Eating to optimise recovery post-workout – Evidence-based recommendations

Optimising post-workout nutrition means you can recover effectively and maximise training adaptations (i.e. build more muscle, run faster, be stronger).

The current research recommends consuming 20-40g of protein within ~2 hours of completing your workout to maximise muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of building muscle.

This guideline may be contrary to the 30-minute anabolic window you’ve heard of in the past. The ‘anabolic window’ refers to the period of time after training, where consuming protein can maximise muscle growth to the greatest extent.

In reality, this ‘window of opportunity’ seems to be much broader, and consuming protein 1-2 hours after training is likely equally effective for muscle growth. However, if you train fasted in the morning, consuming protein relatively soon after exercise could be warranted.

High-quality protein sources may include Greek yogurt, lean cuts of meat, seafood, eggs, whey protein, tofu and soymilk.

Carbohydrates are also important post-workout, especially if you’ve been doing endurance exercise (e.g. running, cycling) or high-volume resistance training. These types of exercise can reduce or deplete the carbs stored in our muscles, so we need to top them up with food.

If you exercise more than once per day (e.g. you have a morning run and resistance train in the evening), your carb intake post-workout becomes more important. Hence, be sure to include a serving of carbs after training, such as rice, bread, potatoes, noodles etc.

So what are some good post-workout options on-the-go?

·       Roasted chicken wrap – like the ones at Nood Food

·       Rice with a lean meat source (e.g. Hainanese chicken rice, swapping the oil rice for white rice)

·       Eggs on toast with a side salad

·       Salmon with roasted potatoes and veggies

·       Whey or soy protein smoothie with fruits