What’s
the best post workout meal? Not Pop Tarts!
If you've read any of my other articles you've probably realized by now that I definitely take the "geeky" approach to training. In today’s article I want to explain the science behind post workout supplementation, its importance, and to examine some commonly practiced methods.
"Bro-Science" has come up with all sorts of crazy post workout methods. Some of the ones that I've heard of that don't make very much sense to me are chocolate milk, oats and whey, snickers bars and whey, donuts and milk, and what seems to be the most ridiculous to me is the infamous Pop Tart and whey. The Pop Tart method seems to be a mid-west thing. I've never heard of it in all my years in California, but it is routinely practiced here in the Mile High city.
First, let's examine the first two methods that I mentioned and why they are NOT optimal for post workout nutrition. Chocolate milk is a great option in terms of sugars and protein ratios. but unfortunately that protein source is rich in casein protein. Casein is slow digesting and therefore forces you to miss your optimal timing of the amino acid uptake within the post workout window. The available research has overwhelmingly shown that whey, BCAA powder, or both are the best ways to quickly feed your muscles after your workout within the post workout window. Casein, however, would be a great slow digesting meal replacement or night time protein. Before we go in to why Pop Tarts and other afore mentioned methods are not optimal, let's take a step back and examine what is it that we're trying to accomplish within that very important post workout window.
You've just had a killer workout. You've depleted the muscles, worked off some glucose, and stripped some amino acids. Your body is now in a very catabolic state. Not only are you trying to re-feed the lost glucose and amino acids stripped from your workout, you are also trying to stop the catabolism that is occurring within the body and to immediately start the recovery process. All sorts of things are currently happening: cortisol is elevated, catabolic hormones towards the end of the workout are now being produced in higher amounts than anabolic hormones such as growth hormone and IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor). OMG! How do I stop this muscle wasting from occurring? Boom! A post workout shake appears wearing spandex, a cape, and an S on its chest. You've heard of the 30 minute window of post workout nutrition, well with my clients it's a “stop your last set and slam a post workout shake” window. Some say it doesn't matter that much to wait 30 minutes, but their studies are not done using people who are training as hard and as heavy as the elite fitness world. So, I still recommend getting that PWO nutrition in you as fast as possible or the muscle wasting window will be prolonged.
So what is the best method? Well, first we want to stop catabolic hormones from being produced and start producing anabolic hormones again. What's the most anabolic hormone in the body? Nope not testosterone, not even close, it is insulin! Guess what ladies you produce this in just as high amounts as men so take advantage of it and build some MUSCLE! To get insulin to spike you need high glycemic index carbs, but too many carbs and you'll store some unwanted body fat. So, how much is the perfect amount? The best method that I’ve found isn’t based on weight, it’s based on total work load performed. Here is the best method I’ve found based on today’s research and studies.
Carbs:
12-72 reps per workout : 0.6 g/Kg/LBM
73-200 reps per workout : 0.8 g/kg/LBM
200-360 reps per workout : 1.0 g/kg/LBM
360-450 reps per workout : 1.2 g/kg/LBM
Protein:
15 grams per every 50 lbs of body weight
Now that insulin is spiked, which is the most important part of the recovery process in terms of glucose replenishment, what else is needed? A fast digesting protein of course! Whey protein is the fastest digesting protein available, making it the perfect option for post workouts. But don't forget about your other option of pure BCAA's as well as they are pre-digested and will get to your muscles even faster. I prefer whey but will have my clients sip on BCAA's intra workout when they're getting close to contest time to prevent muscle wasting as much as possible.
Okay, okay, now that we've gone into the science of a high glycemic index carb and whey protein being the optimal way for consuming post workout nutrition, why isn't the sugar in Pop Tarts sufficient? Well this is going to sound crazy and hopefully your head won’t explode but here is a Team Elite Physique secret: any sugar post workout will do! Yup all we're trying to do is spike insulin and the body will spike insulin with fruit sugar just as much as it will with sugars in marshmallows, my personal favorite. Whhhhaaaaatttt?!?! Yup it really doesn't matter what type of sugar you use as long as it's high glycemic and DOESN'T contain fat!! Ahah! That's why the Pop Tart isn’t optimal and is slowing your recovery progress and making you store more body fat! How you ask? Let's look at insulin and what its job is. Insulin drives nutrients to be stored in muscle and in fat. Think about it logically, does it make sense to have fat floating around in the blood stream while you're insulin is storing nutrients at a very rapid pace? No, not at all! Fat in the blood stream will be stored as fat, not converted to muscle. You can't store fat as muscle, it can only be stored as fat or used as energy. So avoid fat at all costs when you're spiking insulin as your window to use the fat as energy is extremely small. The average Pop Tart has 8 grams of fat and most fitness people consume 2 post workout so that's 16 grams of newly stored body fat on your body after every workout. Not only will you be storing more body fat with the extra fat intake, but you'll also not be getting optimal insulin spikes as fat will reduce the total glycemic index of the meal by slowing digestion rates.
Have fun with your post workout and use any sugars you want. Recently, I prepped Mile High bikini winner Rachel Strout and she enjoyed Mike & Ikes post workout up until 5 days before her show. I also used this same method with Ray Palermo Jr. who won the overall in bodybuilding at the Denver Championships as well as Andi York who won the overall at the Southern Colorado in Figure and the list goes on and on. The point of mentioning them is that it works and there is no need to make prep harder than it has to be. Prep is tough and dieting to lose weight is just as hard so enjoy your one opportunity to “cheat”. Apply science and this really isn’t cheating at all, so eat any sugar source you want guilt free, but stay the heck away from those Pop Tarts!
Trainer of Team Elite Physique
Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist
NASM Certified Personal Trainer since 2001
NASM Weight Loss Specialist
NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist
NCSF Certified Personal Trainer since 2002
ISSA Certified Personal Trainer since 2000
APEX Certified Personal Trainer since 2001
Master Trainer Qualified
Health and Wellness Cal U Penn
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