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IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD YOUR SHAKE,
YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED YOUR WORKOUT!

By Norm Danniels

As the title of this article implies, what you consume immediately following your workout is almost as important as the workout itself.   Every time you exercise, you deplete a significant amount of your stored muscle glycogen (carbohydrates) as well as your amino acid pool, and the stress of that exercise breaks down and damages your muscle cells.  The good news is that those muscle cells grow bigger and stronger (provided they are properly nourished) so they can better handle that stress in the future.

However, the effects of exercise are quite catabolic. You drain your fuel supplies, you eat up the circulating protein in your system, you distress your muscle cells and depending on the intensity of the activity, you may burn some muscle tissue for energy along the way.  Additionally, the adrenal hormone cortisol is released.  Although an important hormone, it is the bad guy in athletics because it assists in the conversion of existing muscle tissue into fuel.

All this adds up to a highly catabolic environment that breaks down, burns up and empties your reserves.  Making the transition from that exercise induced depleted state to one of recovery, repair and growth is the tricky part.  Fortunately, a wonderful window of opportunity presents itself right at the time we need refuelling the most.

For an hour or so after a workout your body’s ability to absorb and utilize nutrients is exceptionally high.  With a well-timed protein shake following a workout, you not only replenish and refuel yourself, you also shift gears from the catabolic environment an anabolic one that begins the growth, recovery and repair process.  This high absorption window of opportunity is short lived. If you do not reload during that first critical hour, chances are you will linger in a catabolic state for hours.

A protein shake, ideally consumed within 30 minutes after exercise containing both good quality carbohydrates and a high biological value protein source is the simple solution.  The obvious combination is a fruit juice based shake or smoothie that includes whey protein. This type of shake is quickly and easily digested (much quicker than solid food) and almost immediately initiates the recovery process.

Not only do the carbohydrates replenish your glycogen stores, they also encourage the release of insulin, which plays a significant role in the transportation and uptake of the protein in your shake. As far as protein powder, a clean high quality whey protein concentrate is a sensible choice, but if your budget permits it, you can’t beat cross flow microfiltered whey protein isolate. It has both an outstanding protein percentage and biological value, two important considerations.

Feel free to add other ingredients and nutritional supplements to your post workout shakes.  Creatine, glutamine, and flax seed oil are all valuable additions. Remember, your workout really isn’t over when you put down that last dumbbell or step off the treadmill; it’s when you unplug and put away your blender.

These products are available at local Health Food stores in the Okanagan, Vancouver, and across Canada.

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