Nutrition For Recovery In Athletes.

Correct muscle recovery is a vital to those who want to enable muscle repair and promote new growth that accelerates strength and power within major muscle groups of one’s body. There is much to be learned in this area more so than I had originally thought. Many could believe it’s true that your nutrition after workout is just as essential if not more so, science seems to convey to us.

As I took a look into this perplexing topic that seems to be very general in nature. There is some very critical points to take a look at and observe for yourself. One of the important considerations for any athlete is to observe and also recognize any factors including:

* How fast or slow there metabolism is.

*Appetite size.

*How many calories consumed after the workout.

*The types of micro and macronutrients that work better for them in the recovery phase.

*There build size . (Ectomorph smaller bone frame), (Mesomorph athletic frame or medium bone size), (Endomorph large bone frame size).

With these specific considerations put into play you could now see that every athlete has and needs different approaches to the way they recover and with the right nutrition in effect all of them can become stronger, faster and more competitive in their sport like stated above if they have the right fuel for their body.

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In a general sense most strength coaches recommend water and beverages with electrolytes to restore the lowered glycerin levels in blood from completing a high intensity training session. For post workout meals think carbohydrates that provide potassium, electrolytes, omega 3 fatty acids and are high in fiber. Bananas, fruit salad, dairy smoothies and salmon for omega 3s that also provide enough carbs and a lot of heart healthy protein to the table. For protein and you need enough protein but not to much as an increase in insulin can stunt further muscle growth and can lead to inflammation of the muscles that cause increased muscle soreness and fatigue after a workout. Good sources include: lean chicken, salmon or tuna, lean ground beef, avocados with peanut butter on whole grain bread which are a great source of carbohydrate and essential fat as well.

On the flip side there are major downsides to having bad recovery nutrition for an athlete that can increase a potential for injury from inflammation and soreness as well as fatigue with the next workout from lowered energy levels. Refined carbs, trans and saturated fats and added sugar are any athletes enemy for muscle growth and repair. When monitoring athletes nutritional habits look to see if they are making healthy choices for their body type if not the consequences far outweigh the pro’s and your athletes will not perform at elite levels. Which in return makes a less competitive team.

As complex as muscle recovery is and it has been for many of us, one factor that is always involved is athletes are different and there bodies respond differently to certain foods depending their type of requirements to play at a high level. There are some athletes that are built for endurance. Others for speed, agility and quickness. Others more for power and strength. I would never feed an Olympic sprinter a marathon runners food. I wouldn’t suggest an NFL wide receiver or defensive back to eat an offensive lineman’s dinner for a long period of time. As I just explained, an athletes build and frame size like I bulleted in paragraph 3 is an important factor when using post recovery nutrition. With the right approach to certain individuals, It can make a difference in career longevity as well as playing at peak performance for a longer time and limiting injuries.

I would assume many strength and conditioning coaches and also athletic training professionals are tuned into what there athletes are putting into there bodies. If I were in there shoes I would look more in depth into how nutrition recovery effects athletes of different shapes and sizes depending on what they want to accomplish further into there careers.