Post Workout Nutrition
The adage is that you start refueling right away —within 30 minutes (preferably sooner) after a hard workout. Otherwise, you were missing the anabolic window and severely hampering your recovery efforts. However, while not trying to discount the process of starting as soon as you can, it doesn’t appear that this is a make-or-break situation. This is good news because a common complaint I would get from athletes is that they just weren’t hungry, and they found themselves forcing the issue. Ultimately, they wouldn’t feel very well for some time afterwards.
As mentioned, we don’t want to discount the idea of starting the process of carbs to refuel and protein to repair. It’s still something that we should be practicing to some extent, and it’s certainly going to help meet those needs on hard days. Here are some guidelines to consider as you plan your strategies.
Optimal glycogen synthesis occurs with 1-1.85 grams of carbohydrates per kg of body weight per hour for 5 hours.
| 1 g/kg | 1.85 g/kg | |
| 115 Pounds | 52 grams | 96 grams |
| 130 Pounds | 59 grams | 109 grams |
| 145 Pounds | 66 grams | 122 grams |
| 160 Pounds | 73 grams | 135 grams |
| 175 Pounds | 80 grams | 148 grams |
| 190 Pounds | 86 grams | 159 grams |
| 205 Pounds | 93 grams | 172 grams |
Note: I don’t think you need to be doing this on the hour every hour. I think this is a good place to start your post-workout fueling, and then have a meal within the next few hours, and you’ll be ok. With a 5-hour window, breakfast could be your post-workout “window snack” and then you’ll probably be eating lunch within the next 5 hours.
An optimal protein intake should be 20-40 grams of high BCAA protein after your workout.
It’s better for both glycogen synthesis and protein synthesis if consumed together.
Personal Takes
- It might be a good place for a BCAA drink and a carb drink that’s not thick- like a milk-based protein shake. Better to help with rehydration and refueling without taking in a more solid food type.
- Your post-workout fueling becomes much more important if your pre- and during-workout nutrition was not where it should have been.
Overall, just start getting something in. Whether it’s fluid based or you have the appetite to eat something more solid within an hour or so. Good fueling before and during can give you a lot more leeway here. While not the biggest priority, you should still have a plan in place post-hard workouts.
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