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Recovery After Exercise - What’s the Right Approach?

After exercise, recovery starts with the first thing you put in your mouth. Many people don’t fuel their bodies properly, and as a result don’t get the type of benefits they should expect from their hard training routines. You don’t have to be a world-class athlete to benefit from proper postworkout “re-fuelling”.

Dehydration and electrolyte loss saps your cardiac efficiency; exercise causes micro-tears in muscle tissue and drains your glycogen stores – your most efficient exercise fuel source. You need a nutritional plan to help repair and refuel your body for your next workout. Research on this topic has been hot and heavy, and in 1988 researchers from the University of Texas identified the glycogen window – a one hour period immediately following intense exercise when athletes have the best chance of replenishing lost glycogen.

What’s more, they found that consuming carbohydrates and proteins in a four-to-one ratio (carbs to proteins) during that window makes the athlete (you) up to four times more efficient at synthesizing carbs into glycogen. Take the right kind of food or drink immediately after exercise and you can replace the energy you’ve lost and come back strong again the next day for another workout. Here’s what the researchers found works best:
A. Immediately after an intense workout: down between one cup to one litre (depending on your body size and the intensity of your workout) of a drink which supplies the appropriate four-toone ratio. There are many sport supplements on the market, however your best choice (and cheapest) is chocolate milk. Dr. Dean Kriellaars of the University of Manitoba indicates chocolate milk is the recovery “drink of champions”. Check the label and you’ll see for yourself how it stacks up in carbs, proteins and fat.
B. Recovery meal two to four hours after your workout: Follow your recovery drink in the glycogen window with a meal consisting of 60 - 65% carbs, 20% fat and 15% protein (sound familiar - it’s Canada’s food guide for healthy eating). Don’t get bogged down with the numbers, just follow the general guidelines in the food guide and you’ll be on your way to healthy eating and proper nutritional recovery - just watch your portion sizes.