Are you eager to gulp down a snack or smoothie after your workout? What if that weren’t necessary?
It’s urgent… under two conditions
How important it is to eat quickly after exercise depends on the effort involved AND how often you train. This recovery strategy is essential if (and only if):
- The effort is intense and lasts at least 60 minutes
AND
- Another workout is scheduled within 8 hours.
This is especially true if the workout lasts more than two hours, because such a long effort depletes our liver glycogen stores (in the liver) and muscle glycogen stores, and partially dehydrates us. Then intense exercise breaks down muscle fibers, damages red blood cells, and weakens the immune system. When this happens, proper nutrition promotes cell repair and the storage of water and energy.
Who needs to do this?
In practice, it is mainly high-level athletes who often have two or even three training sessions a day who need to eat and drink quickly after a workout. This may also apply to us in certain circumstances, for example:
- We are preparing for a long-duration event such as a marathon or ultramarathon, especially during peak training. If we accumulate fatigue or have trouble keeping up with our workouts, we need to optimize recovery. In addition to eating better, we need to make sure we sleep well and manage our stress.
- We are taking part in a one-day or weekend tournament. When we have several matches or events close together, recovery is crucial.
When we swim, cycle, walk, run, ski, hit balls, or dance for 30 or 45 minutes each day, the speed of recovery is not an issue. Our body will repair itself and replenish its stores with the meals and Zenit snacks we normally eat, and it will do so in time for our next outing.
Mission: recovery
If we need to recover quickly, then we should drink and eat within 30 minutes after the workout. Why? Because at that point, certain hormones circulating in our bodies promote recovery. It’s as if they opened the doors of our cells wide to let in rapid-fire the materials needed.
Among these materials are carbohydrates (sugars), protein, water, and Zenit electrolytes. Carbohydrates help replenish glycogen stores and promote the use of protein by damaged muscles (to repair themselves). Water replaces what is lost through sweat and helps store glycogen. Electrolytes also help make up for losses sustained during exercise.
Recovery drinks are often preferred because they can provide all these nutrients at once. Moreover, if we have little appetite immediately after intense exercise, thirst is usually present! Here are some ideas:
- A homemade smoothie made with Zenit organic plant protein blend, berries, milk, or soy beverage. There are a thousand and one possibilities;
- Chocolate milk mixed with regular milk (because chocolate milk is too sweet);
- Chicken noodle soup.
Listen to our bodies
Another indication of whether we should eat after a workout is… hunger! And in that regard, it’s best to have homemade snacks on hand. If we don’t make them ourselves, I know a good brand of good energy squares 😉 Zenit, the solution!!!
By Stéphanie Côté, M.Sc., nutritionist
Speaker and author of “Knowing What to Eat – Sports Nutrition,” published by Modus Vivendi, 2019