PWO shake really necessary?

[young guns]

it seems pretty common practive now to drink a postworkout shake with dextrose and/or malto along with whey postworkout. i understand the theory behind it all - dextrose spikes slin, and since slin sensitivity is high after a workout the high insulin levels will effectively shuttle glucose into the muscle for glycogen replenishment, along with amino acids for protein synthesis; in the absence of carbs, the amino acids will just be converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis and used to replenish glycogen. and this is superior to whole food due to its rapid digestion.

so it seems like its a real good idea.

but what about long term effects of constantly spiking insulin. even though cells are responsive to insulin after intense weight training, whats preventing them from becoming more insulin resistant? in other words, just as spiking slin throughout the day leads to insulin resistance, wouldn't doing it postworkout eventually do the same thing? i know you all with wanna come back with "but the muscles are slin sensitive after a workout". i get that, BUT, saying cells are more sensitive after a workout than throughout the day is NOT the same as having cells with normal insulin sensitivity. we all know that slin resistance results from constantly spiking slin. so, although spiking it after a workout when your muscles are most sensitive makes sense, it theoretically seems as though it could still lead to slin resistance. someone could be slightly insulin resistant, and they would still have a greater sensitivity to insulin after a workout than at other times of the day, but that doesn't mean they have normal insulin sensitivity at any time of the day. so hopefully i'm gettin my point across. how is it we justify the shitload of sugar after a workout just because cells are "more sensitive" then, when it's still spiking insulin, something we generally hold as a bad idea?

not to mention the fact that weight training is great for getting the body to burn fat, and the insulin PWO shuts off that fat burning.

so to me, it seems like the end result of constant PWO slin spiking is a tradeoff between increased anabolism and increased insulin resistance and fat gain (or decreased fat burning).

 

[ohashi]

If you like your body being ravaged by cotrisol post-workout, feel free to skip the spike. Otherwise, take your dex/malto.

You're not the first person to raise this point, and all of us are still spiking.

 

[young guns]

good point bro.

but, is it not correct that insulin release is sufficient to stop cortisol secretion, and that insulin spiking is not really necessary to acheive this?

 

[Stryc-9]

Assuming the average bodybuilder spikes insulin in this manner once a day for the rest of his/her life - I'd still say they are in a much better position for preventing health problems (vis a vis insulin resistance) than the average sugar engorged "non-bodybuilder".

I mean, people who don't scrutinize their diets generally consume a grotesque amount of simple sugars throughout the day - think about children!! - and most of them never develop insulin resistance on any level that would even put them at risk of becoming diabetic.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that spiking insulin ONCE a day in your post-workout shake is not going to be enough to cause severe enough insulin sensitivty to warrant concern.

 

[ohashi]

That's right. Spiking insulin once a day and keeping it low the rest leaves you in a much better position than the rest of the slobs who have a bagel and a muffin for breakfast, a candybar and a Coke for lunch, and some cake for dinner.

 

[sawastea]

Assuming the average bodybuilder spikes insulin in this manner once a day for the rest of his/her life - I'd still say they are in a much better position for preventing health problems (vis a vis insulin resistance) than the average sugar engorged "non-bodybuilder".

I mean, people who don't scrutinize their diets generally consume a grotesque amount of simple sugars throughout the day - think about children!! - and most of them never develop insulin resistance on any level that would even put them at risk of becoming diabetic.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that spiking insulin ONCE a day in your post-workout shake is not going to be enough to cause severe enough insulin sensitivty to warrant concern.

Very nice!

 

[young guns]

thanks fellas.

just ordered some more dextrose since it seems as though everyone pretty much agrees that post workout spiking is the way to go.

 

[wmd]

i think you had a good point young, but stryc-9 is absolutely right... consider yourself among the healthiest if you only experience one insulin spike / day -- and postworkout is clearly the best time for this spike to occur

 

[JG1]

if you take r-ALA with your PW shake you won't spike your insulin and you'll still get the benefit of the fast acting carbs at this time.

 

[young guns]

if you take r-ALA with your PW shake you won't spike your insulin and you'll still get the benefit of the fast acting carbs at this time.

i do take r-ala with it.