Eating After Strength Training?

arabianhorselover

I have read that a person should eat something with protein after working out. How soon does it have to be after exercising? I live at least a half hour from home, so if I need to eat something sooner, I would have to bring it to the gym. Any suggestions?

cwolfman13

For the vast majority of us, the timing is pretty much irrelevant...what is most important is that you are getting your requisite protein throughout the day. Taking protein like 30 minutes after a workout has, maybe some marginal benefit to a competitive lifter or body builder...but for most of us, we're not really going to notice anything if we take it 30 minutes after or 2 hours after. Just focus on hitting those protein goals throughout the day.

arabianhorselover

I thought that was probably the case. How do I figure out how much protein I should have in a day?

agggie550

Just my opinion and a little bit of Bro Science, but i Shoot for at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight a day, I am usually higher, but I lift 6 days a week, so for me that works out well. I asked my doctor the same question, he said 1 gram to a gram and half per lb is okay after that it might be a little much unless you are really working out.

chineyLuv

I thought that was probably the case. How do I figure out how much protein I should have in a day?

Awesome question! I want to know this too!

joebeana

Protein intake timing doesn't matter. Here is a guide to how much you should be eating depending on your goal.

http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-do-i-need-every-day.html

jim9097

I am going to offer no opinion on amount of protein, because that always depends on who you ask, and their opinion generally depends on their desired end state; not yours. What I will say however is that for muscle repair the optimum time to introduce protein is within 1 hour of working out. That is according to almost every sports nutritionist out there. Now for my personal opinion, I don't believe it matters. I have subscribed to both doing it and not within the magic hour. I have gotten sore in both cases and I am not anal enough to log how long and severity of soreness to determine if it is true or not.

tquill

According to Layne Norton, better results are seen if protein is spread evenly throughout the day. He also asserts that carbs protect muscle better than any other macro during training, so the bulk of your carbs should be taken around your workout (before, during, and after).

I don't go crazy with timing it perfectly, but I do try to have my larger carbs meals around my workout.

As for protein, I try to keep it evenly distributed throughout the day.

CoachDreesTraining

For the vast majority of us, the timing is pretty much irrelevant...what is most important is that you are getting your requisite protein throughout the day. Taking protein like 30 minutes after a workout has, maybe some marginal benefit to a competitive lifter or body builder...but for most of us, we're not really going to notice anything if we take it 30 minutes after or 2 hours after. Just focus on hitting those protein goals throughout the day.

This is good advice.

There is no difference between the protein already in your body, and the protein you consume in the 30-120 minutes after your workout. I would say there is some hormonal benefits to eating after a workout, but this is more relevant for bodybuilders/powerlifters/athletes.

The longer and more intense your workouts become, the more important the timing of your protein consumption becomes.

jim9097

According to Layne Norton, better results are seen if protein is spread evenly throughout the day. He also asserts that carbs protect muscle better than any other macro during training, so the bulk of your carbs should be taken around your workout (before, during, and after).

I don't go crazy with timing it perfectly, but I do try to have my larger carbs meals around my workout.

As for protein, I try to keep it evenly distributed throughout the day.

I don't know who this Layne Norton is, but here is what I would say. Carbs around workouts, hmmm.. Yes simple carbs around a workout can increase your glycogen stores during a hard routine and keep you from bonking. But eating complex carbs right before a workout is going to do nothing, they have to be processed by the liver to be turned into glycogen and store for use. So while I agree no one needs perfect timing here, you should really eat complex carbs several hours before a workout. If it is going to be an intense workout you may even want to suck down a handful of gummy bears or pixie sticks right after. That will almost immediately return your blood sugar levels to normal, and make that queezy feeling go away...