Written by So your pre-workout meal is history and your workout has been over for a good 45 minutes, what do you do next. EAT! Your body is starving for more nutrients then ever before. You just spent the last 45 minutes to 1 hour working your butt off and drawling on every ounce of energy and nourishment your body had. Lets dive in!
Your pre-workout meal was more then likely light consisting of 300-600 calories (depending on when your able to workout out and after what meal) Your post workout meal is just as important if not more than your pre-workout. There are some people who don’t think your post workout meal is that important and say just eat whenever and whatever you want. These are the same guys who eat power bars and protein shakes all day and consider that to be healthy eating.
Your goal is to maximize muscle recovery and growth. The only way you can properly do that is through eating! Similar to the pre-workout meal, there are some key components to what makes the perfect post workout meal
Check these out!
Protein: The building block for all muscle growth and recovery. No, protein is not overrated it’s what your body needs in order to thrive and recover properly. I’m not saying you need to be housing 100g a meal, just enough to replace what your body has used. For most people I would suggest a .7-.9 grams of protein/lb of body weight a day. For the elite athletes that train harder than most I would suggest anywhere from .9-1.2g/lb of body weight.
My Top 3 Sources:
Chicken Breasts (one whole breast 4-6 ounces)
Eggs (eat the whole thing! 3-5 eggs)
Tuna (one can or 4-6oz fillet)
*If your stranded on an island and all they had was protein powder then go for it. Powders are not bad but I would rather you get what you need from WHOLE FOODS!
Carbohydrates: Now that your workout is over you have to refuel your body in order for the growth to happen. The average person confuses this part of their post workout. Your 45 minutes of weights and 15 minutes of slow paced cardio does not grant you a plate of pasta. Your body is more efficient then that. It’s a well oiled machine. If it burned through a box of bow-tie pasta on arm day then we would be in trouble. Small amounts from the right sources are perfect!
My Top 3 Sources:
Old Fashioned oats (1 cup)
Brown Rice (1 cup)
Whole Wheat Bagel (one whole)
Share this with a friend if it helped in any way!!
-William-
