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Candy bar after workout
- Thread starter Flash421
- Start date
yes there is some truth to this but its not necessarily what the guy was advising since most candy bars are made of pure crap sugar.
his reasoning is restoring the glycogen levels in your muscles, however i think we can find something better than candy bars to accomplish this
here is an excellent article on this very subject
If you ask athletes, “What is the most important meal or snack to boost performance?” the majority will say the pregame meal. But, just as important as pregame fueling is what athletes eat immediately after a workout or contest.
Why? Because after a tough game or practice, the body is stripped of the nutrients it needs to build muscles: glycogen and fluids. The quicker the athlete is able to provide the needed nutritional energy to the body, the quicker the body can start restoring itself. And an athlete’s body can only be fully ready for the next workout or game if its glycogen and fluid stores are completely replenished.
If energy is not replaced, the body becomes weak: muscle and liver glycogen stores remain low, the body can dehydrate, and the likelihood of muscle damage increases. But it’s tough to spot this problem, as the adverse effects of poor postgame nutrition are cumulative and insidious. An athlete is often unaware that he or she has reached suboptimal fluid and glycogen levels until it causes a problem—until performance is adversely affected, fatigue becomes difficult to ignore, weight loss occurs, or injuries increase.
For these reasons, refueling after strenuous exercise is vital for achieving the optimal recovery that enables an athlete to compete again, whether it be in two or 24 hours. Therefore, making recovery eating a planned, scheduled component of training—with the appropriate amount of nutrients delivered in a timely, efficient manner—should be a priority for all basketball athletes.
The Beverage Cart
The first ingredient in the recovery process is fluids. In a two-hour exercise session, fluid loss through sweat can exceed four to five quarts—making rehydration an essential component of the process. Fluid loss is also the source of most athletes’ weight loss during exercise. To determine how much weight an athlete loses through sweat, each player should be weighed before and after practice, especially in situations involving the following: temperature changes; increases in exercise intensity, duration, or number of sessions; and young athletes undertaking rigorous exercise.
The newest guidelines suggest that athletes drink 24 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise. This should be consumed within six hours after exercise to ensure the athlete is achieving optimal hydration status. For example, an athlete who loses three pounds during an exercise session or game would need to drink 72 ounces of fluid (3x24), or approximately three water bottle-sized containers, to replace lost fluid. On average, it take the body 24-48 hours after exhaustive exercise to replace sweat lost.
It’s also important to note that heavy exercise can blunt the thirst response. Therefore, athletes must drink beyond thirst, following the guidelines instead of just drinking until thirst is quenched.
While rehydrating is key to post-exercise refueling, water alone may not be the best recovery fluid. Not only does plain water suppress thirst and increase urine output, causing additional fluid loss, but research has shown that in addition to water, one pound of sweat contains 80 to 100 milligrams of potassium and 400 to 700 milligrams of sodium—two key electrolytes. In a two- to three-hour exercise session, an individual can lose up to 300 to 800 milligrams of potassium and 1800 to 5600 milligrams of sodium.
The answer is not sodium or potassium tablets, but foods and fluids that provide the depleted electrolytes. A post-exercise beverage that contains sodium, or consuming a salty food with a post-activity fluid, helps the body retain water, thereby decreasing urine production without decreasing thirst. Some good choices for sodium include vegetable juice, pretzels, nuts, cheese crackers, and cheese pizza, as well as many sports drinks. Good potassium sources include yogurt, grapefruit juice, bananas, nectarines, and most sports drinks.
Athletes should avoid alcohol, caffeine, and carbonated beverages following strenuous exercise. Alcohol post-exercise can impede recovery by hampering the body’s attempt to rehydrate, and it can interfere with the body’s ability to replenish glycogen, thus impairing the tissue-repair process. And alcohol is a diuretic, causing further dehydration.
Caffeine is also a diuretic, resulting in only 50-percent fluid retention, and is therefore not an appropriate post-exercise fluid choice. Carbonated beverages are not the optimal choice either, as an athlete may feel full before completely rehydrating. A good rule of thumb is: juice first; beer, soda, or latte later!
Another point to consider is the temperature of the beverage. Cool drinks may permit increased intake over ice-cold beverages.
