Post Workout Nutrition is as Important as What you Eat Before and During

As we have been talking a lot about recovery I thought it would be a good time to talk about post workout/race nutrition. It can be easy to forget what what you eat after your event or training is just as important as what you put in to fuel your effort.

Here's why:

• After a hard effort some muscle fibres will have broken down; they need protein in order to be able to rebuild.
• After a long effort you are unlikely to have been able to eat; your body needs carbohydrates to replace the energy deficit. This continues to be the case in the days after your key race when you may be doing less training. 
• After a particularly long race you are also unlikely to have been able to stay fully hydrated; your body needs to rehydrate to optimum levels, so keep drinking liquids with electrolytes (salts) to help your body regain a good balance of salt and water.
• Your body needs the building blocks of recovery that go beyond energy (carbohydrates) and protein in the hours after training or racing in the form of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. This requires a balanced meal with vegetables, protein and carbohydrates.
• If you want to train twice within a 24 hour period what you eat between the two workouts can make a big difference as to how you perform in your second workout of the day.

Key take home:

Under fuelling after an event or hard workout compromises recovery and your next session. To under fuel after a workout reduces the efficacy of the workout; you are effectively wasting a workout.

If you like this article and have any questions about this or any other aspect of training why not e-mail me? I would love to know your views and help if I can; I answer all e-mails within 5 working days.