If your fitness goals include improving your strength, speed, performance and power, you already know it will require time and hard work, but if you really want to optimize your results, you’ll have to do more than just exercise.
Your body goes through huge amounts of stress when you’re hitting your workouts hard, so it needs a ton of nutrients to recover, so you can conquer your next workout and ultimately reach your goals. So in order to get the most out of every workout, you need to pay attention to your post-workout nutrition. Here’s everything you need to design your ultimate post-workout nutrition routine.
Hydrate with electrolytes
Getting enough daily water is crucial, but especially if you’re going to be doing any type of physical activity. During a hard workout, you sweat. It’s your body’s natural way of regulating your temperature and keeping you cool. Unfortunately, when you work out hard and sweat, you lose tons of water AND electrolytes, which are a group of minerals that keep your muscles moving normally. So losing electrolytes can contribute to those dreaded muscle cramps, which are involuntary and often painful muscle contractions that occur during training.
So in order to properly rehydrate, you don’t just need water — you also need electrolytes! Follow your workout routine with an electrolyte-infused Nirvana Super™ beverage for a refreshing and reinvigorating post-workout drink that acts as the ultimate rehydration solution. Then, make it a point to prioritize water for the rest of the day to give your body as many fluids as it needs for optimal health.
What to do when protein isn’t enough
You know that protein is one of the most important pieces of the muscle-building puzzle, but let’s dive a little deeper here…Why is protein so important?
Let’s start with a quick biology lesson, so we can understand what’s at play here. Proteins are nutrients that are often referred to as the “building blocks” of all the tissues in our body, muscles included. Protein molecules can be broken down further into amino acids. Each of these amino acids play a different role in our body, and together, they make up protein molecules.
The amino acid leucine is especially key if you’re looking for muscle recovery. Leucine is part of a group of three amino acids called branched-chain amino acids (or BCAAs for short). Researchers believe that leucine is the amino acid that is most responsible for driving protein synthesis, which ultimately helps strengthen and build your muscles as you exercise.
When our bodies metabolize leucine, it is converted to another metabolite called beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB). Research indicates that HMB may help protect your muscles against protein breakdown and stimulate protein synthesis, ultimately helping you reach your strength training goals.
So if you want to maximize your workouts and muscle recovery and see results, you need dietary protein (meat, poultry, dairy, nuts, legumes, seeds) to get leucine, but HMB can become an easy part of your post-workout nutrition with Nirvana Super™ drinks, which are supercharged with HMB, electrolytes and essential vitamins to maximize your workouts and recovery.
Healthy carbohydrates
Yes, you do need carbs in your post-workout snack! Even though carbohydrates tend to be villainized, they do play essential roles in recovery. More specifically, carbohydrates are a premium source of fuel.
During a high-intensity workout, your body uses a ton of energy. A primary source of energy is glycogen, a carbohydrate that is stored in your muscles. After your workout it's important to replace the lost glycogen with carbohydrates, but not all carbs are created equal.
While there are plenty of good carbs out there, there are also plenty of poor carbs, which tend to be calorie-dense but don’t offer much in the way of nutrition. These simple carbohydrates (think: sugar) are absorbed very quickly by your bloodstream, which can lead to quick blood sugar spikes and subsequent crashes.
Since they are so calorie-dense, an overconsumption of poor carbs has been linked to many negative health consequences like metabolic disease and fatigue.
So to fuel your body properly after your workout, choose complex carbohydrates like fiber-rich whole grains and starchy vegetables. Fruit is also a healthy carbohydrate choice since it contains plenty of vitamins, minerals, and plant-based nutrients that your body needs for total recovery. Aim to eat your post-workout snack as quickly as you can after your workout is through to maximize their glycogen-restoring benefits.
Conclusion
Regular exercise is essential to reach your health and fitness goals, but a post-workout nutrition plan will really amplify your workouts, so you get the most out of your hard work. If you want to build and strengthen your muscles, focus on healthy proteins and complex carbohydrates and take it a level further with Nirvana Super™ drinks, which are supercharged with HMB, electrolytes and essential vitamins to maximize your muscle health and recovery.
Photo by Zakaria Boumliha: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-running-on-sand-field-2827392/
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