Replacing Glycogen
The other important component of post-exercise refueling is replenishing glycogen stores. Restoring muscle and liver glycogen stores following strenuous training will minimize the fatigue that results from repeated days of heavy training.
Muscles replace glycogen at a rate of five percent per hour, so it takes 20 to 24 hours post-exercise for the body to replenish muscle glycogen stores maximally. However, muscles are most receptive to fuel within 15 minutes after exercise, when the blood flow to the muscles is still very high and the enzymes that produce glycogen are most active. In fact, the lower the muscle glycogen stores at this time, the faster the rate of recovery. Therefore, a delay in intake of post-exercise fuel will slow the recovery rate.
The best way to restore glycogen levels is by consuming adequate amounts of carbohydrate. The goal is to drink and/or eat at least 50 grams of carbohydrate as soon as possible post-exercise.
Despite what many advertisements tout, there is no benefit to a low-carbohydrate/high protein diet for an athlete, as it can contribute to chronic fatigue, slower recovery, and increased risk of injury. Over and over, research has shown that the body cannot efficiently replenish muscle glycogen without carbohydrates.
However, there may be a role for small amounts of protein in post-exercise recovery. Some studies have suggested that a mix of carbohydrate and protein in a 3:1 ratio post-exercise may replenish muscle glycogen more rapidly and promote muscle tissue repair. The idea is that adding protein to the post-exercise fuel results in a greater secretion of insulin than carbohydrate (or protein) alone, and the release of insulin may stimulate muscle growth.
It’s also important to consume the “right” type of carbohydrates, namely those with a moderate-to-high glycemic index. A food’s glycemic index indicates its ability to raise blood glucose, which may enhance the replenishment of muscle-glycogen stores post-exercise. Some examples of foods with a high-glycemic index are potatoes, honey, cereal, corn chips, white bread, jelly beans, and high-carbohydrate sports drinks. Moderate glycemic index choices include cookies, bagels, crackers, wheat bread, ice cream, and potato chips.
When it comes to choosing liquids versus solids for effectiveness and absorption of carbohydrates, either is fine. Liquid and solid carbohydrate-rich foods of comparable carbohydrate content will result in a similar rate of glycogen resynthesis. Many fruits provide both carbohydrate and fluid and thus can be used to satisfy rehydration and glycogen repletion simultaneously. Good choices include grapes, blueberries, apples, peaches, celery, strawberries, melon, tomatoes, oranges, and cherries.
To make things a little confusing, though, one drawback to eating fruit is that it contains fructose. And some research shows that carbohydrate-rich foods containing glucose or sucrose may be twice as effective as those containing fructose in restoring muscle glycogen post-exercise. This is because fructose is converted to liver glycogen, whereas glucose is converted to muscle glycogen.
The bottom line: advise an athlete to include a variety of carbohydrates post-exercise. For example, even though fruit contains fructose, it can be very refreshing and provides fluid to aid in rehydration. So, encouraging consumption of a piece of fruit with another carbohydrate-rich food, such as a bagel or handful of sweetened cereal, will encourage both fluid repletion and glycogen resynthesis. Athletes should also be encouraged to experiment with these foods for taste preference, tolerability, and effect. They can record what foods work best, then make sure to have them available.
Beyond immediate post-exercise consumption, athletes should eat a carbohydrate-rich meal two hours post-exercise. They should then continue to consume carbohydrates throughout the next 24 hours (or before the next workout or game). The maximum level of carbohydrate intake seems to be 500 to 700 grams a day, above which one will get little, if any, added contribution to glycogen storage or improvement in athletic performance.
The number of meals the athlete eats is not important. The most important factor is meeting the carbohydrate requirements. Smaller, more frequent meals may be easier to tolerate for some athletes, but as long as he or she meets the goals in consuming the appropriate amount of carbohydrates, the number of meals is irrelevant.
Make A Plan
The bottom line is that post-exercise eating should be considered a part of performance enhancement. Athletes need to plan and schedule their post-activity snacks and meals with even more focus than pre-competition eating, since training occurs at least once a day, whereas competition may only be a few times per week.
At the high school level, parents and booster clubs can participate in handling the postgame snacks. At any level, handing a large glass of fluid and a sports bar to athletes after workouts or having food available and visible can be a great reminder to refuel. Take advantage of postgame wrap-ups to encourage players to eat and drink.
