How to Do Post Workout Shake
Like a chain only being as strong as its weakest link, a workout is only as good as its recovery meal. There is a span of time immediately following the workout that I call the "Golden Hour." At this time, your body is like a sponge. It is depleted of key nutrients and it is thirsting for replenishment. The main thing that you want to focus on is getting a good amount of fast-absorbing carbs into your system with a decent amount of protein. The best way to achieve this is in liquid form because liquid is very absorbable. The carbs act like the delivery system for the protein to the muscles, which is essential for cell recovery. So with that in mind, I am going to give you some tricks of the trade to follow as soon as your last dumbbell has been placed in the rack.
Things You'll Need
- Blender
- Shaker
- Milk/milk alternatives
- Fresh or frozen fruit
- Protein powder(s)
- Honey
- Agave
- Molasses
Instructions
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Post Workout Powerhouse
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Get a shaker. This is usually a 32-ounce cup with a screen or little wire ball inside that has a snap-on lid. These are very convenient in the event you don't have access to a blender. They are designed to make shakes on the go, and they are a life saver when traveling. You can get them at any health food or supplement store.
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Crank up the intensity. In order to earn your post-workout shake, you must first work out. Try to do a high-intensity workout with active recovery or little breaks in between. If you are doing cardio, then try doing interval training in which you vary your intensity from high to low.
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Figure out how much protein and carbs you need. There are tons of formulas, equations and scientific schematics floating around the world of nutrition about this very thing. But I like to make things really easy, so here we go: Try to get a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein after your workout. If that's too hard to follow then just make sure to get a post-workout shake with fast-absorbing carbs and a generous amount of protein. I don't think that's very hard to remember. An example of the ratio would be 40g of carbs to 10g of protein.
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Get the timing right. The best time to have your shake is immediatley after working out. This is when your body is most in need of replenishment. But the whole first hour after your workout is still optimal. I just wouldn't go much later than that. If you do, you are putting your hard-worked muscles at risk for catabolism, which is muscle breakdown.
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Keep the fat on the side. When you are making your post-workout shake, try to keep the fat to a minimum. Fat slows the digestion process and it takes the body a lot more work to break it dwon than it does protein and carbs.
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Figure out your ingredients. Now that we know how much and when, this leaves only one question... What? Well, I am going to leave this up to you. Here are some ingredient choices you can simply pick and choose from: As your substrate, you can use water, soy milk, hemp milk, organic milk or a combination of any of those and a good clean fruit juice. You can then add whey, soy, hemp or egg white protein to the mix. If you have access to a blender, throw in fresh or frozen fruit. You can't go wrong with berries and bananas. If you are on the road and can only use your shaker, then I suggest throwing in 2 T. of honey, agave syrup or molasses. This will give the glycogen spike a little more of a boost.
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Tips & Warnings
The reason I added the various types of protein and milk is because you may have an allergy to something or you just may not like a certain type of protein or milk. Feel free to experiment with any combination.
