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Post-Workout Recovery Plan: Protein and Hydration
Improved athletic performance or weight-loss is often dependent on the quality of your post-workout recovery regime and nutrition.
Improved athletic performance or weight-loss is often dependent on the quality of your post-workout recovery regime and nutrition. Often, people will supplement their diet, post-workout, with protein powders to assist in rebuilding their muscles. Sometimes they get carried away and consume too much protein. The over consumption of protein powders can put extra stress on their kidneys, cause digestive issues and dehydration. If you are using protein powders, then you will need to increase your daily water intake to adequately re-hydrate yourself.
Consume at Least Eight, 8-ounce Glasses of Water a Day
A common post-workout re-hydration rule is to consume at least eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day to maintain proper hydration levels. However, this rule applies to sedentary individuals. If you are exercising strenuously and consuming protein powder post-workout, you will need to drink significantly more than eight glasses of water to stay hydrated.
When exercising, it is important you drink at least 8 ounces of water every 15 minutes to stay properly hydrated. If you consume a protein shake as well, then this amount will increase. Add a creatine supplement to the protein shake and this amount could double.
Here is how to calculate the baseline volume of water you need to drink daily, without exercise. Multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 67% (0.67). This figure is in ounces. Next, divide this number by 8-ounces to give you the number of cups of water you need to consume daily without exercise. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds and you multiply this by 0.67, you get 93.8 ounces. Divide 93.8 by 8-ounces and you get 11.7 cups of water. Round this up to 12 cups and there you have it.
However, if you add in exercise, you will need to adjust this amount because of your extra perspiration and water loss. It will then be necessary to add in another 12 ounces of water for each 30 minutes of your workout. Using these calculations should keep you well hydrated throughout your active day
Post-workout Recovery Shake
To maximize your training results, it is important to have a post-workout recovery shake. Here is a smoothie that I enjoy post-workout that helps with my recovery and re-hydration. Its secret ingredient is coconut water.
Coconut Water Post-Workout Recovery Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups Organic Coconut Water
- 1/2 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 cup Frozen Banana
- 1 Tbsp. Sunflower Seed or Sesame Seed Butter
- 2 Pitted Dates
- 1/2 cup Tart Cherries
- 1/2 Tbsp. of Cacao Powder (optional)
- 1 Scoop of protein powder*
- Ice as needed to desired consistency
Directions:
Add the coconut water and chia seeds into the blender and let sit for 10 minutes until the chia seeds start to gel. Add the dates, seed butter, Cacao powder and protein powder into the blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. Once thoroughly combined put in the remaining ingredients and continue to blend. You can use the ice if you want your shake to be thicker or you can add more frozen bananas which will also increase the flavor! Enjoy immediately.
*Use any protein powder that you like, however, use one that contains at least 20-grams of protein and does not have added refined sugar*
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