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Although I trained hard and took a lot of muscle-building nutritional supplements, the muscle-building effect was not satisfactory. Is it because of improper training methods? Is it entering a plateau? Or is the supplement not "powerful" enough? This It's possible. However, in many cases, it may just be a problem with the timing of nutritional supplements, that is, how to eat after training.
Although the nutrients provided by a post-exercise snack are only a small part of all the nutrients required by the human body, its role for bodybuilding enthusiasts cannot be underestimated. Proper post-training snacks can quickly fill your muscles when they are most "hungry", maximizing the muscle-building effect, accelerating fatigue recovery, and making you lively again. And if you don't do a good meal after training, it may lead to muscle gain without success.
In order to achieve the best results, nutritional supplements after training should mainly focus on three aspects: energy substances (carbohydrates) consumed by exercise, proteins required for muscle synthesis, and water and salt lost in sweat.
Carbohydrates
Function: Although carbohydrates do not directly serve as a source of muscle growth like protein, timely supplementation after exercise can provide the necessary conditions for muscle growth.
Recover from fatigue and reserve energy
Glucose is one of the main sources of energy during exercise and is found in muscles and liver. The sugar plateau in the muscles can only be used by muscle cells, while the sugar plateau in the liver can be released into the blood in the form of glucose to supply the muscles and other organs of the body. Intense muscle-building training will significantly reduce the body's sugar plateau reserves. Although reasonable supplementation of carbohydrates before and during exercise can alleviate this problem, if sugar is not replenished in time after exercise to replenish the body's sugar plateau, it will directly affect the body's recovery. The subjective feeling is that you are exhausted after training, and you still feel that you have no strength until the next training, and you are unable to persist in training. The next training can only be carried out when the glycogen and muscle sugar levels return to normal levels. This is what bodybuilding enthusiasts and Bodybuilders should train every other day. When training, the body is forced to change its energy source and use more protein as fuel, and most of this protein comes from muscle tissue.
Stimulate anabolism
The process of strength training is a destructive stimulus to the muscles. In this process, catabolism has the upper hand. After training, the body must enter an anabolic state as soon as possible to achieve increased metabolism.muscle purpose. In addition to high-quality raw materials, this process also requires a hormonal environment in the body that is conducive to anabolism.
After training, ingesting complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates in a ratio of 3:1 is beneficial to the rapid and sustained release of insulin, keeping the body in an anabolic state for a longer period of time and avoiding hypoglycemia. Don't just take in simple carbohydrates (such as glucose, white sugar, etc.). They are digested and absorbed very quickly. Although they can cause insulin secretion to peak quickly, they will also fall back quickly, causing dramatic fluctuations in insulin.
Insulin
One of the two major anabolic hormones, it can play three roles in muscle growth:
Supplementation time: Supplementing carbohydrates at different times after training has significantly different effects on glucose plateau recovery. Research shows that athletes eating some carbohydrates 15 to 30 minutes after training can accelerate the recovery of glycogen and muscle sugar levels. The duration of "acceleration" is about 1 to 2 hours. During this time, the body is most efficient at synthesizing sugar. Then it switches to a slow recovery process, and returns to normal levels after two hours. Therefore, this natural high-efficiency synthesis period can be used to replenish the body's sugar plateau. The general recommendation is to eat 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrates (combined carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates) within 15 to 30 minutes after exercise, which is approximately 1 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight.
Food selection:
Simple carbohydrates: energy bars, glucose, bananas, grapes, white slices, packets, etc.;
Compound carbohydrates: oatmeal, whole wheat bread, beans, sweet potatoes, etc.
Protein
Function: Provide raw material for muscle growth. The main functions of protein supplementation after exercise are as follows:
Providing muscle-building raw materials. Protein is an essential raw material for muscle growth. It is very necessary to supplement it during the peak period of muscle synthesis after exercise. However, the muscle-building effects of different proteins are quite different. Research shows that there is a net increase in muscle synthesis only when essential amino acids are consumed. Therefore, bodybuilding enthusiasts should supplement high-quality protein rich in essential amino acids (mainly animal protein and soy protein).
Promote the release of anabolic hormones. Like carbohydrates, certain amino acid components (such as glutamine and branched-chain amino acids) also have the effect of promoting the release of anabolic hormones. Different from the former, glutamine and branched-chain amino acids can promote the secretion of another synthetic hormone, growth hormone, which can accelerate protein synthesis and thereby promote muscle growth.
How to supplement: Unlike some bodybuilders who supplement protein before exercise, the correct time to supplement is within 1 hour after exercise. Research shows that strength training can also promote the secretion of growth hormone. This is because the subtle damage to muscle fibers caused by strength training can stimulate the body's growth hormone.Repair function, promote growth hormone secretion and protein synthesis. After strength training, the peak secretion of growth hormone can last for about two hours. At the same time, 1 hour after training is the peak stage of muscle protein synthesis. Therefore, the best effect of protein supplementation after training is to make the peak utilization of the supplemented protein coincide with the peak of growth hormone secretion and muscle protein synthesis caused by weight-bearing training, so as to obtain the best muscle-building effect. So, which protein can meet the requirements? Can daily milk, egg white, and meat be used? Not good. The protein in these foods is digested and absorbed slowly, which will miss the peak period of muscle protein synthesis. It is best to choose whey protein, a high-quality protein that can be quickly absorbed and utilized. The absorption and utilization of whey protein reaches its peak within 1 hour after taking it, which coincides with the peak period of muscle protein synthesis. In addition, branched-chain amino acids are of special significance for muscle gain and rapid recovery after exercise, and whey protein It has the highest concentration of branched-chain amino acids among all natural protein sources, containing approximately 20 to 26 grams per 100 grams. This is why many bodybuilders and bodybuilders use whey protein as their first choice for protein supplements.
Food selection:
Preferred food: pure whey protein powder,
Optional food: milk, egg custard, chicken breast, steak, etc.
Moisture and electrolytes
Compared with the previous two functions, water and electrolytes are the nutrients that bodybuilders most easily ignore. Although many people pay attention to replenishing during exercise, the amount of replenishment is usually less than the amount lost. Few people are used to fully replenishing water and salt after exercise. This is precisely the reason why their "practice" is ineffective.
Maintain water and salt balance
Vigorous exercise will cause the loss of water in the body. If you lose 1% of your body weight, your body temperature will become higher and you will be more likely to fatigue. If you lose 3% of your body weight, your exercise ability will be significantly affected. The main electrolytes in sweat are sodium and chloride ions, with small amounts of potassium and calcium. The loss of these electrolytes can cause muscle contraction weakness and even twitching. When you find yourself fatigued earlier than usual during your next training session, it's most likely due to latent dehydration (where you don't feel thirsty). Adding a small amount of water and salt at any time during exercise can quickly correct the imbalance of water and salt metabolism and restore your muscles to their best condition.