Achieving optimal hydration and glycogen repletion should be a goal for every athlete. Taking a proactive approach by encouraging athletes to make time for post-exercise eating will enable an athlete to perform at his or her best, not just today, but every day.
For a look at more articles on sports nutrition, visit our Web site, at www.AthleticSearch. com and type the keyword “nutrition,” in the search engine and specify “articles.”
SideBar
I’m Not Hungry
For many athletes, the last thing on their minds after a workout is eating. Exhaustive, intense exercise can suppress appetite, and an athlete may complain of a lack of desire to eat after activity. To overcome these objections, athletes should be encouraged to eat and drink something they enjoy—and to facilitate this, the food needs to be easily prepared and easily accessible.
Most athletes are disciplined when it comes to bringing their foot gear, uniform, and other equipment necessary for their sport. They should likewise be encouraged to include appropriate refueling foods and drinks on their equipment lists. Remind them to pack a water bottle, some packets of powdered lemonade or fruit drink mix, a sports drink (if desired), and something to eat that is non-perishable.
Good choices include:
•sports or breakfast bars
•peanut butter or cheese crackers
•dry cereal
•trail mix with cereal, nuts, and
dried fruit
•granola or cereal bars
•graham crackers
If it is possible to keep items cold, athletes should consider one of the following:
•yogurt
•pudding
•cans of a high-carbohydrate drink (sports drink with at least 50 grams of carbohydrate per serving)
•milk, to which a chocolate powder or powdered instant breakfast could be added
For cold weather, warm foods eaten post-exercise can expedite blood flow to the extremities. A thermos filled with hot cocoa or access to hot water to add to instant soup or instant oatmeal can make a warming, nourishing post-exercise fuel
his reasoning is restoring the glycogen levels in your muscles, however i think we can find something better than candy bars to accomplish this
here is an excellent article on this very subject
If you ask athletes, “What is the most important meal or snack to boost performance?” the majority will say the pregame meal. But, just as important as pregame fueling is what athletes eat immediately after a workout or contest.
Why? Because after a tough game or practice, the body is stripped of the nutrients it needs to build muscles: glycogen and fluids. The quicker the athlete is able to provide the needed nutritional energy to the body, the quicker the body can start restoring itself. And an athlete’s body can only be fully ready for the next workout or game if its glycogen and fluid stores are completely replenished.
If energy is not replaced, the body becomes weak: muscle and liver glycogen stores remain low, the body can dehydrate, and the likelihood of muscle damage increases. But it’s tough to spot this problem, as the adverse effects of poor postgame nutrition are cumulative and insidious. An athlete is often unaware that he or she has reached suboptimal fluid and glycogen levels until it causes a problem—until performance is adversely affected, fatigue becomes difficult to ignore, weight loss occurs, or injuries increase.
For these reasons, refueling after strenuous exercise is vital for achieving the optimal recovery that enables an athlete to compete again, whether it be in two or 24 hours. Therefore, making recovery eating a planned, scheduled component of training—with the appropriate amount of nutrients delivered in a timely, efficient manner—should be a priority for all basketball athletes.
The Beverage Cart
The first ingredient in the recovery process is fluids. In a two-hour exercise session, fluid loss through sweat can exceed four to five quarts—making rehydration an essential component of the process. Fluid loss is also the source of most athletes’ weight loss during exercise. To determine how much weight an athlete loses through sweat, each player should be weighed before and after practice, especially in situations involving the following: temperature changes; increases in exercise intensity, duration, or number of sessions; and young athletes undertaking rigorous exercise.
The newest guidelines suggest that athletes drink 24 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise. This should be consumed within six hours after exercise to ensure the athlete is achieving optimal hydration status. For example, an athlete who loses three pounds during an exercise session or game would need to drink 72 ounces of fluid (3x24), or approximately three water bottle-sized containers, to replace lost fluid. On average, it take the body 24-48 hours after exhaustive exercise to replace sweat lost.
It’s also important to note that heavy exercise can blunt the thirst response. Therefore, athletes must drink beyond thirst, following the guidelines instead of just drinking until thirst is quenched.
