rmkicks
11-04-2013, 05:29 PM
After you’ve taken the time to build the best workout routine suited to meet your goals, the next step is to make sure you’re fueling that workout properly. You have about a one-hour window immediately after the workout is finished to provide your body with quality sources of protein and carbohydrates to kick-start the repair and building process.Some guys make the mistake of skipping their post-workout shake, thinking this will enable them to burn fat faster. But the opposite is true: If you want to reduce your calorie intake during the day, the worst place to take away the calories is right after a workout because it’s during this time that your metabolism is running fastest — so fat gain is least likely.1- Figure out your protein sourceThe protein you take in right after a weight-lifting workout will quickly get broken down by the body and used to help repair the muscle fibers so you can grow stronger. Many studies have demonstrated that supplementing with whey protein powder immediately following a resistance-training workout will increase the performance gains you get from that workout. Since you’re shooting for the fastest absorbing protein, a whey isolate will work the best.2- Determine how much protein you requireFor the average weight-lifting workout consisting of between 20 and 30 sets, you’re going to need approximately 50 grams of protein, which equates to two scoops of your whey protein powder. If you’re a heavier individual (above 200 pounds) you can increase this to 75 grams of protein.3- Add creatineOne study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that men who added creatine to their protein shake showed even higher gains on their bench press strength, so this is a great addition to the post-workout shake.To your protein, add five grams of creatine powder to help replenish the creatine stores in the body that have just been used up.4- Get your carbohydrate sourceOnce you’ve figured out your protein needs, then you must look at carbohydrates. Fat in this time period is to be avoided since it will slow down the release of the nutrients to the muscle cells, which is exactly what you don’t want.In order to get the best results, you should aim to take a fast-acting carbohydrate right after the workout, and then follow that with a slower carbohydrate in the hour afterward. This will help to spike insulin levels and drive the glucose into the muscle cells for quick recovery.Dextrose is the best choice; however, any simple glucose food product will also work. One word of caution is to avoid fructose as much as you can because it is handled slightly differently in the body, being directed to the liver first, rather than straight into the muscle cells.5- Determine how much carbohydrates to useTo maximize muscle glycogen resynthesis in the post-workout period, you will want to add five grams of carbohydrates for every two working sets performed. Using our illustration of a workout consisting of 20 to 30 sets, this means you’re taking in 50 to 75 grams of dextrose.Keep in mind that if you are looking to build more muscle mass, you can go higher with this intake to boost your calories and encourage building of lean tissue. You will be most anabolic in the time right after your workout, so making use of this by placing a large portion of calories at this time is a very smart move. Shannon Clark Health & Sports Correspondent