As I was getting my workout in last night I couldn’t help but notice how many people were walking around the gym with drinks in their hands. They were mostly energy drinks that are designed to help give you a boost for your workout.

These energy have become very popular and while their use is a discussion all by itself for another day, here’s what made me stop and think. You see a lot of people with energy drinks before their workouts but you rarely see people drink anything AFTER.

The Importance Of A Post-Workout Recovery Drink…

You have a window of opportunity right after you’ve finished a hard workout when you’re muscles are depleted of glycogen that you can capitalize on for faster recovery.

When you do resistance training you in essence breakdown your muscles, there is no development in your muscles going on at that time at all.

Lean Muscle Development Happens After Your Workouts…

This is accomplished with proper rest and nutrition. You don’t build muscle during a workout; you do it at night while you sleep and during the days after.

That window of opportunity I was talking about is a block of time immediately after a workout that stays open for about 45 minutes to an hour. If you take in a fast assimilating protein and carb at this time you can significantly improve your recovery time and see better results.

Bottom line is everyone wants to see better results from all their hard work, right? Yes, you can go into the gym and workout super hard, breaking yourself down but if you’re not strategically planning your recovery the changes in your physique will be few and far between.

Who wants to do all the work and not see anything for it? I don’t think there’s anybody waiting in line for that. I know I’m not.

Why The Post-Workout Recovery Protein Drink And Not A Meal…

Notice I’m saying “drink” and not a meal or a protein bar. There are some people who advocate eating something post-workout but I am strongly against that. Remember, we’re dealing with a window of opportunity and time is of the essence.

I don’t want to even take the chance that the food I eat won’t get digested and the nutrients assimilated into my bloodstream fast enough. I told you earlier that when you’re done with a hard workout you’re muscles will be depleted of glycogen. This is important.

Now you know I’m always telling you that you want to minimize the release of insulin to help keep you in a fat burning state.

This Is The ONE Time That I Actually Want You To Surge Insulin…

Why? Because the release of insulin will help shuttle nutrients into your muscle cells. Yes, you’ll be bringing in carbohydrate as sugar to replace what you used up in your workout, but you’ll also be bringing in some valuable amino acids from protein to help kick start the recovery process. That is of course if you’re drinking the right thing.

Can you use Gatorade? Forget it, there’s nothing in it but sugar (there’s no protein). That’s why this stuff is garbage (full of high fructose corn syrup) but that is also a discussion for another day. 

The Best Choice Is A Protein Drink With Whey Protein And Simple Carbs…

Why whey protein in particular? Because it’s the fastest to be assimilated and broken down in your body to amino acids.

Avoid using a full fledged meal replacement product that contains 40 or more grams of protein and carbs. This will probably be too much for most people. Even as little as 10-15 grams of protein post-workout taken with a simple sugar will be effective.

The idea is to get something in quick, not to heavy in calories, then follow up with a supportive meal (real food) later.

Also I should mention that remember the carbohydrate (sugar) plays an important role here. You need it to get the job done by signaling the release of insulin. If you have whey protein powder in water you’ve wasted your time.

Why? Because you’ve got no insulin release.

If you drink whey protein powder and water just make sure to get in some sort of simple sugar. Eat a half an orange or other fruit to provide the sugar.

Also avoid consuming fat during this post-workout recovery drink/shake. Why? Because you don’t want the fat to slow down the digestion and assimilation time of the carbs and protein. My favorite post-workout drinks include:

Advocare post-workout shakes (specifically formulated for recovery with not too many calories or protein grams)

Whey protein powder- (1 scoop) flavored with 8 ounces of milk 

Whey protein powder - (1 scoop) vanilla flavored with 8-12 ounces of water, 1/2 cup natural yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen berries.

Alright, I hope that helps give you a better understanding of why post-workout drinks/shakes are so important and the best choices available. Train hard, live strong, have fun.

There are plenty of post-workout recovery drinks and shakes you can choose from or you can simply make your own. Don’t feel like you have to choose solely from the examples I named. 

You can reply back to this post if you’d like to ask me about a particular drink or shake. I’m always here to help.    

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston Personal Trainer, fat loss expert, author, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studios. Learn more about how you can recieve a FREE no obligations (2) session trial of his Charleston Personal Training Programs.

Posted: Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 10:50 am

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Category: nutrition.

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