Nutrition

  1. Home
  2. Nutrition
  3. The Best Post Workout Nutrition for Recovery and Performance
31 Jul

The Best Post Workout Nutrition for Recovery and Performance

Everyone agrees that your workout and your diet must go hand in hand. Planning your meals and snacks, especially right before your workouts, can make or break your exercise program. But also important and often overlooked, what you eat right after your workout has a huge impact on the results you’ll achieve. Here are some necessary nutritional elements to consider, what they do for your body, and how to get them into your system.

What You Need

  • Protein. Possibly the single most important nutrient for the post-workout body, protein builds and repairs damaged tissue and anchors growth into your muscles. The best sources of protein are dairy items such as cheese, milk, or yogurt, meat or fish, eggs, and nuts or peanut butter.
  • Calcium. Necessary to build, strengthen and repairs bones, tendons and cartilage. As your muscles grow and increase their strength, so must your skeletal system grow. Calcium is found in most dairy products such as milk and cheese.
  • Vitamins. Vitamins in all their forms are good for overall health, and necessary for proper growth after workouts. Fresh fruits, fish, and vegetables are great sources of the various vitamins.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids. Helps to alleviate muscle swelling from your workouts. Most commonly sourced in fish.
  • Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper. – Minerals are great to relieve fatigue and help with muscle recovery. Best found in fruits and vegetables.
  • Carbohydrates. Carbs translate to pure energy, helping keep tired muscles moving after a hard workout. Sweet potatoes are a popular, healthy source of carbs to energize you when you need it.
  • Fluids. Workouts cause dehydration, so plenty of fluids are needed during and after to keep the body hydrated. Along with regular drinks, various fruits and cottage cheese also contain a high level of water to help replenish your system.

Mixing It Up

When you’re on the go after a workout, it is sometimes difficult to plan a healthy or fitting meal to assist with recovery, so grabbing some appropriate snacks can make a big difference. Salads with tuna or some lean meat can help provide the nutrients you need. Yogurt, especially with fruit, can combine to meet many of the needs together. Some cheese, meat or nuts can fulfill your protein cravings. Create some homemade snack mix with dried fruit, nuts, and dried meats to bring vitamins, minerals, and proteins together. A fruit-based milkshake can hydrate you and provide vitamins, calcium, and protein at the same time.

Overall, your after-workout diet can be a key part of your program, yet remain tasty and fulfilling.

(Visited 30 times, 1 visits today)

Related posts