The Importance of Post-Workout Nutrition
There is a misconception out there that the time you spend in the gym is the most important part of achieving your health and fitness goals when in actuality, it’s the time spent OUTSIDE the gym that gets you the results. Now, I don’t want to downplay the importance of putting in the effort while training, but if you don’t take the necessary steps with your post-workout nutrition, your results will be dramatically minimized regardless of what you do with your workouts.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.
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Post-Workout Nutrition is VITAL for Success
Not only should you properly rest your muscles following an intense training session, but you must also feed your muscles the nutrients they need through proper post-workout nutrition in order to grow and repair them before considering working them again in the gym.
Related Article: 6 Ways You can Improve Your Post-Workout Recovery
When you engage in a workout utilizing resistance training, you create mini tears in the muscle fibers. While you might think this is harmful and damaging to the body, it’s actually quite the opposite — assuming you have a proper post-workout nutrition plan in place.
After tearing down the muscle fibers, you need to supply them with protein and amino acids in order to allow them to repair, grow, and become stronger (this is a natural process called hypertrophy).
Additionally, after finishing your training session, you’re going to be wiped out from a physical standpoint. Through proper post-workout nutrition, you are able to replenish your energy stores and help provide your body with energy to help you get through the rest of your day (or at least replenish the stores if you exercise at night to get you ready to tackle the following morning’s routine).
What Happens If You Don’t Focus on Post-Workout Recovery?
Going to the gym and putting your body through an intense workout without doing anything in terms of post-workout nutrition would be like going to work and not getting paid for the time and effort you put into helping grow your employer’s business.
Related Article: Understanding Post-Workout Muscle Soreness
If you don’t focus on your post-workout nutrition and recovery, your muscle fibers won’t have the ability to repair and rebuild before you train them again. Essentially what you will be doing is taking one step forward and two steps back. After you break down the muscle fibers, they only are able to minimally repair and grow if you don’t focus on your post-workout recovery.
Should your muscles not be fully recovered due to poor post-workout nutrition (think along the lines of still being sore several days after you’ve finished a workout), and then you go break down the muscle fibers again, they will need even more time to fully recover due to the added damage you’ve done to the fibers before they were ever fully recovered.
Related Article: The Importance of Pre-Workout and Post-Workout Meals
In the end, not focusing on your post-workout nutrition and recovery is detrimental to your overall success. Not feeding the muscles and providing them with the nutrients they need will not allow you to maximize your muscle growth and the results you desire from your dedication and time in the gym.
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