Many of us focus on cardio or strength training during our workouts, but did you know that what you eat after your sweat session is just as important as what you do during it? Yes, we’re looking at you, protein!
Why is protein important?
Protein plays many roles within our body, but it’s especially important when we are talking about post-workout meals – this is when we really need to focus on consuming it. Post-workout nutrition is essential for muscle recovery, and protein plays is crucial to helping you achieve those gains and can even help you maintain your weight. Additionally, protein helps to reduce muscle soreness and inflammation after a workout. So, if you’ve ever experienced that achy feeling after a particularly intense session at the gym, consuming protein can help alleviate that discomfort.
So, we already know that having a good and nutritious post-workout meal with a balanced amount of macronutrients is an integral part of recovery, but why is protein intake so important after a workout?
Support muscle recovery and reduce soreness
During your workouts, your muscles are activated, stretched and flexed and to do so, this consumes energy. For your muscles to recover and repair, they need protein to rebuild the torn muscle fibers. Carbs are needed too, to replenish the energy burned after your workout. An adequate protein intake may also reduce soreness, fatigue and improve your performance for your next workout session.
Stronger joints
Your muscles are not the only ones who need tender loving care after your workout. Your joints are equally important to safely performing your lifts and movements. Collagen is a protein that is a very important requirement, not only for your skin – but also for your joints and connective tissues. Throughout the years, collagen in the body gradually depletes which may put you at risk for joint pains and injuries. You can get collagen from your food like meats, fish, legumes, poultry, dairy, eggs and supplements.
Improved muscle mass and metabolism
Increasing your protein intake following your workout will improve the tone of your muscles and may lessen your overall body fat percentage by increasing your metabolism. This is because higher protein intake is commonly associated with increased thermogenesis (your rate of production of heat and energy burn). Exercise and proper nutrition also helps retain muscle tone and improve strength when we come into the later stages of our life.
Better mood and increased satiety
A good exercise routine combined with the right post-workout meals can significantly boost one’s mood and control cravings throughout the day. We can thank some key amino acids such as tryptophan that help improve your mood and support serotonin production. A high protein intake also has shown that it can suppress appetite since it takes a longer time to be digested. This effect helps especially when trying to manage your weight and food intake.
Protein before or after workout?
A pre-workout meal may also consist of protein together with carbs and fats to provide enough fuel to complete your workout session, but protein has a more important role when it comes to recovery nutrition based on the benefits that were mentioned. If you need to know how much protein are you need for a day, you may check out more here.
If you’re curious about different sources of protein, such as animal sources of protein or plant-based sources of protein, check out our blog article on the topic here. Try incorporating these into a post-workout meal or snack to give your muscles the fuel they need to recover and grow.
For more great articles about protein, explore our blog here.