Since carbs do nothing to enhance nitrogen balance, which is dependent on protein intake, you need to also ensure protein is a component of your post workout drink or meal PWO. When hyperinsulinemia is coupled with high quality, quick acting protein, such as whey protein isolate and free-form amino acids, there is a synergistic relationship that occurs among them.

Specific amino acids independent of whole proteins, are potent stimulators of protein synthesis and recovery and could help enhance immune status during and after intense training and promote a positive nitrogen balance, as alluded to earlier.

When I say free-form amino acids, I'm not suggesting taking a handful of pills with your post-workout meal. There are actually specific aminos that have been shown to independently stimulate skeletal muscle protein synthesis.

Leucine has been shown in several studies to independently stimulate skeletal muscle protein synthesis. In fact, in one particular study, recovery of muscle protein synthesis was stimulated by leucine supplementation and was not dependent on plasma insulin levels.

This suggests that leucine, in combination with carbohydrate, can enhance recovery. One study reported that the anabolic effect of a complete mixture of amino acids can be reproduced with the branched chain amino acid leucine alone.

Next, although whey protein isolate is naturally high in the amino acid glutamine , additional doses of this amino acid are recommended because exercise or any stress lowers plasma glutamine levels. Several studies have demonstrated that maintaining baseline levels actually enhances the immune system by reducing the risk of illness and infection.

Therefore, glutamine may be effective as part of a recovery beverage. Well, first and foremost, you don't have to use a recovery beverage. I personally prefer them; they are not only absorbed more rapidly, but they also contribute to your fluid intake, which an overall important part of recovery.

There are a number of research studies in this area; some of shown a positive effect from carbohydrate-protein in a ratio, some have shown a ratio, and others a ratio, meaning for every 2, 3, or 4 grams of carbohydrate, you consume 1 gram of protein.

To put it another way, if you were consuming 60 grams of carbohydrate, you would consume 30 grams protein , 20 grams protein , or 15 grams protein Still with me?

There is also enough supportive research to show approximately 3 grams of leucine in addition to that which you'll get from the whey and 5 grams of glutamine are effective.

If you prefer 'real' food, determine what foods meet these requirements and enjoy. Keep in mind that you do not want fat or fiber in this meal, as both slow down the absorption. Moreover, aside from pre- and post-workout and maybe during , it's the one meal of the day you should consume simple, high glycemic carbs so enjoy and you'll be on your way to recovery and growth.

This is just a quick summary of the topic. If you're interested in more great information about how to grow and recover, check out WeaponsforMass. com for an entire book on this type of information on nutrition and training, along with a week sample plan! Chris Mohr, Ph. Post Workout Basics - Optimizing Glycogen!

As we see, that post-workout sugary drink does not add anything to protein in post-workout feeding. In fact, following resistance training, women may require more protein for muscle growth to achieve the same anabolic effect as men due to a difference in how sex hormones influence muscle protein metabolism [9].

Summary : Post-workout feeding does not require carbs for optimal muscle protein synthesis as long as protein intake is adequate following a workout.

A need for higher protein consumption following resistance training is especially important in women. Does super-saturated muscle glycogen enhance exercise performance? Glucose is stored in the form of glycogen in skeletal muscle and in the liver. Glycogen stores should be sufficient, especially for exercise, but that does not mean you should focus on carbs.

For those who exercise less than an hour three to five times per week, it is time to rethink this carb-centric approach to exercise. High carbohydrate diets are typically recommended to athletes because carbs maintain an appropriate amount of glycogen in the body. The idea behind a high carb diet for athletes was that carbohydrate loading would top off muscle glycogen levels, slow down glycogen depletion rates, and then delay fatigue.

However, for athletes and weekend warriors participating in less than 90 minutes of moderate-intensity running or cycling, there is no added benefit of elevating pre-exercise muscle glycogen [7]. It is suggested that larger glycogen stores are broken down — a process called glycogenolysis — more quickly.

