Any and Everything that I feel like saying…

iCardioFiT: What’s your Post-Workout Meal?

            After posting yesterday evening, “What is your Pre-Workout Meal?” A few individuals asked me to post information about having a post workout meal!  Well here you go!

Recovery plays an important role during your exercise routine.  Post workout drinks and foods are an integral part affecting the replenishment of your glycogen stores within the muscle, the effects on muscle fatigue, and tissue repair that can allow you to train more effectively.  Many individuals not only lack a pre-workout plan but also a post-workout plan.  Proper nutrition is very important to maintain these glycogen stores so muscles will have plenty of time to rest and recover between exercise bouts.  If you are an athlete who needs to maximize your body’s performance while you’re exercising, you must replenish the nutrients lost via exercise through your dietary intake.

The best way to promote these glycogen stores is to consume carbohydrate rich foods.  (Uh Oh… did I just say Carbohydrates??)  For those who are trying to lose weight, you may be on a calorie (Carbohydrate) restricting diet, therefore hearing anything Carbohydrate is the last thing you want to hear.   For my endurance athletes and sports performance athletes… *** PAY ATTENTION!!! *** Research shows that combining protein with carbohydrate within 30 minutes of exercise nearly doubles the insulin response, which results in more stored glycogen within the muscle.  Translation:  Athletes who refueled with carbohydrate and protein post workout, had much greater muscle glycogen stores than those who only ate carbohydrate alone.  From a performance standpoint, the more fuel your body has to access within the muscle during a given competitive event or training session, the resulting side effect will be increased endurance and strength to better maximize performance and muscle efficiency to perform longer and harder.

Protein + Carbs

Ok Reggie, how about if I don’t consider myself to be an athlete?  My goal is to strictly burn the body fat that I have on me!  Can I just stick to protein and veggies!?  … My answer Yes and No.  Let’s not forget that Vegetables and Fruit are also carbohydrates!  Do not be so consumed about the word carbohydrates, because the truth is that carbohydrates are the most effective and efficient source for energy when exercising!  The less you have in your diet, you may find your desire to exercise drastically decreased or lower than expected.  It’s also important to understand the effect it can have on building and maintaining muscle.  The combination of protein and carbs post workouts stops the breakdown of muscle and results in the maintenance and building of your lean mass!  For all my weight loss iCardioFiT exercisers out there, this increases your resting metabolism which allows you to burn more calories/day.

Got Questions? Let’s talk about it!

GeT FiT and Stay FiT with iCardioFiT! …

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Reggie Laroche

The Clinical Exercise Physiologist 

[Contact: Reggie Laroche — relaroche@yahoo.com — 954-205-9904 for Personal Training, Exercise and Nutrition consultations!!!!]