What is Recovery?

Recovery is the period that immediately follows a training session or exercise workout.  This is the time where your body will repair itself from the stresses and loads it was subjected to through exercise.  As well as rest and relaxation, nutrition plays a vital part in your body’s ability to recover.   Carbohydrates, Protein, and hydration are the key nutritional factors that will give you a quicker recovery.

Carbohydrates

This is the source of energy that allows you to carry out your training sessions, much like the fuel tank in your car, you will not go very far on an empty tank.  It is fair to say that after a session, your ‘fuel tank’ will be lower than when you started.  This is why it is so important to make use of the recovery period and re-stock your tank before your next session.  If you do not fully recover, you may start your next session with half a tank, and subsequently ‘burn out’ much quicker during your session.  We have all been in the position when the low fuel light comes on in the car, and we automatically go into fuel saving mode by slowing down and taking it easy on the accelerator pedal.  We wouldn’t assume we could drive for hours on end with the low fuel on, this is the same with our body’s - it wouldn’t be possible.  Simple sugar carbohydrates that digest easily are a great choice for a swift recovery.  Fresh fruit and yoghurt is a good example.

-          Immediately after exercise consume 1g of carbohydrates for every kg of body weight.

Protein

During a training session you are placing your muscles under stress and are effectively weakening them.  In order for you muscles to recover, they need to be repaired.  Protein is great at aiding the repairing process.  Unlike carbohydrates, our body’s do not store protein, so we need to drip feed our body with rich protein throughout the day for maximum recovery.  Good sources of protein would be things such as poultry, fish, and dairy produce.  Tuna pasta bake would be ideal for a good mixture of carbohydrates and protein (Providing plenty of carbohydrates from the pasta, and protein from the tuna)

-          Immediately after exercise consume 15-20g of protein.

Hydration

During a training session we will loose some body fluid, usually in the form of sweat.  It is very important that this fluid is replaced in order to speed up the recovery process.  We should aim to replace the fluid deficit by at least 150% to help compensate for the rise in body temperature after exercise.  So if you loose 1kg in bodyweight after training, then this would equate to 1.5L needed for recovery.  This amount of fluid should be drank over a period of a few hours, and not in one sitting.

-          Drink 1.5L of fluid for every Kg lost during training

3 Great Recovery meals Full of carbohydrates and protein

-          Tuna Pasta Bake

-          Baked Potato with Baked Beans

-          Fresh Fruit and Yoghurt




Trev

www.SprintPersonalTraining.co.uk

Kick-start your new healthy eating regime by emptying your fridge of all the bad foods and be more prepared in the kitchen.


Step  1 - "Out of sight, out of mind"

Get rid of the rubbish that fills up your cupboards and fridge.  If low quality foods such as snacks, sauces, dressings, and high processed foods are filling your cupboards then your more likely to snack on them.  The first step is to get rid of them and remove all temptation.

Step 2 – Read the labels

It is very important to know what you are eating, so get into the habit of reading the labels on food packaging.  This will allow you to gather information about the nutritional content in the foods you eat. 

-          Stay away from sugary foods (Sugar is labelled as carbohydrates, less than 5g/100g is ok).

-          Stay away from fatty foods (Less than 3g/100g is ok).

-          Stay away from saturated fats, trans fats, artificial flavours, and colourings.

-          Stay away from processed foods (Usually a huge list of ingredients on the label is a big giveaway).

Step 3 – Be Prepared

Plan your meals the night before.  This will encourage a good selection of healthy food choices, ensuring you have a well-stocked fridge of fruit and vegetables.  Make sure you take enough food to work to last the day and stop you from impulse buying at the vending machine.

Healthy food choices

- Fruit and Vegetables

- Lean Meats and Fish

- Wholegrains (Bread, Pasta, Rice)

- Whole Oats

- Eggs

- Olive Oils, Fish Oils

- Nuts and Seeds

- Dairy Produce


Trev

www.SprintPersonalTraining.co.uk

Protein: The Benefits

So why is it that so many bodybuilders take protein shakes? Well, protein is used for the production of muscles. Proteins are also used to manufacture hormones, enzymes, cellular messengers, nucleic acids, and immune-system components. Without adequate protein, our bodies can't put together the structures that make up every cell, tissue, and organ, nor can it generate the biochemical substances needed for cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, growth, and healing. Without an adequate amount of protein our muscles wouldn't heal up as quickly and could therefore lead to overtraining your muscle which could lead to injury.

