The Post Workout Shake is a MUST-DO!

Immediately following a workout is the MOST IMPORTANT TIME to get nutrients, protein, carbs and insulin, into your muscles and into your bloodstream so that your muscles can receive the glycogen (muscle energy) that they desperately need.  Post-workout is the time that the muscles will absorb nutrients like a sponge because you have just depleted the glycogen stores so drastically with your workout. 

Carbs will be used by your body to restore muscle glycogen. If your post workout meal doesn't contain carbs, your body may actually instead break down muscle tissue for this same purpose. That would be a bad thing. Carbs also create an insulin spike which helps to move nutrients into your muscle tissue quicker.

Protein is best consumed by way of whey powder.

While egg whites, chicken and tuna fish are fine sources of protein that I personally eat daily, they aren't the ideal type of protein for the meal after your workout. These foods are whole foods, and the protein in whole foods digest pretty slowly.

You may have eaten a high protein food in your post workout meal, but by the time the protein is digested and finally ready to be used by your body, a whole lot of time would have passed. This is why the ideal source of protein to eat after your workout is a whey protein powder mixed with some type of liquid thus creating a whey protein shake.

A whey protein shake will be digested by your body much quicker than a whole food because it will be a liquid. And, not to mention, whey protein is the fastest digesting protein there is. This is what makes whey protein pretty much the official choice of most people as their post workout meal protein source.

As for how much protein, try to consume between 0.15-0.25 grams of protein per pound of your body weight (so a 175lb person would shoot for between 26-43 grams at this time). 40 grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs.

So, consume your post-workout shake as soon as possible at the completion of your weight training workout, and surely well within what is called the "golden hour".  I like to refer to this window of opportunity as the "golden half hour".

You need carbs and protein post-workout. 

Consume them in a 2 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein.  A 175-pounder would consume 80g of carbs and 40 grams of protein post-workout.

Ingredients for Post Workout Shakes. You want protein for muscle recovery, carbs for energy, and milk/water for rehydration.

• Whey. Get 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. Divide your protein intake evenly among your daily meals.
• Oats. Quick oats work best.  They are more finely ground  than rolled oats and therefore are easier to ingest and digest. Oats are the best source of healthy carbs in a diet.
• Milk. Helps weight gain if you’re skinny. Stick to whole milk if you have a high metabolism or you have a lot of weight to gain.  If you wish, you may use fat-free skim milk.  Remember that you cannot lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.  Choose a phase, cutting or bulking, and stick to it.
• Fruit. Full of vitamins & minerals. Bananas, raisins, strawberries, etc.

Dextrose & Maltodextrin: Add some dextrose and maltodextrin to your protein shake to reach your carb total for the shake (80 grams for a 175 pounder).

Oats contain vitamins, minerals and fiber. Dextrose/maltodextrin do not. Eat well pre-workout so you have nutrients available when your muscles need them. For pre-workout, I recommend a milk and oats shake (50 grams of oats and 12 oz of milk for me) for pre-workout nutrition.

How to Make Post-Workout Shakes

1. Get Your Container. Fill your shaker bottle or with 16 oz of milk (for a 150 pound person.)
2. Add Whey & Oats. For protein, I recommend Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein. It tastes great and it doesn't clump. Or, you can get Natural Brand Oats & Whey with the benefit of having oats & whey in one convenient source.

   Add milk, whey, quick oats to your shake in a carbs to protein ratio of 2 to 1.  Use FitDay.com to calculate the nutrients in your shake based on the quantities of the foods you are adding.  For example, I weigh 155 pounds and my post-workout shake has 16 oz of milk, 2 scoops of whey protein, and 50 grams of quick oats.  That amounts to 90g of carbs, 45 grams of protein, and 15 grams of fat.  

3. Shake Your Bottle. Make sure that your shaker bottle doesn’t leak. Close the shaker bottle tightly & shake it hard.

Use the 3 a.m. "Night Shake" Shake Routine

As a hardgainer, I need to take in a high number of calories each and every day to maintain and to gain weight.  I add to this calorie count by setting my alarm for halfway through my sleep period, which is 3 a.m. for me.  When the alarm sounds, I drink a "night shake" that consists of milk, whey protein, and frozen strawberries.