- Joined
- Mar 27, 2013
- Messages
- 1,566
- Reaction score
- 21
- Points
- 63
Here's my take -
Post workout nutrition should be based on a few factors.
1 - Diet throughout the day
2 - Pre/Intra workout meal/meals
3 - Type of training
4 - Individual metabolism
5 - Goals
6 - Point in the day you train
All this advice is based on the fact that I'm not a big fan of any fats post workout normally. We want to carbs to get in and get out in most cases so just a heads up.
Some one who is having carbs through out the entire day, something I'm not a fan of, doesn't need some big carb meal post workout. Their body will be saturated regardless of training, unless, it's after a first or second meal, so a big bump in carbs at this point will only compound glucose numbers further and that's not the goal when gaining tissue. I could go on and on about this but I won't for length of the posts sake.
Also, if you're having a decent amount of carbs pre or intra workout, again, a big carb meal post probably isn't going to do much good. Depending on the individual and goals, this will change but typically 50/50/50 pre intra post is a decent starting point unless your insulin sensitivity is shot then, you'll need to adjust or, fix it.... Better to fix it. I personally don't have carbs before training and opt for things life mct and fast digesting fats to use as a fuel source so, post workout my insulin sensitivity is better and lll make better use of the carbs I do get.
Training volume and intensity play a big role as well. "Normal" training isn't going to deplete glycogen nearly as much as you would think because, it takes a ton of work to do so and most don't work that hard. But, let's say you're crushing it and feel like you're gonna puke you worked so hard on a typical training day.
If you are a higher volume trainer, yes a larger carb meal will definitely be something you want. You're doing more work and, even though intensity might not be as high as a lower volume session, metabolic stress will be more apparent given you train properly. Get your big carb meal in and enjoy.
Someone who trains very intense but lower volume PROBABLY won't need as many carbs. Overall calories burned will probably be less, even though those gut busting sets to the death burn more calories one v one, the overall lack of cardio output for a longer duration will not add up. For these guys, get a good balanced meal in but don't go HAM.
Someone who thinks they are carb sensitive, you probably aren't, you just are missing something, I suggest no carbs pre workout and then get your meal with carbs post with fats being your main fuel source for training. You'll burn through extra glycogen without the carbs present so your body will be in a better situation to put them to use the way you want. You will need to play with the amounts. On a leg day you'll need more then an arm day, but, you shouldn't be wasting your time on an arm day anyways
I digress.
If you're cutting or gaining or recomping, these will have an impact on how and when. In each of these you'll want the carbs post. The points above will dictate amounts and so forth. I often find that the further guys gets in a cut, splitting these up so you have carbs intra is a good idea. The intra shake can help if you find yourself dying off during the longer sessions, if you train higher volume, and will possibly increase performance which will lead to better results. If your training sucks, unless you're feel in prep which is usually inevitable, don't expect better results. Training dictates everything and, to get the best results you need to be able train optimally.
And, when you train. I went over it a bit already but, the only thing I have to add, if you train towards the end of the day, in relation to meals, don't go crazy if you're eating carbs all day. This should probably be your smaller meal only for the reason that you don't want to fuck with your sleep. Opt for a higher fat meal here with more complex carbs so it's a nice gradual increase and decrease in blood glucose.
Post workout nutrition should be based on a few factors.
1 - Diet throughout the day
2 - Pre/Intra workout meal/meals
3 - Type of training
4 - Individual metabolism
5 - Goals
6 - Point in the day you train
All this advice is based on the fact that I'm not a big fan of any fats post workout normally. We want to carbs to get in and get out in most cases so just a heads up.
Some one who is having carbs through out the entire day, something I'm not a fan of, doesn't need some big carb meal post workout. Their body will be saturated regardless of training, unless, it's after a first or second meal, so a big bump in carbs at this point will only compound glucose numbers further and that's not the goal when gaining tissue. I could go on and on about this but I won't for length of the posts sake.
Also, if you're having a decent amount of carbs pre or intra workout, again, a big carb meal post probably isn't going to do much good. Depending on the individual and goals, this will change but typically 50/50/50 pre intra post is a decent starting point unless your insulin sensitivity is shot then, you'll need to adjust or, fix it.... Better to fix it. I personally don't have carbs before training and opt for things life mct and fast digesting fats to use as a fuel source so, post workout my insulin sensitivity is better and lll make better use of the carbs I do get.
Training volume and intensity play a big role as well. "Normal" training isn't going to deplete glycogen nearly as much as you would think because, it takes a ton of work to do so and most don't work that hard. But, let's say you're crushing it and feel like you're gonna puke you worked so hard on a typical training day.
If you are a higher volume trainer, yes a larger carb meal will definitely be something you want. You're doing more work and, even though intensity might not be as high as a lower volume session, metabolic stress will be more apparent given you train properly. Get your big carb meal in and enjoy.
Someone who trains very intense but lower volume PROBABLY won't need as many carbs. Overall calories burned will probably be less, even though those gut busting sets to the death burn more calories one v one, the overall lack of cardio output for a longer duration will not add up. For these guys, get a good balanced meal in but don't go HAM.
Someone who thinks they are carb sensitive, you probably aren't, you just are missing something, I suggest no carbs pre workout and then get your meal with carbs post with fats being your main fuel source for training. You'll burn through extra glycogen without the carbs present so your body will be in a better situation to put them to use the way you want. You will need to play with the amounts. On a leg day you'll need more then an arm day, but, you shouldn't be wasting your time on an arm day anyways
I digress.If you're cutting or gaining or recomping, these will have an impact on how and when. In each of these you'll want the carbs post. The points above will dictate amounts and so forth. I often find that the further guys gets in a cut, splitting these up so you have carbs intra is a good idea. The intra shake can help if you find yourself dying off during the longer sessions, if you train higher volume, and will possibly increase performance which will lead to better results. If your training sucks, unless you're feel in prep which is usually inevitable, don't expect better results. Training dictates everything and, to get the best results you need to be able train optimally.
And, when you train. I went over it a bit already but, the only thing I have to add, if you train towards the end of the day, in relation to meals, don't go crazy if you're eating carbs all day. This should probably be your smaller meal only for the reason that you don't want to fuck with your sleep. Opt for a higher fat meal here with more complex carbs so it's a nice gradual increase and decrease in blood glucose.