Also, after a workout is one of the best time to get protein into the body so that the protein can be delivered to your muscles, to begin healing the "micro tears" (very small tears in the muscle tissue, caused by intense contraction of the muscle during workout) in the muscle.

Because solid food takes more time to digest and to break down the protein and send it to the muscles, it can be best to take a protein shake immediately following a workout, since protein shakes only take about 30 minutes to reach the muscle after ingestion. Definitely, we can see the advantage to taking a protein shake in this instance.

Which Protein Is The Best Choice?

Whey protein has become a favourite supplement for those seeking to put on muscle and enhance their physiques as well as improve their health. In order to decipher which protein is best for a particular need, typically one would use a specific gauge of some sort (e.g., protein quality tests) to determine which protein to use. The most commonly used criteria to measure the quality of a protein is Biological Value (or BV for short), which is the amount of nitrogen (body protein in grams) replaceable by 100 grams of protein in the adult diet.

Proteins with the highest BV are considered by many to be the best for promoting growth, but this is an often disputed issue among scientists. However, most scientists directly involved with protein research agree that the higher the BV, the better the protein is digested, used, and retained in the body. This should equate into more lean tissue gained, all things being equal (i.e., calories, exercise choice, etc.). It is, however, a very complicated topic not given to such black and white answers.

The bottom line is, whey is a complete protein with a very high BV and this means it contains all the essential and nonessential amino acids and boasts the highest branched-chain amino acid content found in nature. The BV of whey is approximately 104, while the next highest BV is 100, for whole egg. In contrast, the BV of whole milk is 91, the BV of casein is 77, beef is 80, soy is 74, wheat is 54, and beans are 49.

Again, BV is only one criteria for proteins, and although important, people often make too big a deal of it. For example, beef has a fairly low BV but has been a staple protein for athletes (and people in general) for decades. Soy has a low BV but has other potentially useful properties. So, as a general guide to choosing proteins, BV is something to consider but should not cause people to put blinders on to other proteins.

How Much Should You Take In?

The minimum amount of protein that you should take in for building muscle is 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (for instance, if you weigh 200 pounds than the minimum amount of protein you should take in is 200 grams of protein for muscle growth). Any additional protein that exceeds the daily minimum for muscle gain just helps to speed up the healing process.

Even though there has been debate over a maximum amount of protein you should take in, it is my belief that it is not possible for somebody to take in too much protein, however, if you take in huge amounts of protein it is a good idea to supplement your diet with calcium and magnesium since excessive amounts of protein has been proven to deplete the amount of calcium and magnesium in the body. However, I emphasize high protein ingestion for more than one reason. Not only do muscles require the marvellous ingredient to repair and grow but also three-quarters of the solids in the body are comprised of proteins.

When Are The Best Times To Take In Protein?

So now you know the benefits and how much you should take in, but the question arises, when is the best time to take protein into your body? Well, one of the times that your body is in need of it the most is immediately following a workout since your body starts to heal the muscle right after a workout, taking protein at that time will give the body the fuel it needs to heal and grow.

Following your workout it's a good idea to take in small meals containing high protein in about three to four hour intervals, thereby providing your muscles with a constant supply of protein to help your muscles heal. It is also vital to take in a protein drink or a slow burning protein (such as cottage cheese) before you go to bed therefore providing your muscles with protein, since your body will be slowly depleted of protein as you sleep. Breakfast is a key meal as well, because your body awaits nourishment after sleeping for 8-12 hours. One of the best tips of advice I can give you though, is to eat consistently, day in and day out.

What brand do I choose?

There are many company's out there trying to over-sell their products saying they can do a lot more than what they actually can.  Starting off will be more of a trial-&-error game for you until you find what's best for you, and what you actually see gains from.  Study all the most popular brands at length, looking at their nutrition labels, scoop sizes, the recommended daily intake, cost, etc, and weigh up your options.  Something as simple as the flavour or mix-ability may sway you to choose a more expensive supplement.  Some popular brands can be reviewd in the link below.

Check out http://www.bestproteinshakes.org.uk/protein-shake-reviews.php


Trev,

www.SprintPersonalTraining.co.uk