How important is it to eat right after exercise?

ash2008

I read that you should eat something within 15mins of exercising. I usually dont eat for at least an hour, sometimes 2, after exercise (by the time i get home, get showered and actually cook something).

Just wondering how necessary the whole eating within 15mins is. I often suffer from DOMS the next day - would eating sooner help with this?

danlen

If you are having trouble recovering from sessions then, provided it is of good quality, a meal closer to the end of your training session would seem like a good idea.

Of course, there are other factors that may be influencing your muscle recovery but given that you aren't eating until almost 2 hours after your session, getting something in sooner would be the first step I would take to see if it improves.

However, the 15 minutes you quote is in no way a hard and fast rule. The stuff you hear about the body cannabilising itself if it doesn't get protein immediately is highly exagerrated. I would suggest at first that you try take in some good quality within say half an hour of your workout and see how you feel. Play around with it and find something that you recover well on and that is practical, for YOU.

john_cappa

It will make very little real world difference IMO.

Mr. CooL ICE

Not sure about resistance training, but I found that downing an apple, banana and a natural yoghurt 5 mins in the door after a run really helped me recover and feel more human for the rest of the day. It may have just coincided with my general fitness improving, but I doubt it would have done any harm.

My advice would be to snack on something small if you're not gonna be making a full meal until 2 hours afterwards.

danlen

john_cappa wrote: »

It will make very little real world difference IMO.

I would go along with this to a certain extent. If someone is consuming the exact same food intake, enough recent studies have shown that meal timing isn't as important as sometimes claimed. But this is largely dependent on the individuals personal situation IMO.

If, like the OP, there are some recovery issues, inadequate post-workout nutrition may be a problem.

Similarly, is someone is trying to gain muscle mass for example, the nutrient intake (and the timing of it) becomes hugely relevant.

ash2008

Thanks for the replies.

Today i had some natural yogurt, honey and walnuts about 15-20mins after my workout. I def dont feel as tired as I usually do in the few hours after a workout, so hopefully i wont get any pains tomorrow. Ill keep this up for the next while and see how it goes.:)

siochain

you mention 'pains tomorrow'. Are you drinking enough water? Some vit c might help?

what type of training are your doing and how long?

Mellor

At the intensity that the average person is putting in. It's not at all important.

Professional athletes and bodybuilders it's important. But not Joe Soap.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I have been told that you should be guzzling protein shakes within 10 minutes of finishing exercise, and maybe for elite athletes this makes a difference (probably a placebo effect but none the less). However for us average joes, your digestive system is totally shut down after strenuous exercise and it take a while before it starts up again, also your body actually takes some considerable time to digest food (a fact that a lot of amino acid tablet people seem to ignore) so any immediate need to replenish glycogen stores or repair muscle will come from your bodes stores not blood available nutrients. You cannot force protein into your muscles by eating it after workouts, you cannot drastically alter your blood chemistry by drinking a shake. Your body is a marvelous machine that balances your nutrients at all times its called homeostasis.

It enrages me when I see people madly scarfing shakes after workouts like their life depended on it, god knows I was one for a while. I am sure it does no harm but the advertised benefits make no sense except to increase your requirement for protein powder which is usually sold by the person telling you that if you don't have a shake within 10 minutes your workout was a waste.....

Rant over......

Mellor

Miles Yummy Kangaroo wrote: »

also your body actually takes some considerable time to digest food (a fact that a lot of amino acid tablet people seem to ignore) so any immediate need to replenish glycogen stores or repair muscle will come from your bodes stores not blood available nutrients. You cannot force protein into your muscles by eating it after workouts, you cannot drastically alter your blood chemistry by drinking a shake.

Yup.
I've always said that if the whole protein immediately after a work out theory was so important, then it was makes more sense to have it a while beforehand so it's actually available.

ash2008

siochain wrote: »

you mention 'pains tomorrow'. Are you drinking enough water? Some vit c might help?

what type of training are your doing and how long?

I joined a womens football team. I thought I was relatively fit, but running up and down a pitch for 90 mins just kills my thighs (they tend to play me in midfield)
Maybe its just a matter of getting used it....but i also do kettlebell workouts and have been trying to do some sprint intervals to improve my football fitness. It seems after every exercise sessions, my thighs are sore the next day...and im not new to kettlebells, so maybe the overall increase in running/cardio i guess.

@Mellor and Fitzgeme, I guess I wont worry so much about eating quickly afterwords. Even after trying to eat within 15mins this week, ive still been sore in my thighs the next day.

So if its not food intake, does anyone have any ideas what else I could do, or is really just continue on and eventually my legs will get used to the increase in cardio?

thanks again for the replies.

Rossin

i reckon you'll get used to it,i found it very tough for the first year or 2 when i joined a team. I found running during the off season helped strengthen my legs, i trained for a few 10ks and then when the footy season was back on i noticed they didnt get sore anymore(well after the first few games) and less injury problems as well. but yeah I would say its normal if you haven't spent years previous playing outdoor footy of some sort

siochain

ash2008 wrote: »

I joined a womens football team. I thought I was relatively fit, but running up and down a pitch for 90 mins just kills my thighs (they tend to play me in midfield)
Maybe its just a matter of getting used it....but i also do kettlebell workouts and have been trying to do some sprint intervals to improve my football fitness. It seems after every exercise sessions, my thighs are sore the next day...and im not new to kettlebells, so maybe the overall increase in running/cardio i guess.

Yeah there’s usually an adaptation period when we incorporate a new movement\exercise that results in soreness. When I get sore or when muscles are starting to tighten up I use epsom salts in a hot bath. You can get 2kg tubs in most chemists for about €10 that last for ages. Another benefit is it helps you wind down if you’re training late in the evening.