- Chicken stir-fry
- Spaghetti with marinara sauce
- Grilled cheese sandwich with vegetable soup
- Cereal with milk
- Fruit smoothie
Rule 7. Hydrate.
When you work out, you sweat, and when you sweat, you lose body fluid that must be replaced. Failure to fully rehydrate between workouts will compromise your recovery and your performance in subsequent workouts. Drinking during a prolonged workout or race (lasting an hour or more), especially in the heat, will help you delay fatigue and reduce the risk of heat illness.
Sports drinks are better than water for hydration during workouts because they provide sodium to replace the salt you lose in sweat, plus carbs for quick energy. Drink at frequent intervals according to your thirst. After workouts, water will do. Drink enough throughout the day to keep your urine pale yellow to clear in color.
Rule 8. Eat for recovery.
When you finish a workout, many of your muscle fibers are damaged from exertion, your muscle fuel stores are low, and you’re at least slightly dehydrated. Nutrition is required to rebuild and refuel your muscles and rehydrate your body. Specifically, you need protein for tissue repair, carbohydrate to restock your muscles with fuel, and water to rehydrate.
The sooner you supply your body with these nutrients, the better. In the first hour after exercise, the muscles in particular are able to use nutrients for recovery much more effectively than at any other time. A study from Vanderbilt University found that the leg muscles were able to rebuild and refuel nearly three times faster when a carbohydrate-protein supplement was consumed immediately after a one-hour stationary bike ride than when the same supplement was consumed three hours after the same workout.
While post-workout recovery supplements such as Endurox R4 and Cytomax Recovery are convenient and ideally formulated for the job, regular foods containing carbs and protein and plain water are probably just as effective. Strive for a 4-1 ratio of carbs to fat.
5 carb-protein post-workout meals
- Grilled chicken breast and baked sweet potato
- Vegetable omelet and an orange
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