While rehydrating is key to post-exercise refueling, water alone may not be the best recovery fluid. Not only does plain water suppress thirst and increase urine output, causing additional fluid loss, but research has shown that in addition to water, one pound of sweat contains 80 to 100 milligrams of potassium and 400 to 700 milligrams of sodium—two key electrolytes. In a two- to three-hour exercise session, an individual can lose up to 300 to 800 milligrams of potassium and 1800 to 5600 milligrams of sodium.
The answer is not sodium or potassium tablets, but foods and fluids that provide the depleted electrolytes. A post-exercise beverage that contains sodium, or consuming a salty food with a post-activity fluid, helps the body retain water, thereby decreasing urine production without decreasing thirst. Some good choices for sodium include vegetable juice, pretzels, nuts, cheese crackers, and cheese pizza, as well as many sports drinks. Good potassium sources include yogurt, grapefruit juice, bananas, nectarines, and most sports drinks.
Athletes should avoid alcohol, caffeine, and carbonated beverages following strenuous exercise. Alcohol post-exercise can impede recovery by hampering the body’s attempt to rehydrate, and it can interfere with the body’s ability to replenish glycogen, thus impairing the tissue-repair process. And alcohol is a diuretic, causing further dehydration.
Caffeine is also a diuretic, resulting in only 50-percent fluid retention, and is therefore not an appropriate post-exercise fluid choice. Carbonated beverages are not the optimal choice either, as an athlete may feel full before completely rehydrating. A good rule of thumb is: juice first; beer, soda, or latte later!
Another point to consider is the temperature of the beverage. Cool drinks may permit increased intake over ice-cold beverages.
Replacing Glycogen
The other important component of post-exercise refueling is replenishing glycogen stores. Restoring muscle and liver glycogen stores following strenuous training will minimize the fatigue that results from repeated days of heavy training.
Muscles replace glycogen at a rate of five percent per hour, so it takes 20 to 24 hours post-exercise for the body to replenish muscle glycogen stores maximally. However, muscles are most receptive to fuel within 15 minutes after exercise, when the blood flow to the muscles is still very high and the enzymes that produce glycogen are most active. In fact, the lower the muscle glycogen stores at this time, the faster the rate of recovery. Therefore, a delay in intake of post-exercise fuel will slow the recovery rate.
The best way to restore glycogen levels is by consuming adequate amounts of carbohydrate. The goal is to drink and/or eat at least 50 grams of carbohydrate as soon as possible post-exercise.
Despite what many advertisements tout, there is no benefit to a low-carbohydrate/high protein diet for an athlete, as it can contribute to chronic fatigue, slower recovery, and increased risk of injury. Over and over, research has shown that the body cannot efficiently replenish muscle glycogen without carbohydrates.
However, there may be a role for small amounts of protein in post-exercise recovery. Some studies have suggested that a mix of carbohydrate and protein in a 3:1 ratio post-exercise may replenish muscle glycogen more rapidly and promote muscle tissue repair. The idea is that adding protein to the post-exercise fuel results in a greater secretion of insulin than carbohydrate (or protein) alone, and the release of insulin may stimulate muscle growth.
It’s also important to consume the “right” type of carbohydrates, namely those with a moderate-to-high glycemic index. A food’s glycemic index indicates its ability to raise blood glucose, which may enhance the replenishment of muscle-glycogen stores post-exercise. Some examples of foods with a high-glycemic index are potatoes, honey, cereal, corn chips, white bread, jelly beans, and high-carbohydrate sports drinks. Moderate glycemic index choices include cookies, bagels, crackers, wheat bread, ice cream, and potato chips.
When it comes to choosing liquids versus solids for effectiveness and absorption of carbohydrates, either is fine. Liquid and solid carbohydrate-rich foods of comparable carbohydrate content will result in a similar rate of glycogen resynthesis. Many fruits provide both carbohydrate and fluid and thus can be used to satisfy rehydration and glycogen repletion simultaneously. Good choices include grapes, blueberries, apples, peaches, celery, strawberries, melon, tomatoes, oranges, and cherries.
To make things a little confusing, though, one drawback to eating fruit is that it contains fructose. And some research shows that carbohydrate-rich foods containing glucose or sucrose may be twice as effective as those containing fructose in restoring muscle glycogen post-exercise. This is because fructose is converted to liver glycogen, whereas glucose is converted to muscle glycogen.
