For years, high performance athletes have understood the role of properly synchronizing nutrients before and after training. While you may not live to be an elite athlete, consuming the right nutrients at the right times can positively and dramatically affect your fitness results. This is where pre and post workout drink mixes come in.
Previous training
The timing and type of food consumed prior to training significantly affect the quality of your training session. For optimal results, you should eat a fast-digesting, high-carb snack with protein (3: 1 or 4: 1 carb-to-protein ratio) consumed 10-40 minutes before your workout. Since carbohydrates are your body’s primary fuel, this snack will fill up your muscles’ glycogen stores and provide you with the energy to perform at a high level while giving you plenty of time to fully digest it.
The ideal amount of carbohydrates in a pre-workout snack is one-quarter to one-half gram per pound of body weight. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, the carbohydrates in your pre-workout snack should range from 50 to 100 grams. This should include 15 to 25 grams of protein and be low in fat. These are perfect because they absorb quickly and provide you with the necessary nutrients to enhance your performance during your workout.
Post-training
Many of us have learned that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, to maximize your results, your post-workout snack IS the most important meal of your day (breakfast and pre-workout snack are tied for second). Eating the ideal ratio of carbohydrates and protein immediately after your workout will replenish muscle glycogen stores and therefore save protein to repair and rebuild tissue. This also helps reduce muscle damage and stimulates muscle growth.
After exercise, there is a window of opportunity, known as the “metabolic window,” where your body is more receptive to absorbing nutrients. This window lasts for approximately 60 to 90 minutes and gives you the best opportunity to capitalize on the work you did during the exercise. By consuming the proper nutrients in this time period, you create an anabolic (cell-building) environment and reduce additional muscle damage. The post-workout snack should be the same as the pre-workout formula (see above).
The benefits of optimal meal timing
Research consistently demonstrates the positive benefits of snacking before and after training and its ability to alter body composition. In fact, there is a dramatic difference in lean body mass (muscle) gain and body fat reduction when incorporating a pre and post workout protocol into your fitness program versus taking similar products in the morning and evening. .
Who should use these drink mix products?
• Athletes and regular athletes
• Anyone who wants to maximize their fitness results with ideal snacks before and after exercise
• People seeking to control their weight using them as meal replacements.