Timing of meals to optimize recovery

Meal timing for optimum recovery and muscle growth

Questions regarding muscle building nutrition tend to be about what type of foods the individual needs to eat to gain muscular weight, but I feel that this question needs to be extended to when we eat each meal. The timing of each meal can be very important to maximize muscular growth. Accurate timing will lead to faster recovery in terms of glycogen stores and protein deposition. And accelerated recovery means faster and better growth from each and every workout. Four points about the correct timing of eating meals is listed below.

1. Eat within half hour after a training session

The enzymes responsible for storing glycogen and depositing protein are extremely active after intense exercise. There job is to replace all the low energy reserves and redeposit protein lost from muscle cells, therefore it makes sense to provide the body with all the materials needed to encourage muscle recovery and growth.

For optimal recovery you’ll need to eat as soon as possible after training. Some people just cannot seem to stomach any food after a hard training session, and for those I would suggest just eating something light that contains carbs and also contains a high water content, such as a piece of fruit, maybe an apple. The main point with these people is that they eat something to initiate the recovery phase; in this case I think a little is better than nothing!

For many who do experience hunger after training I would suggest eating within half an hour. Try not to leave it for longer than an hour. I always make sure I ingest about one gram of carbs per kilogram of body weight within the first few hours post training. For me this means 85 grams of carbs as I weigh 85 kilograms. In fact most of the time I eat more than this as the extra energy helps muscle growth as an anabolic process requires more energy. As a final point, some people believe in consuming only low Glycemic Index (G.I.) foods to help limit any deposition of fat. However, I believe this rarely applies because of the nutritional state of the body after an intense training session. The body craves extra energy and nutrients from food so it is unlikely to store much fat at this stage.

I personally consume moderate G.I as I want to raise my insulin levels a little because as an anabolic hormone it helps drive amino acids into cells for protein assembly. Insulin also pushes glucose (carbs) into cells for faster glycogen storage and thus recovery.

With these details aside the main rule here is to eat as soon as comfortably possible after a workout.

2. Eat every 2-3 hours

A steady supply of nutrients into the bloodstream throughout the day will greatly increase recovery of glycogen stores and optimize muscular growth. Once glycogen and proteins are back to normal then additional growth can occur providing there is ample and frequent supply of all the necessary nutrients. This can be achieved by dividing all your daily food into 5 or 6 smaller meals and snacks. Some top bodybuilders eat every 2 hours, and some even set the alarm clock half way through the night to eat a pre-cooked meal to ensure the bloodstream is tiptop full of nutrients for greater muscle growth.

An extra point to be made is try not to eat lots of high G.I meals (unless after a training session) as they will produce large fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin and therefore reduces glycogen storage.

3. Eat a good breakfast within an hour of awaking

It is essential for muscle growth to eat a good breakfast. Your body is attempting to build muscle and you have been without food for up to 8 hours, but if you continue the fast by not eating any breakfast then it would be like trying to build a house without bricks – impossible!

Breakfast should be highly nutritious and it is essential that it provides high quality proteins and complex carbohydrates together. It is possible to eat slightly higher proportion of calories at this time as enzymes are usually active after 8 hours without nutrients.

4. Eat a lighter meal before bed

Before going to sleep remember that your body will not receive nutrients for around 8 hours so now is a good time to provide the best nutrients for muscular growth. At this time I usually eat a small light snack so it doesn’t lay heavy in my stomach. I make sure the snack is low G.I. and a good protein source with protein quantity of around 30 grams.

Timing of each meal is an important factor in building muscle; it’s not just about what you need to eat but also about when to eat it!

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