Generally speaking you have about a 30-45 minute window of time when your muscles are most susceptible to absorbing the maximum amount of nutrients after your workout. This is when you should find some fast acting proteins (i.e. whey protein isolate) and carbohydrates to spike the insulin and restore the glycogen, but we'll get down to the science of it all later. All of my recipes are very nutrient dense with no empty calories.
These are the ingredients used, but you may modify them to your liking! ( For example, I use dymatize protein, but another great tasting protein is optimum nutrition's whey protein)
Nutty Greens
8 oz water (or unsweetened almond milk) 2 tbs Peanut Butter (190 cal)
1 scoop (33g) Dymatize Blueberry Muffin Protein (125 cal)
1 Cup Frozen Spinach (not counted in calories)
1/4 Cup Oatmeal (75 cal)
3 Egg whites (40 cal)
2 Cups Ice
Place everything into the blender except for the spinach and ice . Give it a good 10 seconds to blend. Afterwards, throw in the spinach and wait until the spinach is completely blended. Now add in the ice and blend on low for 45-60 seconds, pour in your favorite shaker and enjoy! Don't be concerned about the calories in this smoothie. Assuming you hit it hard you're muscles will need the nutrients. I typically save this one for a heavy leg or chest day.
Lean and Green
6 large strawberries
1 scoop (33g) Life's Basics 100% plant based Chocolate Protein
1 Cup Spinach
2 Cups Ice
Place everything into the blender except for the spinach and ice . Give it a good 10 seconds to blend. Afterwards, throw in the spinach and wait until the spinach is completely blended. Now add in the ice and blend on low for 45-60 seconds! This one is usually incorporated for when I am trying to cut weight, or if I am on a cardio-only day. It's very tasty, and very lean and once again, very nutrient dense
Berries n' Cream
1 Cup mixed frozen berries
1 scoop (33g) Dymatize Blueberry Muffin Protein
1/2 Cup Oatmeal
3 Egg whites
Place everything into the blender except for the ice . Give it a good 10 seconds to blend. Now add in the ice and blend on low for 45-60 seconds, pour in your favorite shaker and enjoy! I use this one on my higher carb days to help me load just a little more. This can also be taken an hour before a workout as a Pre-Workout meal.
Not Just Recovery?
Though I have recommended these as post workout recovery smoothies, you can also use these as an MRP or meal replacement shake. If you are eating 6 small meals a day, supplement 2nd and 4th meals for these smoothies. If you are dieting down, go with the Lean and Green smoothie for your 2nd and 4th!Why Do I Need a Post-Workout shake?
After you drop the iron your body is fatigued. You've burned up your glycogen, which is what your muscles look to as fuel, but also your body as well. Glycogen comes from carbohydrates which need to be refueled during this window of time. Now, our next topic is protein synthesis.This is the rate at which your muscles absorb protein. After a workout, protein synthesis is at its maximum, and as the clock ticks, the window of synthesizing the maximum amount of protein closes, and very quickly. Protein is what your muscles will use to rebuild the fibers in your muscle, resulting in recovery and growth. Therefore, it only makes sense to take complete advantage of this. Some people may ask "why not just eat chicken and vegetables after a workout"
Well the truth is, you can! Absolutely! but heres the problem..
Remember that window of time I talked about earlier? You have 45 minutes max to allow your body to digest your meal and absorb all of the nutrients. A liquid post workout meal, such as a smoothie containing fast digesting proteins (isolates, eggs) and fast digesting carbohydrates (oatmeal) will digest and absorb in roughly 30 minutes. You're chicken and veggies? that will take about 90 minutes to digest and absorb, kind of. So you can do the math! Go liquid! and also, make sure you are taking plenty of amino acids, which I will go over the importance of in the next blog. But for now, know that amino's are the basic building blocks of protein, and they will aid in the absorption of protein into the muscles.
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