Recovery nutrition is a critical part of any training programme. If you recover better, then you’ll be able to train harder in your next workout. Failure to replenish fluid and fuel after training will result in sore muscles, fatigue and under-performance in your next workout.
Exercise depletes your stores of glycogen (carbohydrate) and breaks down muscle tissue and these need to be replaced to recover properly. Good nutrition in the post-workout period will help your body to adapt to the stress imposed by exercise, so you can recover faster and get bigger gains in strength and endurance. Providing the body with the right nutrients will ensure your muscles have all the building blocks to recover and rebuild themselves stronger.
Here are my top post-exercise nutrition tips to help you recover faster.
How should you recover?
A good rule of thumb is to follow the ‘3 Rs of recovery’ after every workout.
Rehydrate
Refuel
Rebuild
Rehydrate. The exact amount you need to drink depends on how much fluid you have lost during your workout. Weigh yourself before and after training. For optimal rehydration, aim to replace each 1 kg of your weight (sweat) loss with 1.2 – 1.5 l fluid. If your fluid losses have been relatively small then water will do a perfectly good job replacing lost fluid. But if fluid losses have been high, then opt for a drink containing electrolytes, such as a sports drink. Alternatively, water with salty food (e.g. cheese sandwich) will work equally well, and promote more effective fluid retention than water alone.
Refuel with carbs to replenish glycogen stores. The harder and longer you trained the more carbohydrate you will need to replace. As a guide, high intensity endurance exercise, such as running, cycling and swimming, will deplete your glycogen more than low intensity activities, such as walking, jogging or yoga or strength and intermittent activities that include rest periods such as weight training or tennis. In other words, you’ll need more carbohydrate after an endurance workout than a strength workout.
Rebuild with protein. Protein repairs damaged muscle fibres and supports the formation of new muscle tissue. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a protein shake – several studies have shown that food sources, such as dairy or soya milk, are just as effective for muscle recovery as protein supplements. Ideally, you want a ‘high quality’ or complete protein – one that contains all 8 essential amino acids – and one that’s rich in the amino acid leucine. Milk, eggs, yogurt and soya are all suitable and will help your muscles recover faster before your next workout.
Your post-workout meal or snack should, ideally, include 0.25–0.4 g protein per kilogram of body weight, depending on the type and intensity of exercise you’ve done. Many studies have shown this to be the optimal amount to trigger muscle protein synthesis muscle building). But tailor this to suit your workout and your body weight – most studies were done with 85kg males! You’ll need more following a strength or whole-body workout than following an endurance workout, but generally, an intake between 20–40 g will be suitable for most workouts. Get 20g protein from 3 eggs; 500ml milk; 250g strained Greek yogurt or 25g whey powder.
Protein is not essential in the immediate post-exercise period but plays an important role in long term recovery and muscle building.
Be guided by your hunger and eat your post-exercise snack or meal when you feel hungry for it. Provided you consume enough calories, carbohydrate and protein over a 24-hour period, your muscles will recover before your next workout. Caffeine also promotes glycogen storage during the immediate post-exercise period so having a cup of coffee, though not essential, may be a good idea. But if you train twice a day, or the time interval between training sessions is less than 8 hours, then you need to take advantage of the 2-hour recovery window.
For rapid recovery after endurance training, aim to consume 1.0–1.2g of carbohydrate per kg body weight (60–72g for a 60kg runner) each hour for 4 hours after exercise to maximise glycogen synthesis. This is equivalent to 300ml flavoured milk and a banana. This way you will ensure your glycogen stores are restored as fully as possible before your next workout.
Breakfast: Overnight oats – soak oats, milk and yogurt overnight, then stir in banana slices, fresh berries and a few toasted almonds. Alternatively, poached eggs, avocado and toast would fulfil your recovery needs following a strength workout.
Lunch: Pitta bread with hummus, falafels or tuna; avocado, rocket and beetroot.
Dinner: Thai Green Chicken Curry or Black Bean and Sweet Potato Curry
Recovery snack options include:
Milk with a banana – milk fulfils the 3Rs – promotes rehydration as effectively as sports drinks, also provides protein for muscle repair and carbs for refuelling muscles.
Fruit and yogurt smoothie – Blend together 3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt, 1 banana, a handful of berries and 150ml milk in a blender.
A ‘yogurt bowl’: Greek yogurt topped with berries, nuts or seeds
If you enjoyed this post and want to find out more about sports nutrition, then check out my brand new book, The Runner’s Cookbook. It features more than 100 delicious recipes to fuel your running. With a foreword from five-time Olympian Jo Pavey, the book also provides practical nutrition advice on fuelling before, during and after running, guidance on hydration and supplements, weight loss tips, how to recover from injury, and how to prepare for 5k, 10k, half marathons, marathons and ultra races.
Nutrition is an important part of your training programme. Eating the right types and amounts of food, as well as drinking enough fluid before, during and after each training session will help you perform better and recover faster between training sessions. It will also help to keep you healthy and reduce your chances of getting colds and other upper respiratory tract illnesses.
Here are some nutritional strategies that can be used to improve your training sessions.
What’s a healthy diet for swimmers?
Swimmers need a nutrient-packed diet to fuel their bodies during training, as well as adequate protein for growth and muscle repair, and (mainly unsaturated) fat for fuel and overall health. A general guideline for training days is to have one third of the plate carbs (pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, or cereal), one third protein (fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, beans, lentils, tofu) and one third vegetables. You should also include healthy fats (olive oil, oily fish, nuts) and at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day to ensure you get the omega-3 fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre and other protective nutrients needed to stay healthy and promote recovery.
