Post Workout Supplements

Immediately after an intense weight training session, your body is "primed" to accept amino acids and carbohydrates back into the cells. Your cells have become depleted and damaged by your training and they need to repair, rebuild, and grow so that they can adapt to the new stressors you have applied to them.

You can read all over the internet about the so-called "window of opportunity" that happens 15 to 60 minutes after weight training, during which you can super-saturate your body with nutrients and speed up recovery.

I believe the window of opportunity occurs within 30 minutes after the end of the weight training session. That is presuming that you have trained your body hard enough to cause an adequate stress response.

Many people make the mistake of using whole foods after a workout for recovery, but I disagree with that notion. Whole foods simply take too long to digest and don't allow vital nutrients to become available to the muscles in a timely fashion. I recommend a very fast acting post work-out drink for greatest recovery potential.

So, what exactly do I put into my body after my workout? Well, here is the recipe I have derived from many years of experimentation:

My post workout nutrition mix

  1. 2 cups of water mixed with a "no calorie" flavored drink mix powder

  2. 30-50g Whey Protein (Chocolate works for me!) - Great Buy on Whey Protein

  3. 50-75g Dextrose - Great Buy on Dextrose

  4. 5g Glutamine - Great Buy on Glutamine

  5. 5g Creatine - Great Buy on Creatine

  6. 300mg Alpha Lipoic Acid - Great Buy on Alpha Lipoic Acid

Some people/trainers may disagree with the amount of protein and carbohydrates that should be consumed post-wrokout and they may recommend a particular ratio of carbohydrate to protein. I find the above ration works well for me. I recover very rapidly with this mix. I notice less soreness the day after weight training and greater strength increases on subsequent weight training workouts.

I use the whey protein concentrate because it is very rapidly digested and amino acids are quickly delivered to the blood stream. I use the dextrose rather than some other sugar because dextrose causes a very strong insulin response. The alpha-lipoic acid assists with the whole response. The glutamine and creatine assist with recovery and strength gains.

Please keep in mind that this is just what works for me!

You may get absolutely no results from a drink like this. (Or you may get the best gains of your life!) Also, a drink like this may not even be recommended depending on your overall health and any diseases you may have.

Please check with your doctor before trying anything like this.

The dextrose really does cause a huge insulin response in most people and should only ever be used right after a workout by healthy individuals.

I recommend much more slow-digesting carbohydrates and whole foods for the all other meals consumed throughout the day. This "high-octane" mix described above is only for after my "blast-off" workouts!