The Benefits of Post Workout Nutrition

A largely overlooked area of fitness is the post workout shake or meal. Simply gorging yourself after a workout is not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the importance of refueling your body with the essentials, especially after long or strenuous activity. Taking in the right kind of nutrition will not only impact the quality and rate of recovery, but also combat fatigue, help you to avoid the "crappy" workouts, and avoid prolonged soreness.

Research continues to show that taking in the right nutrition right after your workout, within 90 minutes or earlier if you can, will dramatically improve recovery time. If I'm good about getting my recovery drink in immediately following my workout I find that I'm not nearly as hungry later on. Personally I like to use Muscle Milk's powered protein, which is a whey isolate. It absorbs quickly and doesn't taste like @*^#*!$.







 So what are some great recovery nutrition ideas? Since everyone has different tastes and tolerances for post workout meals. The best recovery nutrition would be a drink that contains a combination of carbs and protein. Since you just depleted your system you must replenish it. I recommend having a beverage as opposed to a solid food because its most quickly absorbed into you system and you'll gain the benefits of re-hydration at the same time. Having a big ole steak immediately following your workout won't really do you much good in terms of immediate recovery benefits. Luckily, changes are you have the makings for the perfect recovery drink in your house already. The best, most popular and least expensive recovery drink is a glass of chocolate milk!