Post-Workout Nutrition: 7 Golden Rules
Training does not make you fitter. In reality it makes you less fit because if you’ve worked well you'll have caused your body to start breaking down. Do your recovery job well however and this is where the fitness is developed. It's in recovery that the body - in response to training stress - rebuilds stronger than it was before. This is why great post-workout nutrition makes all the difference
And the best news? Despite all the apparent confusion out there great post-workout nutrition is actually pretty simple. All it needs is attention to the seven golden rules below to put yourself in the sweet spot for maximum improvement from all training.
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Post-workout nutrition tip 1: timing
The whole ‘recovery window’ thing can largely be ignored. There is no vital urgency to stuff your face within a set time period. It is true however that the body is more responsive to anything you eat after a hard session, and science has this period lasting anywhere from an hour to 24 hours depending on which studies you read.
The key is to be mindful you need to eat well soon after your session, any more is unnecessary complication.
Post-workout nutrition tip 2: hydration
You’ve hit it hard in training, so you’ve likely sweated buckets.
This water now needs putting back in so drink lots of... water. Just water. It’s as simple as that. Keep pouring it in until you can pee clear instead of radioactive orange. Ignore ordinary sports drinks which are laced with ultra-processed ingredients, additives and other assorted rubbish.
Post-workout nutrition tip 3: sleep
This rule is a lazy bugger’s dream because you really can get fit while you sleep.
As long as you’re well fed, watered and stretched, great sleep is where you’ll really pile the recovery miles on so for the best gains, nail this as best you can.
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Tip #3: get fed, get watered, get awesome zeds
Post-workout nutrition tip 4: protein
The accepted wisdom for nutrition after a workout is that you should absolutely pile on the protein. This simplistic view has been peddled for years by companies who sell protein, and who have spent a small fortune on science to ‘prove’ their case.
So let’s clear a few things up.
Protein is indeed key to help muscles rebuild. But quality is everything, and most protein powders are swill. They're either whey-based, which as we know is far inferior to plant-based protein or are loaded with ultra-processed food and sweeteners like maltodextrin which you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
Real food is the very best place to start when looking for your post-workout protein.
Great options include:
- Beans on toast
- Peanut butter and banana on rice cakes
- DIY smoothie in the blender with oats, almonds, fruit and water. Oats and almonds are great protein sources, fruit is an ideal carb source
- Any take on the classic ‘beans and rice’ theme
At 33Fuel we do get that life happens and cooking fresh meals and snacks isn't always possible right after training and for these times we've created our Premium Protein. A unique blend of the highest quality and most powerful plant proteins available in nature, all with great taste and zero added junk. Mixes brilliantly with water, milk, smoothies and more for a fast, delicious 20g protein hit exactly when you need it.
Post-workout nutrition tip 5: electrolytes
In all that sweat you lost during your session, there were also a bundle of minerals you now need to replace.
Sports nutrition companies the world over will sell you overpriced fizzy pills to do this, but these are about as poor as whey for health and performance as they contain more synthetic additives and sweeteners than actual beneficial elements.
Instead, you can get these magic things called electrolytes (salt and potassium basically) from real food.
Better quality, better for you. For your salts be conscious to add extra salt to your food, and for potassium have a banana, they’re packed with the stuff (or if you really want to go to town, mix up some of our Better Fuel Carb Blend which is also loaded with natural electrolytes)
Post-workout nutrition tip 6: stretch
Stretching, yoga, foam rollering - whatever your body maintenance of choice make the time to cover this one off properly.
Flaking out on the sofa is mighty tempting after a weekend workout, hitting the office for a day at a desk after a weekday workout is all-too-often mandatory, but neither are going to maximise the benefits and effects of all that effort you’ve just put in.
Quite the opposite, they’re going to reduce your gains if you don’t make a few minutes here and there to ease out the kinks, roll out those tired muscles and get some gentle movement in (short walks are ideal for this).
Tip #5: s-t-r-e-t-c-h
Post-workout nutrition tip 7: Going big? Go beyond protein
For max results after your very biggest sessions and races you’ll also need:
- Anti-inflammatories to reduce the inflammation brought on by your efforts and get you ready to repeat as soon as possible
- Adaptogens to help your body adapt powerfully to changing stimuli brought on by your training
- Antioxidants to fortify your immune system - heavy training weakens it fast and nothing wrecks a heavy training block faster than a cold
- Plenty of alkalysing foods to reduce the increased acidity brought on by training stress. Imagine training sets your body on fire, that’s the acidity kicking in. Alkalysing foods (leafy greens, algaes like spirulina) put that fire out
Cover these and you'll power up your recovery beyond belief, maxing out your training results and being able to go harder, sooner next time around which further accelerates gains.
It's a beautifully virtuous circle.
It's also quite a list of nutritional requirements, but most can be covered with a great diet packed with a wide variety of fruit, veggies, legumes, seeds and nuts.
When that isn’t always on hand, or when you simply need the biggest beneficial recovery hit, our Elite Meal Replacement Shakes let you nail all of the above in one tasty hit and are the only products anywhere to do so. When your recovery really matters, give them a shot.
And finally: beware the ‘woop woop’ effect
WTF is the ‘woop woop’ effect?
In short it's where you smash a hard session and are so pleased with your discipline, focus and performance that you clean forget rules 1-7 above and instead pile down a boatload of chips, cake, ice cream and booze before flaking out in a heap.
It’s a great ‘reward’ at the time, but the end result is only going one way - you, erasing your gains, before you even got them. Doh!
The junk food increases acidity and inflammation at a time when you need to do the exact opposite, the booze dehydrates when you need rehydration, and the two combined with flaking out in a heap guarantee sore, knackered muscles the next day as well as a crappy night’s sleep (which will further mess up recovery).
Beer: not a recovery drink after all. Sorry about that
When the ‘woop woop’ effect hits you have three options which are below - deploy as needed:
1 You’re building up to a major goal: this is the time to ignore all woop woop options. If your goal matters, you need max recovery. Anything less and you’re just ripping yourself off
2 You’re headed for a big goal but are a way out and are feeling good: this is the hardest place, the middle ground - here you can let the woop woop in a bit if you like, but make sure you offset it with the best food, some body maintenance, and plenty of water beforehand as well as a great night’s kip afterwards
3 You’ve just achieved a huge goal: this is where you can go woop woop all you want when the fancy takes you, but if you want to be able to move the next day we'd still recommend bringing max nutrition, loads of water and all the sleep you can muster to the party.
So there you have it, the seven golden rules of post-workout nutrition as well as how to handle the woop woop effect when it hits. Train hard, race awesome, recover like a boss. Here's to your performance!
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