Lag is a term used to indicate some sort of delay, or falling behind. All too often, when people talk post-workout nutrition, they’re arriving late to the game with unrealistic expectations.
The reality is, what you eat immediately before you train, it’s not going to impact your training as much as what you ate 3 or 6 or even 12 hours before.
If you’re waiting until the meal prior to training to optimize your workout, you’re going to be disappointed.
Similarly, when it comes to recovery, if you lean too hard on post-training nutrient intake, you could be setting yourself up for failure.
The late, great, John Meadows made an analogy that I will never forget. We were training legs and discussing the topic of ideal post workout nutrient intake. John explained that if you could begin replacing nutrients as they were being diminished, recovery would be drastically accelerated. He said, “If you were digging a hole, and for every shovel-full of dirt you remove I scoop it up and throw it back in, the hole would never get dug.”
He argued that providing the body with the materials to rebuild itself SHOULD take place DURING training! As is always the case, theory is one thing and real-life application is another.
John’s idea certainly made sense to me, but did it hold up in practice?
It damn sure did. When using his approach, I had reduced soreness, better pumps, more power, and the overall ability to easily progress from one workout to another.
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What are the right post workout nutrients?
Protein and carbs are what we’re after, but we’re certainly not going to consume a steak and a baked potato during training. John argued that simple carbohydrates, plus free form aminos, were fundamental during training.
Over the years, I found that a 2:1 ratio of carbs to aminos along with some creatine and glutamine was ideal.
By providing the body with simple carbs and free form aminos, very little demand is placed on the body to digest the nutrients.
This way, nothing is taken away from training, nutrients go to work right away, and after training, you can get back to shoveling down your next meal!
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Experienced trainees know that large amounts of whole foods are needed to be your absolute peak
Quite frankly, the “trendy” consumption of a post training protein shake can get in your way!
20g of free form aminos, 40-50g simple carbs, 5g creatine, and 10g glutamine consumed DURING training, followed by a proper whole food meal beats the intake of a post workout shake 11 times out of 10.
Frankly, if you’re going to consume a protein shake, the most ideal time to do it is BEFORE you train!
Why? Because most people can drink a shake a whole lot closer to a workout than a whole food meal. And, most people who give it a try, report FEELING a difference in their training when they have a shake before training.
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The bottom line: Achieving proper performance from nutrient intake is the culmination of 24 hours of proper nutrient consumption.
Most of us will reach a point where we struggle to consume enough to meet our needs. At that point, each day becomes a race against the clock where nutrient timing is crucial. Whole foods are always going to be the foundation of a successful diet.
And when it comes to post workout nutrition, start it during training and when the workout is over, get right back to whole food!
