After an intense workout, providing your muscles with proper nutrition is important to recover from it quickly. Intense exercise breaks down muscle tissue, depletes glycogen stores, causes inflammation, and leads to oxidative stress.
Consuming the right nutrients after your workout helps repair damaged muscle fibres, rebuild depleted glycogen, reduce inflammation, and combat oxidative stress. This, in turn, facilitates muscle recovery, enhances future performance, and reduces post-workout soreness.
Importance of Post-Workout Nutrition
What you eat and drink after exercise is just as important as your pre-workout meal. Proper post-workout nutrition provides your body with the nutrients it critically needs to start the recovery process.
During intense bouts of exercise, your muscles use up their glycogen stores for energy. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose that fuels your muscles. Replenishing these rapidly depleted glycogen stores is a top priority after your workout.
In addition, strenuous exercise causes microscopic tears in muscle fibres. Consuming protein after your workout provides amino acids that are the building blocks to repair and rebuild these damaged muscles.
Exercise also triggers inflammation and oxidative stress, which may impair muscle recovery. Eating anti-inflammatory foods helps reduce inflammation, while antioxidant-rich foods counteract oxidative stress.
If you fail to provide your body with proper nutrition after your workout, you won’t fully recover and adapt to the training stress. This can hinder strength and endurance gains over time.
Timing Nutrient Intake
Properly timing your post-workout meals and snacks ensures your body gets the carbohydrates, proteins, and other compounds when it needs them most.
Aim to consume a mix of carbohydrates and protein within 30 to 60 minutes after finishing your workout. This one-hour “anabolic window” is when your muscles are most primed to absorb nutrients to kickstart the recovery process.
Eating sooner rather than later better replenishes diminished glycogen stores and provides amino acids to repair damaged muscle fibres. It also curbs excessive post-exercise inflammation and oxidative stress.
The initial post-workout meal is most critical, and so are recovery-focused meals and snacks in the following hours. Have another balanced snack or meal containing carbs and protein around two to three hours later.
You may need to adjust your meal timing and amounts based on the duration and intensity of your workouts. For instance, endurance athletes may need more frequent feedings after long training sessions.
Listen to your body’s signals for hunger and refuel accordingly. Don’t let yourself get overly hungry, as it can impair recovery. But also avoid eating more than you need simply due to cravings.
Carbohydrate-Rich Foods
Intense exercise significantly drains glycogen reserves. It’s estimated that glycogen stores can plunge by up to one-third, even after one workout. Replenishing these stores should be your number one priority.
Aim for 1 to 1.5 grams of carbs per kilogram of your body weight (0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound) within 30 minutes after your workout. Spread additional carb-rich meals and snacks over the next few hours.
The best options are carbs from whole food sources that offer added nutrients. Here are some of the top carbohydrate-rich foods to eat post-workout:
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Sweet potatoes - baked or mashed sweet potatoes are filled with slow-burning, complex carbs. They’re also packed with vitamin A for immunity.
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Organic quinoa - this supergrain provides both carbs and complete protein for all-in-one muscle recovery. It has a light, fluffy texture.
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Oatmeal - oats provide fibre-rich energy and can be topped with protein sources like nuts or Greek yoghurt.
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Berries - berries like blueberries and raspberries deliver antioxidants along with natural sugars.
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Bananas - bananas offer potassium to help replenish electrolytes lost in sweat. They’re portable and easy to digest.
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Whole grain bread/pasta - go for unprocessed whole grains over white varieties, which have more fibre.
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Starchy veggies - foods like potatoes, corn, peas, and squash supply carb-rich fuel for your muscles.
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Rice - brown rice or wild rice make excellent whole-grain carbohydrate sources after a workout.
Refilling your body’s glycogen tank with natural, nutrient-dense carbohydrates paves the way for quicker workout recovery. It also prepares you for high-intensity exercise again sooner.
Protein Sources
Along with carbohydrates, protein is another key component of your after-workout meals and snacks. Consuming protein provides your muscles with amino acids, the building blocks to repair exercise-induced muscle damage.
Aim for 0.14 to 0.23 grams of protein per pound of body weight (0.3 to 0.5 grams per kg) within 45 minutes following your workout. Then, continue eating protein-rich foods during meals over the next 24 hours.
High-quality protein sources to eat post-workout include:
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Whey protein - This fast-digesting protein is one of the best to have immediately after your workout. Add it to smoothies or shakes.
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Eggs - The high-quality protein in eggs provides all nine essential amino acids for muscle recovery.
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Fish - Fatty fish like salmon and tuna deliver muscle-healing protein along with anti-inflammatory omega-3s
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Lean meat - Grass-fed beef, chicken, and other lean meats help rebuild and strengthen muscles.
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Dairy - Milk, Greek yoghurt, and cottage cheese provide casein protein to supply your muscles with amino acids.
