Live The Active Life

Last Saturday I did my first century ride in almost three years. I did a detailed recap of the ride here and I also talked about preparing for the ride here. What I’d like to do now is discuss the post workout aspect and how important I believe proper nutrition is. While I am talking about a cycling workout the principles can be just as effective for any type of extended activity such as running or triathlons.

Your Body Is Hungry

After a long workout or race your body is most likely depleted of calories to a certain extent. Even if you took in calories during the event you probably didn’t replace every calorie that your body burned during the event. By my estimate, I burned somewhere around 5,000 calories during the century ride. I took in about 2,400 calories during the ride by eating and drinking on a regular basis. That means I was in a 2,600 calorie deficit the minute I stopped pedaling. In order to speed recovery I needed to get those “missing” calories replaced. But, you just can’t eat a bunch of junk food and expect to optimize recovery. You need to at least pay some attention to what you consume.

The Right Mix

At the end of a long workout your muscles need a quality mix of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Many people assume that all they need is carbs but recent research has shown that protein, when consumed with carbs can speed recovery. Ideally, if you can consume 1-2 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight within 30 minutes of the end of the workout and then another 1 gram or so within the next hour, your body’s recovery will be greatly increased. For me that means I need about 75-150 grams of carbs each time. Adding protein to the mix at a ratio of 1 gram protein for every 4 grams of carbs can help your body absorb the carbs more effectively.

What To Eat

What should you eat to get that mix of nutrients immediately after your workout? There are lots of options. Many people use some of the commercial “recovery” drinks while others don’t. I have found that chocolate, low fat soy milk works great for me and has the right mix of nutrients, plus it’s cheap. When I finished the ride I immediately drank 32oz of soy milk which gave me about 80 grams carbs and 20 grams protein along with a few grams of fat. That seems like a lot (almost 500 calories) but it went down with no problems . I then wandered over to the finish line area and had a couple of pieces of the sausage pizza they were handing out along with a light beer. That was probably another 600 calories or so and had some more carbs, lots of protein and some fat. Then on the drive back home I got some pretzels, a Clif Bar and a regular Coke. In total I ate about 1700 calories within the first hour and a half of finishing the ride. That was enough to get me back to almost even. I made up the rest the next day. The important thing is that I got a lot of quality carbs along with some protein and fat into my body quickly.

Post Workout Cravings

Many people, me included, report severe cravings for certain kinds of foods after a tough, long workout. For me it has always involved fat of some kind along with protein. This time I couldn’t get enough rice with lots of butter and barbecue ribs, they just sounded soooo good. Some people may say that I just blew my healthy eating program completely out of the water by giving in to the cravings but I disagree. My body was obviously in need of something and if I “give in” it only lasts for a day or so and then I’m done. By Sunday night I was back to normal and eating my usual healthy diet.

On To The Next Workout

By paying at least some attention to what you eat immediately after a long workout you can help your body recover faster allowing you to get back into training sooner. I was “calorically satisfied” by lunch on Sunday, ready to get back into the workout routine and get ready for my next century!

How Do You Refuel?

How do you take care of your post workout nutrition needs and what kinds of cravings do you get after a tough workout? Do you have any tips to help the rest of us recover faster?  Let us know by posting a comment!