Recovery day is essential when it comes to staying on top of your fitness schedule. Not only will it prevent you from tearing muscles, but it is also an opportune time for your body to regain its strength to boost your next training session.
There are a couple of things that you can do to get the most out of your recovery and ward the guilt-tripping monkey off your back. Here are a few nutritional superfoods you can include in your diet to enhance your recovery and prepare you for the next day.
Why it is important to eat nutritional food after you exercise?
Eating nutritional food 30 minutes after a workout is essential to replenishing any fluid and electrolytes that were lost during a workout, refuelling glycogen stores, muscle repair and building your immune support. Before embarking on any diet of any sort, it’s important to consult a qualified dietician and nutritionist to get something that is catered towards your health needs.
Carbohydrate intake tip
Training for an event or staying in shape means everything needs to be carefully monitored to prevent any injuries. Carbohydrates are one of the superfoods that you can take when recovering. It is crucial to take carbohydrates within the first hour after you exercise, due to the glycogen synthesis rates being at its greatest during this period.
The intake amount will differ based on how long the exercise session lasted and the time between each session. You can include liquid recovery drinks that have a fast absorption rate, which can give you enough room to consume enough carbohydrates without experiencing discomfort.
Use fluids to replenish your body
Consume fluids to help replace the sweat and electrolytes that were lost while you were training. The general rule of thumb is to consume 1-1.5 litres of fluid to replace 1kg of your body weight that was lost during training. Keep your fluids to a moderate consumption to avoid it being lost again due to large urine losses.
Protein boosters
It is accepted that 10-20g of good quality protein added to carbohydrates, may accelerate glycogen recovery and minimise protein breakdown. Protein peptides have a fast absorption rate which makes it a convenient option especially when the duration of the rest period between exercise sessions is short.
Bonus tip
You can create nutritional tasty meals at home to help you recover such as a sandwich with cottage cheese or tuna, which can be washed down with water. Switch this up with fruit or yoghurt 30 minutes after your session. Snacking on bars is also a convenient way to get your energy levels up when you do not have the time to create something from scratch.
