COVID-19 hasn’t been overly friendly to the world of sport. From grassroots and junior clubs to elite leagues – we have all taken a big hit. But now is not the time to let our physical & sporting progression come to a halt.
Nutrition is a major key to our health and performance. But sometimes it’s the first thing to go out the window when times get tough and stress kicks in. It is critical during this time to exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle where possible – your diet should be no different! The power of a personalised, nutritionally complete diet that caters for your health and performance goals can be the difference between health and disease or winning and losing.
For some isolation inspiration, we have put together a quick guide and some recipes for a special meal of the day – the post-workout meal. The intake of key nutrients after exercise is highly important because they not only kickstart the body’s ability to rebuild muscle tissue, but also replenish energy stores and replace lost fluid and electrolytes. This is critical because it optimises our capacity to recover and benefit from training sessions and primes us for the next session – rebuilt, replenished and restored – with a lower risk of injury and illness.
The goal of a post-work-out meal is to:
- Repair & Rebuild (muscle, tendon and ligament tissue)
- Refuel (energy stores)
- Rehydrate (due to losses through sweat and metabolism).
- Rejuvenate (anti-inflammation)
With these considerations in mind, we can tailor a post workout shake, a convenient way to boost your recovery after training.
The major nutritional components of any good post-workout shake are:
- Protein (Repair & Rebuild)
- Carbohydrates (Refuel)
- Fluid/Electrolytes (Rehydrate)
- Antioxidants (Rejuvenate)
Here are some quick, delicious and nutritious Dietitian-approved post-workout shakes. Give them a go!
Recipes
The Milo Monster – Recovery Shake
Ingredients
1.5 cups of cow’s milk or soy/almond/rice milk (Fluid, Electrolytes, Protein and Carbohydrates)
1 large banana (Carbohydrates & Electrolytes)
1 scoop of protein powder – whey or egg (Protein)
2-3 tablespoons of milo (Carbohydrates & Antioxidants)
0.5 cup of ice (Fluid)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a capable blender.
- Blend until smooth – usually for 45 to 60 seconds.
The Popeye – Recovery Shake
Ingredients
1.5 cups of cow’s milk or soy/almond/rice milk (Fluid, Electrolytes, Protein and Carbohydrates)
1 large banana (Carbohydrates & Electrolytes)
1 scoop of protein powder – whey or egg (Protein)
0.5 cup of fresh spinach (Antioxidants)
0.5 cup of frozen mango slices (Carbohydrate and Antioxidants)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a capable blender.
- Blend until smooth – usually for 45 to 60 seconds.
Performance Alterations
- If the session completed was long and intense and you have another training session in the next 24 hours – you may benefit from more carbohydrate – add an extra ½ a banana or more.
- If the session performed was an intense, full-body resistance session – you may benefit from more protein (add an extra ½ scoop of protein powder).
- Did you lose a lot of sweat? You may benefit from more fluid repletion – add another cup of milk.
- Are you vegan or vegetarian, or have an allergy or intolerance to milk or egg? Switch the protein powder for a soy protein powder or a blended plant-based protein powder.
Nutrition plans should be altered for each individual based on their performance and wellness goals, training load, age, gender, food preferences, medical conditions etc. For individualised dietary advice, we recommend seeking the professional advice of an Accredited Practising Dietitian who specialises in sports nutrition.
By Julian Rosenstein APD
Julian is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Performance Nutritionist with special interests in sports and performance nutrition, weight loss, gastro-intestinal health and the nutritional management of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Julian works out of our sister clinic Physiosports Brighton on a Monday and Saturday. To book an appointment to see Julian please call their reception on 95969110.