The bottom line: advise an athlete to include a variety of carbohydrates post-exercise. For example, even though fruit contains fructose, it can be very refreshing and provides fluid to aid in rehydration. So, encouraging consumption of a piece of fruit with another carbohydrate-rich food, such as a bagel or handful of sweetened cereal, will encourage both fluid repletion and glycogen resynthesis. Athletes should also be encouraged to experiment with these foods for taste preference, tolerability, and effect. They can record what foods work best, then make sure to have them available.
Beyond immediate post-exercise consumption, athletes should eat a carbohydrate-rich meal two hours post-exercise. They should then continue to consume carbohydrates throughout the next 24 hours (or before the next workout or game). The maximum level of carbohydrate intake seems to be 500 to 700 grams a day, above which one will get little, if any, added contribution to glycogen storage or improvement in athletic performance.
The number of meals the athlete eats is not important. The most important factor is meeting the carbohydrate requirements. Smaller, more frequent meals may be easier to tolerate for some athletes, but as long as he or she meets the goals in consuming the appropriate amount of carbohydrates, the number of meals is irrelevant.
Make A Plan
The bottom line is that post-exercise eating should be considered a part of performance enhancement. Athletes need to plan and schedule their post-activity snacks and meals with even more focus than pre-competition eating, since training occurs at least once a day, whereas competition may only be a few times per week.
At the high school level, parents and booster clubs can participate in handling the postgame snacks. At any level, handing a large glass of fluid and a sports bar to athletes after workouts or having food available and visible can be a great reminder to refuel. Take advantage of postgame wrap-ups to encourage players to eat and drink.
Achieving optimal hydration and glycogen repletion should be a goal for every athlete. Taking a proactive approach by encouraging athletes to make time for post-exercise eating will enable an athlete to perform at his or her best, not just today, but every day.
For a look at more articles on sports nutrition, visit our Web site, at www.AthleticSearch. com and type the keyword “nutrition,” in the search engine and specify “articles.”
SideBar
I’m Not Hungry
For many athletes, the last thing on their minds after a workout is eating. Exhaustive, intense exercise can suppress appetite, and an athlete may complain of a lack of desire to eat after activity. To overcome these objections, athletes should be encouraged to eat and drink something they enjoy—and to facilitate this, the food needs to be easily prepared and easily accessible.
Most athletes are disciplined when it comes to bringing their foot gear, uniform, and other equipment necessary for their sport. They should likewise be encouraged to include appropriate refueling foods and drinks on their equipment lists. Remind them to pack a water bottle, some packets of powdered lemonade or fruit drink mix, a sports drink (if desired), and something to eat that is non-perishable.
Good choices include:
•sports or breakfast bars
•peanut butter or cheese crackers
•dry cereal
•trail mix with cereal, nuts, and
dried fruit
•granola or cereal bars
•graham crackers
If it is possible to keep items cold, athletes should consider one of the following:
•yogurt
•pudding
•cans of a high-carbohydrate drink (sports drink with at least 50 grams of carbohydrate per serving)
•milk, to which a chocolate powder or powdered instant breakfast could be added
For cold weather, warm foods eaten post-exercise can expedite blood flow to the extremities. A thermos filled with hot cocoa or access to hot water to add to instant soup or instant oatmeal can make a warming, nourishing post-exercise fuel
axismundi
New member
Amen
the food quality in australia is totally different than the US.
we use different sugars in our soft drinks and candy bars than you guys do.. something call high fructose corn syrup. that and the soybean and hydrogenated oils is why almost every American is obese or they flat out don't care..
when i was overseas I drank a sprite myself and my gf at the time couldn't believe it, but i explained to her that the sugar is not the same overseas as we have in the states. I would most definately not touch most candy bars or any soft drink in the US.
also caffeine is very popular in almost every soft drink in the states which is catabolic and i would definately not touch that after a workout
most americans live off caffeine and sugar but they are too ignorant to read ingredients.. there is a culture that being fat is healthy and people refuse to admit that a male that has 25% bf or a women with 30% bf is obese. to them that is 'average' weight.
Just go home and eat a high protein, high carb, low fat meal. If you want a pwo shake have one, but chewing your pwo meal is always going to be your best bet.
A candy bar and a shake is a good way to get fat. Don't take advice from that guy anymore.
A candy bar and a shake is a good way to get fat. Don't take advice from that guy anymore.
