Most runners remember to fuel up before their daily workouts, but many more often forget to reload their bodies with the essential nutrients after they have completed the workout. Although recovery may seem optional, especially after shorter workout, your body needs adequate food and fluid replacement in order to restore muscle and maintaining performance.
The post-run meal is vital to recovery and develops your capability to keep running and steer clear of burnout. It helps repair muscle tears that toke place during running, the tears might not be visible but the fact that you feel some soreness is an indicator of small muscle tears.
Therefore To prevent injury and sustain a healthy running routine, you should make recovery a priority by ingesting the right foods and drinks after working out. Restoring your energy after a training session is essential in keeping muscles healthy to sustain running routines and avoid injuries.
When to eat: the recovery window
Even though you might feel hungry right after running, it's best to wait at least 30 minutes to an hour before eating. Let your heart rate, breath rate, and body temperature come back to normal before taking in any food.
By consuming something in this recovery window, you will help decrease muscle break down, you will get the process of glycogen replacement going at elevated speed, and you will be more apt to go into your next run feeling physically fresh and mentally engaged.
The best food choices
Carb-rich foods are best at replacing glycogen. I suggest consuming post-run snacks that combine carb with protein. As this coupling speeds the body's glycogen replacement and process. According to a 2006 study in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, eating carbs and protein together increases glycogen levels more than eating just carbs.
How to determine your carb needs
To know your carb needs, divide your weight in half. If you weigh 160 pounds, you need 80 grams (310 calories) of simple carbs within 30 minutes. If your body still has a carb requirement to meet within that 24 hours time frame - to effectively recover, you may find a post-workout-carb-rich snack is essential.
When do you need to add in some protein?
If you've just done a strenuous workout, one of your next two meals should contain a good portion of protein, which will give your body the necessary building blocks to heal and replace the damaged muscles.
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