Eat something before early morning training
A 2-hour training session early in the morning will certainly tax your body’s carbohydrate (glycogen) stores. Without anything you may feel ok for the first half of the session but devoid of energy for the second half. Training on empty may result in low blood glucose levels, early fatigue, light headedness, nausea and a poor performance.
Try to have nutritious high-carb foods, such as porridge, wholegrain toast with honey, a banana (or other fruit), a fruit & nut bar (e.g. Nakd) or granola.
Can’t face any solid food? Try a nutritious drink, such as a smoothie, or a yogurt. Some fuel is better than no fuel at all.
Have plenty of water to rehydrate after the night’s sleep.
Have a big breakfast after morning training
Re-fuelling within 30 minutes after training is especially important if you’ll be training again in the evening. This will help your muscles recover faster.
It should contain plenty of carbohydrate to replenish depleted fuel (glycogen) stores as well as protein to repair and rebuild the muscles
Suitable foods include porridge with fruit and nuts; strained Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts; eggs and toast; wholegrain cereal (e.g. granola, muesli or Weetabix) with milk and yogurt.
Regular snacks and meals throughout the day
Make sure you eat at regular intervals and never skip meals. The more active you are the more fuel you’ll need.
Plan and organise meals and snacks. Take suitable food for snacks to school
Rule of thumb: 3 meals and 2 – 4 snacks
Fuel up 2 hours before evening training
If you train in the evening, your earlier meals and snacks will help to fuel your workout.
The optimal time for the pre-exercise meal is 2 hours before training.
If your training session starts at 7pm, have dinner at 4 – 5pm. Aim for ‘comfortably full’, not stuffed.
If training starts at 5pm, then have a smaller meal or healthy snack 3 or 4pm, with a drink.
If you don’t eat before training, you will lack energy in training.
If you eat too much or too close to training, you will feel uncomfortable, heavy or nauseous.
Eat carbs and protein before training
Of all the foods you could have before a workout, prioritize ones rich in carbohydrates, especially if you will be training for 2 hours. This is the body’s preferred energy source during exercise.
Opt for wholegrain carbs wherever possible, together with a source of protein and some veg – this will provide sustained energy and improve performance.
Pre-and post-training meals (2 -3 h before or immediately after):
Stir-fry with chicken, prawns or tofu with veg + noodles
Rice + fish/ bolognese/ lentils with veg or salad
Pasta + chicken (or beans) + veg
If you don’t have time for a meal (eg early morning training), have a snack 30 min before training.
Pre-training snacks (1/2 – 1 h before) :
Toast (wholegrain) with honey or jam
A banana (or other fresh fruit) & yogurt
A handful of dried fruit (e.g. raisins, apricots) and nuts
Porridge or wholegrain breakfast cereal with milk
Refuel with carbs and protein within 30 min (if you train 2 x day)
Start re-fuelling with carbs and protein within 30 minutes after training, even if it’s late in the evening. This will help your muscles recover faster and you’ll feel better in the morning.
500 ml milk, hot chocolate, milk shake or flavoured milk
Banana; yogurt and nuts
Wholemeal toast/ sandwich with PB/ cheese/ fish/ chicken
If you had only a snack before training, have your dinner when you get home.
Drink plenty before, during and after training
Dehydration slows you down and will make swimming feel much harder. The most important thing is you arrive at your training session properly hydrated, (you can check for dehydration with the ‘pee test’).
Drink plenty during the day, little and often.
Have around 250 – 300 ml 2 hours before the session.
During training, drink little and often e.g. 3 – 4 gulps every 15 minutes (or at convenient intervals), rather than a large volume in one go.
The harder you’re working the more you sweat, so you’ll need to drink more. Generally, the rule is to drink about 125ml of fluid for every kilometre swum. Approx 500ml – 1l per 2 hour session
Drink plenty after training to aid recovery.
How to avoid fatigue during training?
Early fatigue during training can be caused by:
Dehydration – avoid this by making sure you drink enough before and during the session
Low blood sugar levels – avoid this by choosing diluted squash, 1 part squash, 6 parts water (e.g. Robinsons Select) or any ready-made drink containing around 5g sugar/ 100ml
Depleted reserves of carbohydrate in your muscles (glycogen) – avoid this by eating a balanced meal containing carbs and protein (and some fat) about 2 – 3 hours before training; eat consistently during the day; do not skip meals.
If you enjoyed this post and want to find out more about sports nutrition, then check out my brand new book, The Runner’s Cookbook. It features more than 100 delicious recipes to fuel your running. With a foreword from five-time Olympian Jo Pavey, the book also provides practical nutrition advice on fuelling before, during and after running, guidance on hydration and supplements, weight loss tips, how to recover from injury, and how to prepare for 5k, 10k, half marathons, marathons and ultra races.
If you enjoyed this post and want to find out more about sports nutrition, then check out my brand new book, The Runner’s Cookbook. It features more than 100 delicious recipes to fuel your running. With a foreword from five-time Olympian Jo Pavey, the book also provides practical nutrition advice on fuelling before, during and after running, guidance on hydration and supplements, weight loss tips, how to recover from injury, and how to prepare for 5k, 10k, half marathons, marathons and ultra races.