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Legumes - Foods like lentils, beans, and chickpeas offer plant-based protein and fibre.
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Nuts/seeds - Almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds make portable, nutrient-dense protein snacks.
Your body requires protein after exercise for muscle repair and growth. Make sure to continue eating protein at meals 24+ hours post-workout as your muscles recover.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Intense exercise causes inflammation, and it can delay recovery if left unchecked. Combat exercise-induced inflammatory response by consuming foods containing anti-inflammatory compounds.
Adding them to your post-workout meals provides two main benefits.
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They help reduce overall inflammation levels post-exercise.
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Their nutrients support the body’s natural defences against inflammation.
Great anti-inflammatory foods to eat after workouts include:
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Tart cherry juice - contains anthocyanins that inhibit exercise-induced inflammation. It also boosts antioxidant status.
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Pineapple - bromelain enzymes in pineapple demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties that promote healing.
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Leafy greens - veggies like spinach and kale are rich in antioxidants that fight inflammation.
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Olive oil - provides anti-inflammatory monounsaturated fats plus antioxidant polyphenols. Drizzle on salad or veggies.
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Salmon - this fatty fish has omega-3s that reduce inflammatory markers after resistance training.
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Turmeric - curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
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Ginger - Gingerol gives ginger its anti-inflammatory abilities. Add to smoothies, stir-fries, and teas.
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Beans - beans are high in fibre, protein, and antioxidants that curb inflammation.
Anti-inflammatory foods allow you to get back in the gym and continue building strength and endurance.
Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Your body generates free radicals and experiences oxidative stress during exercise. Eat antioxidant-rich foods to counterbalance this oxidative damage.
Antioxidants are compounds that neutralise harmful free radicals that would otherwise contribute to muscle damage and delayed recovery. They support your body’s endogenous antioxidant defence system.
The best sources of dietary antioxidants include:
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Berries - berries like blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries contain flavonoids and anthocyanins with strong antioxidant capacities.
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Dark chocolate - the cocoa in dark chocolate provides polyphenol antioxidants like procyanidins that fight free radicals.
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Green tea - catechins like EGCG in green tea boast potent antioxidant abilities. Sip tea or take green tea extracts.
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Beans - coloured beans like kidney, pinto, and black beans are loaded with free radical-scavenging antioxidants.
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Artichokes - artichokes have high concentrations of antioxidant polyphenols to combat oxidative stress.
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Pecans - pecans deliver antioxidants like vitamin E, ellagic acid, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
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Kale - kale is among the top antioxidant-rich vegetables (vitamins C and E).
Antioxidants are your muscles’ protectors against the inevitable oxidative damage from exercise.
Staying Hydrated
When you sweat during physical activity, you lose fluids as well as important electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Proper hydration replaces what’s lost.
Aim to drink 16 to 24 ounces (500 to 700 ml) of water or electrolyte-containing beverage for every pound of body weight lost during your workout. Weigh yourself before and after to determine fluid losses.
Spread your fluid intake over several hours post-exercise rather than trying to gulp it all immediately. Your kidney can only absorb about 20 to 48 ounces per hour.
Smart hydration choices post-workout include:
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Water - water should form the basis of your hydration routine. Carry a refillable bottle as a reminder.
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Coconut water - the electrolytes in coconut water rehydrate you after sweating.
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Milk - milk provides electrolytes like potassium. Choose low-fat versions for easier digestibility.
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Herbal tea - teas can also help meet your fluid needs. Select decaffeinated to avoid dehydration.
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Oral rehydration solutions - these contain optimal ratios of salt, sugar, and nutrients to replenish you.
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Juices/smoothies - the fluid in juices and smoothies aids hydration, but limit added sugars. Focus on veggie juices.
Remember to continue drinking plenty of fluids at meals and snacks after your workout. It is one way to bounce back quickly and prepare for your next fitness session.
Fuel Your Workouts with Nature’s Glory Organic Quinoa
Proper post-workout nutrition starts with high-quality ingredients. Nature’s Glory’s organic quinoa is the perfect addition to your muscle recovery meals.
This ancient “super grain” is packed with nutrients to replenish your body after exercise. With all nine essential amino acids, quinoa provides complete plant-based protein to help repair damaged muscle tissue. It also contains complex carbohydrates to restore depleted glycogen stores.
Nature’s Glory sustainably sources organic quinoa directly from farms in South America. It is certified free of pesticides, additives, and GMOs. The quinoa is mechanically desaponised to remove saponins, but the nutrients are retained.
The organic quinoa comes conveniently vacuum-packed to maintain freshness. It cooks up light and fluffy in just 15 minutes - perfect for whipping up a post-workout meal.
Choose Nature’s Glory organic quinoa in 500g or 1kg bags. Add this nutritious whole grain to your kitchen to facilitate muscle recovery. Fuel your active lifestyle with the superfood power of organic quinoa!