In the past two days, several friends have asked me the same question: how to supplement nutrition after training to maximize the effect of my training. In fact, not only after training, but also pre-training nutritional supplements are equally important. I remember never missing a single post-workout nutritional supplement when I was able to afford protein powder. With the continuous increase and update of knowledge reserves, it is found that nutritional supplementation after training is not only as simple as protein supplementation, but also pre-training supplementation is also very important. Today’s article will talk about how to supplement nutrition before and after training, and why to do it.
After reading this article, you will gain the following four information:
Muscle protein synthesis and breakdown
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Why nutritional supplements are needed
Purpose of nutritional supplements before and after training
Advice on nutritional supplements before and after training
Muscle protein synthesis and decomposition
Let’s talk about muscle synthesis and decomposition before talking about nutritional supplements.
What we usually call protein is actually decomposed into amino acids after entering the human body. These amino acids have various effects on our body, So as to ensure the effective and healthy operation of the body. When it comes to muscle growth, certain amino acids merge together to create new muscle tissue, a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS), a biochemical pathway for muscle recovery and stronger muscle. And when amino acids in muscle are broken down, it’s called muscle protein breakdown (MPB). Because the muscle tissue in our body is stimulated by internal and external stimulation, amino acids are constantly assembled and disassembled, so that the muscles are always in the process of synthesis and decomposition.
Daily nutritional supplements increase the efficiency of protein synthesis. When the synthesis state is greater than the decomposition state, the muscle will grow. We want the anabolic state to last longer, so the faster you gain muscle. Conversely, if the muscle is in a state of breakdown after a high-intensity workout and exceeds the rate of synthesis, then the muscle will be lost. When the two rates are equal, such as in a healthy living state, the current muscle mass will be maintained, but in general terms, the human body will tend to break down muscle protein with age. This is because The reason why the levels of various hormones in the body decrease year by year.
Why do you need nutritional supplements?
The only rule of thumb for muscle growth or maintenance is that muscle protein synthesis is greater than breakdown, so everything we do every day revolves around Implemented on how to maximize muscle protein synthesis status. From the perspective of muscle growth, training plays a stimulating role in the whole process of muscle growth, and nutritional supplementation can better complete muscle protein synthesis and metabolism. From the perspective of fat loss, when we lose fat, we not only need to lose excess body fat, but also maintain the previous muscle mass is one of the main tasks. The maintenance of muscle mass means an increase in calorie consumption and a disguised reduction in fat. At this time, the intake of nutrients is more for the maintenance of the existing muscle mass, so that the metabolic level of the body is stable, which is conducive to the realization of your goals.
The purpose of nutritional supplements before and after training
Our human body is synthesizing and decomposing muscle protein all the time, just see who is more dominant. But when it comes to sports, things are different. During strength training or aerobic exercise, the rate of muscle protein synthesis and breakdown increases overall, but ultimately breakdown is greater than synthesis. In other words, training is a catabolic activity, and the catabolism is especially severe when you train at a high intensity, drag on for too long, and train on an empty stomach. But reasonable timing and supplementation of nutrition can improve or alleviate this problem.
Pre-workout nutrition
The main components of muscle are amino acids (which can be simple Understand as protein), pre-exercise nutritional supplement is to reserve more amino acids in the body for muscle synthesis, and strive to reduce the rate of muscle breakdown and maximize or maintain the rate of muscle synthesis. Muscle growth requires adequate protein.
At the same time, supplement not only protein, but also carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are stored in the body in the form of glycogenYes, and the main source of energy during training is glycogen. Therefore, the purpose of supplementing carbohydrates is to ensure that the body has sufficient glycogen reserves. The greater the reserve, the more secure the training. As for fat, according to the existing research, no matter before and after training, it is not recommended to supplement with obvious forms of fat. The reason is probably because the emptying speed of fat in the stomach is relatively slow, which affects other nutrients. absorption synthesis. Pre-exercise nutritional supplements are more to prevent problems before they happen.
Post-workout nutrition
As we said just now, exercise is actually a kind of muscle protein breakdown metabolism, and the metabolic rate is also higher than usual. Therefore, the goal of post-exercise nutritional supplementation is clearly to restart muscle protein synthesis and metabolism, restart muscle building, especially leucine in protein, which directly stimulates the rate of protein synthesis. Since the synthesis and decomposition rate is relatively high at this time, nutritional supplementation after training will stimulate more muscle protein synthesis. Carbohydrate supplementation is more to stimulate insulin secretion and inhibit protein decomposition. At the same time, during the training process, a large amount of glycogen is consumed, and at this time, it is also quickly replenished into the body through fast carbohydrates. Carbohydrate supplementation can also alleviate the increase in cortisol caused by high-intensity training, which is more conducive to muscle anabolism. Nutritional supplementation after exercise is more about repair, maintenance and growth.
Speaking of this, I remembered that many friends who lost fat did not dare to consume carbohydrates and protein after exercising. Isn’t this way of reducing more and more? Slow, the more muscle you lose, the more you break down? Moreover, the fat loss itself is depleted of calories, and the body is under great pressure, and cortisol is still high after exercise.
Nutrition Supplement Recommendations Before and After Training
Protein: It is recommended to eat every 3-4 hours throughout the day , the protein content throughout the day is evenly distributed among 4 to 6 meals. For protein, it is better to distribute supplements evenly throughout the day than to concentrate supplements. 20~40g protein supplement 1 hour before training, recommended ingredients such as chicken breast, beef, etc; Protein powder and egg whites, etc. The exact amount varies from person to person.
Carbohydrates: Complementary carbohydrates should be added 1 hour before training, so that energy can be released slowly and can be continuously supplied for training. can. It is recommended that ingredients such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn, and whole-wheat bread should account for about 15% of the daily carbohydrate intake. Replenish fine carbohydrates within 30 minutes after training. It is suggested that rice cakes, bananas, rice cereals, etc. are good choices. The reason for focusing on fast carbs after training is also to hope that the body’s insulin level will rise, so that the body can enter the synthesis state more quickly. The proportion of carbohydrate intake accounts for about 20-40% of the daily carbohydrate intake.
Vegetables and fruits: Vegetables and fruits provide as many vitamins and minerals as possible. Low-starch mixed vegetables such as broccoli, kale, asparagus, spinach, okra, etc., and low-sugar and high-fiber fruits such as berries, apricots, peaches, grapefruit, bananas, etc. are good choices , can be supplemented with meals. At the same time, before, during and after training, you need to add more water, especially if the training intensity is particularly strong, you need to add some extra electrolytes.
Of course, it should be noted here that nutritional supplements before and after training must be done under the premise of overall calorie planning. If there is no overall calorie control, no matter how good nutritional supplements are, the final effect may not be very good.
Conclusion
Muscles are hard to come by, and training is also quite tiring. Do not let the training effect be affected by diet. discounted. There are many factors that affect the synthesis and breakdown of muscle protein, and diet is only one of them. If you want to improve the training effect in an all-round way, in addition to good diet and training, you must have a more regular schedule and emotional management. Muscle growth or fat loss is not determined by one or two points, but more of a comprehensive balance. The more we know about exercise science, the better we can achieve our goals. The harder, the more fortunate. Come on, everyone. Let’s encourage each other.