This is because the rate of glycogenolysis directly relates to the amount of muscle glycogen [8]. Therefore, increased muscle glycogen may not delay fatigue. Additionally, a high carb diet may not be the best approach for strength training, especially in women.

Women use less glycogen than men in resistance exercise, which is speculated to be due to a gender difference in carbohydrate metabolism and a greater ability in women for fat breakdown and oxidation [9].

Summary: Super saturated muscle glycogen does not enhance performance, including in well-trained athletes. Muscle glycogen stores should be sufficient enough to fuel your workout unless one is doing multiple session daily.

The window of opportunity to restore muscle glycogen and maximize protein synthesis post-exercise is bigger than you think. Restoring glycogen levels does not need to happen immediately following exercise. The rate of muscle glycogen resynthesis follow the first 2 hours of recovery were significantly different between both groups.

However, following 4 hours of recovery, the resynthesis rates were not different between the two groups. Approximately 80 to grams of glycogen are found in the liver and muscle glycogen stores are around grams in trained athletes with lots of muscle mass.

In terms of calories for energy, the average pound male has ~1, calories stored in the liver ~ calories and the muscles ~1, calories [10]. At the beginning of exercise, fat and liver glycogen will both be broken down. As the intensity of the exercise increases, muscle glycogen becomes the more important energy source.

Essentially, carbohydrate and fat are burned as a mixture during exercise. The amount each substrate contributes to energy depends on: intensity, duration, level of aerobic fitness, diet and carbohydrate intake before and during exercise [11].

The question is: Are you doing 2, calories worth of exercise to reach glycogen depletion, especially if you are concurrently burning fat?

Normal glycogen stores in the liver and muscles are sufficient enough for exercise lasting minutes i. a basketball game or a tennis match. Therefore, for a week of workouts, simply eat healthfully and your muscle glycogen will be restored. Otherwise, if more carbohydrate is ingested via carb-loading than can be stored as glycogen, it will most likely be converted to fat.

However, it is a different approach if you are an elite athlete cycling a couple times per week for hours or training for marathons. It is suggested that only well-trained athletes can undergo rapid muscle glycogen synthesis. This is because trained athletes have a higher amount of GLUT-4, the insulin-regulated glucose transporter found in muscle [12].

A greater concentration of GLUT-4 means more efficiency in handling glucose compared to untrained individuals, and this means better blood sugar stabilization. Furthermore, protein synthesis following a workout was found to occur for 24 hours at an enhanced level.

What does this mean? Your breakfast will have the same impact on muscle protein synthesis as your post-workout meal. Summary : Muscle glycogen will be restored whether it is prioritized or not following a workout. Healthful eating within 24 hours of exercise will restore muscle glycogen and maximize protein synthesis.

Only well-trained athletes experience rapid muscle glycogen resynthesis and may benefit from an immediate post-workout feeding. How can InsideTracker help you strategize better post-workout fueling? Exercising an hour or less a few times per week does not deplete glycogen stores. This may explain why some people think exercise makes them gain weight.

InsideTracker will help you monitor your progress. Depending on the plan you choose, InsideTracker monitors the changes in your biomarkers, such as glucose and triglyceride levels, and how exercise is impacting your health.

The individualized food basket provides recommendations on how you can incorporate the strategies to optimize muscle protein synthesis and properly restore muscle glycogen.

Click on the demo below to determine a better post-workout fueling for you. Carbohydrate co-ingestion with protein does not further augment post-prandial muscle protein accretion in older men. Nutr Metab. Insulin and muscle protein turnover in humans: stimulatory, permissive, inhibitory, or all of the above?

Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. Amino acid metabolism and regulatory effects in aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. Disassociation between the effects of amino acids and insulin on signaling, ubiquitin ligases, and protein turnover in human muscle.

Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab Differential regulation of amino acid exchange and protein dynamics across splanchnic and skeletal muscle beds by insulin in healthy human subjects. Am J Physiol.