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 Help your muscles recover by feeding them high-carbohydrate foods
By Jackie Ansley
As you put your body through the grueling, grinding paces to prepare it for the upcoming basketball, the pounding - at times - can take its toll. To fuel the demands of these strenuous exercise routines, you must feed your muscles high-carbohydrate foods. This will help you recover faster and minimize chronic fatigue. The trick is to plan ahead and have carbohydrate-rich foods and fluids readily available. Otherwise, you may neglect your recovery diet by eating whatever is handy.
This includes:
- • Too many greasy, fatty food, if you succumb to whatever is convenient, often donuts, burgers, hot dogs, nachos, French fries, chips and other high-fat choices
- • Too few carbohydrates, which easily happens if you get too hungry and ravenously devour fast food, peanut butter, cheese chunks, ice cream cookies and other handy high-fat goodies
- • Too much protein, by filling up on steak, for example, rather than an extra potato, rolls and other carbohydrates at the recovery dinner
- • Too few total calories, such as weight- conscious athletes who mistakenly think carbohydrates are fattening and, thereby, diet on protein-rich cottage cheese, tuna, turkey and fish. The rest of their diet (often salads, vegetables, fruits and rice cakes) generally offers too few carbs to replace depleted glycogen stores.
The following tips can help you integrate an optimal recovery diet into both your post-training and post-competition meals.
1. FOCUS YOUR RECOVERY MEAL on carbohydrate-rich foods, because your muscles rely upon carbohydrates for glycogen. Example for a post-exercise breakfast, choose pancakes (carbs) rather than eggs (protein/fat) because your muscles can’t store (as glycogen) the protein and fat in the eggs.
2. EAT THESE CARBOHYDRATE-RICH FOODS as soon as tolerable after a hard workout. This is most important if you train or compete twice a day. Your muscles are most receptive to replacing glycogen within the first two hours post-exercise.
3. EAT 200 TO 400 CALORIES (50 to 100 grams) of carbohydrates within two hours after your hard workout. For example, try a bowl of cereal with milk and fruit, a glass of orange juice and a banana or even a generous serving of rice and vegetables. If you cannot eat after your workout, at least drink some fruit juice. The fruit sugars will replace the carbohydrates as well as quench your thirst. Shoot for a target of 0.5 gm carbohydrate/pound body weight. Repeat this “dose” in two hours.
4. DRINK ENOUGH FLUIDS TO QUENCH YOUR THIRST and then drink more. If you become dehydrated (as indicated by your inability to urinate), you may need 24 to 48 hours to totally replace this fluid. Thirst is a poor indicator of whether or not your body has had enough to drink. You should keep sipping fluids until your urine is light in color and of significant volume. Dark-colored urine is still concentrated with metabolic wastes. This indicates that you are not yet in water balance.
5. IF YOU CRAVE SALT, SPRINKLE A LITTLE ON YOUR FOOD, or select salty food such as soup, pretzels, or salted crackers. Although you lose a little bit of salt when you sweat, you are unlikely to totally deplete your body’s supply unless you exercise hard under extremely hot conditions for more than four to six hours. You can easily replace salt with a hearty recovery meal. Typically, American foods contain six to 12 times the amount of salt you need, and hungry athletes consume far more.
6. EAT WHOLESOME FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND JUICES that contain potassium, (electrolyte that you lose in sweat). Excellent choices rich in potassium and carbohydrates include oranges or orange juice, bananas, raisins and potatoes.
7. DRINK NATURAL JUICES MORE OFTEN than commercial fluid replacers. Natural juices, unlike commercial ones, are rich in potassium, vitamins and carbohydrates, and enhance your recovery time. In contrast, fluid-replacement drinks are more dilute, since they are designed for use during exercise. Post-exercise juices of all types tend to have more nutritional value as well as more carbohydrates.
8. KEEP EATING CARBOHYDRATE-RICH FOODS for at least two days after endurance exercise to replace depleted glycogen stores. Your muscles need time to carbo-reload.
9. REST YOUR MUSCLES to allow them the opportunity to store glycogen. You are not being lazy if you take a day off of training. Rest is an important part of both the training and recovery of your body. You are investing in your future performance.
About Jackie:
From player, to coach, to director of specialized exercise conditioning programs for the likes of Nike and adidas, to clinician and speaker, Jackie Ansley has been enriching the lives of athletes in all sports around the world. The premise behind her training program – Speed, Agility and Quickness (S.A.Q.) – is to increase and utilize speed, agility and quickness in training and performance in all types of athletic pursuits. These techniques help train athletes from middle school to the professional ranks.
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