Training. Nutrition. Rest. These are the three pillars that make up the foundation of your training career. You can lift all you want, but if you don’t eat enough, you aren’t going to get bigger, stronger or faster. The same is true if you don’t sleep enough. Then again, if you eat well and get enough rest, but don’t train, you’re also going nowhere. Having read our articles on exercise form and programming, you already know how to lift correctly, so let’s discuss performance nutrition.

Specifically, let’s look at the post-workout meal. After training, there’s a 30-45 minute window where the body needs nutrients. You need to replenish what was burned during training and provide the blocks for building new muscle.

One of the main debates about post-workout nutrition is, solid food or a shake? In the days before whey protein was readily available at your local strip mall, athletes would opt for a hearty meal. Even today, champion bodybuilders like Jay Cutler and Phil Heath can be seen eating lean meat and rice or other complex carbs after their grueling workouts. We certainly can’t argue with their results, but there might be more than a few reasons to choose a post-workout shake.

We mentioned the ‘window’ after training where the body needs nutrients. During this time, hormonal levels are just right for driving the protein and carbs straight into your muscles. Liquids digest faster than whole foods, so theoretically, a liquid meal could be more effective for repairing and building muscles. Additionally, some athletes, myself included, don’t like the way a full meal feels right after training. In fact, I used to drink my protein shakes immediately after working out, but now wait at least 15 minutes to allow my body to return to a more normal state.

Since I prefer a post-workout drink, it’s important to know what to put in there. Protein is of the utmost importance. Training with weight creates tiny tears in your muscles and uses free amino acids stored within for energy and other processes. Getting a quick, relatively large dose of a fast digesting protein is one of the best ways to mend those tears (which creates bigger, stronger muscles).

This is why so many athletes love whey protein. It digests within an hour, and is one of the cheapest sources of protein available. I have found .25g protein/lb of body weight to be a good number. While I never go below this number, I will sometimes use more. I sometimes add 10g L-leucine to my shakes. Leucine is said to be the limiting factor in muscle growth. It effectively ‘turns on’ the mTOR pathway that creates new muscle tissue, so making sure you have enough can allow you to maximize your growth. I will sometimes also add L-glutamine, which is especially effective after intense workouts (heavy squats and deadlifts, especially).

Next, we need some carbohydrates. Some people swear by the method of using simple sugars to ‘spike’ insulin. Since the body needs protein and carbs to repair, an insulin spike drives these nutrients straight to the muscle, rather than into fat cells as would normally happen. I have used this method, and while I found it successful in the sense that I got stronger and gained lean mass, it also left me feeling queasy and sometimes even dizzy. Now, when I need carbohydrates in my post-workout drink, I use ground oatmeal. It doesn’t spike insulin, but then again, it’s much easier on my digestive system, and I’m still making great progress. I’m also of the mind that it might not be all that great to manipulate insulin, given its ties with diabetes and other disorders. While it’s likely that insulin can be used to facilitate muscle growth, the difference in using a slow burning carb like oatmeal is negligible in my experience. A good number to shoot for is .5g carbs/lb bodyweight. If you’re trying to lose fat or just want to limit your caloric intake, you can lower this figure.

As for fat, we should try to avoid fat as much as possible. Whey protein has a tiny amount of fat, as does oatmeal. I like to use skim milk for my shakes, which has a good amount of protein and carbs, but no fat. Fat slows digestion, and our goal with a post-workout drink is fast absorption.

So .25g protein/lb and .5g carbs/lb is a good start. Play with it and see what works for you. These days, I prefer to use fewer carbs in my shake most days, but then again, I eat a full meal about 60-90 minutes after the shake, which usually has a bunch.

Post your best shake recipes as a comment!