume carbohydrate and protein to lower cortisol levels and initiate muscle protein rebuilding.

There are five specific effects of exercise on the body that immediate post-exercise recovery nutrition can address. Based on those effects, the five goals of recovery nutrition are as follows:

• Rehydration

• Replenishing muscle glycogen

• Reducing secondary muscle damage and preventing illness

• Rebuilding muscle proteins

• Replenishing muscle fat stores

The sooner you eat and drink, the faster and more thoroughly you will recover and the sooner you will be ready to perform well in subsequent workout.

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