Introduction
Have you ever been an athletic person, a sportsman or simply a one who performs everyday workout? You are not alone. A growing trend that is trendy today is the increasing uptake of regular exercise by a section of population. As the number of people taking the word ‘exercise’ to the heart, more so as a necessity to improving and maintaining their health, the question of the importance of Muscular Recovery has also gained more importance.
You will agree that the process of muscles building is very important when it comes to any form of physical training. After training or exercising, this is when the body starts rebuilding broken down muscle tissue. Muscle recovery is critical to the effectiveness of any sport, preventing frequent injuries, and for future health.
But in this particular article, we will discuss with you some of the foods that are good in speeding up the muscle recovery process vegetables and fruits high in protein, good fats, carbohydrates and vitamins. We will also discuss some Soups and how to plan our meals and timing to make sure our muscles are ready for the next exercises.
The Consequence of Muscle Damage
Muscle recovery is not only about resting after you have exercised your muscles to the best of their capacity. It's a complex physiological process that involves several factors:
1. Protein synthesis:
Among the most important processes which occur at the cellular level are synthesis or construction of new tissues, including muscle fibers, and it involves repair work of tissues damaged through fatigue or other means and must always be in repair work of tissues damaged by fatigue or in other ways.
2. Inflammation:
Contrary to what you may think, muscle inflammation is actually good because it’s part of the repair process. It works in the parts of the body, such as the lungs and causes the body to have an immune response that removes waste and destroys dead tissues.
3. Hormones:
Testosterone and Human growth hormones play very important roles as far as muscle build up and repair is concerned.
4. Rest and sleep:
The whole process needs a birthed body to sleep because of its need to rest to repair itself.
When muscle recovery is not efficient, one may be characterize by muscle soreness, decrease in muscle strength, minimum rate of muscle hypertrophy and decrease in muscular endurance. Sometimes, this may result in injuries and more time required for healing, than is expected.
The Best Foods to Eat after Training
With this background on muscle recovery let’s look at foods that help in the facilitation of muscle recovery. Here’s the list of some of the foods rich in nutrients that support muscle repairing and building:
1. Lean proteins
Muscle tissue is largely made up of protein and lean protein is especially good for recovery. Some excellent sources of lean protein include:
- Chicken and turkey: Fresh and lean poultry is a rich source of objects aminos that helps to regenerate muscles cells and tissue.
- Fish: Filtered under the best practices, the lean protein containing fish variety especially salmon and tuna comes handy with omega fatty acid.
- Eggs: Protein from egg is easily available and a good source of essential amino acid.
- Legumes: One of the lists of plant sources of proteins are beans, lentils, and chickpeas.
Include lean proteins in your foods by cooking grilled chicken, tuna salad or bean recipes.
2. Complex carbohydrates
A carbohydrate supplies muscle energy, and this must be replenished after every workouts. Whereas the simple carb food may just provide a quick burst of energy, the complex carb food provides sustenance for muscles glycogen. Good sources of complex carbs include:
- Oats: Oats are packed with dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, low glycemic index as they gradually release energy.
- Sweet potatoes: Muscles replenished and vitamin A and vitamin C to boost the immune system they are.
- Whole grain bread and pasta: These gives a steady supply of energy and contain fiber vitamins and mineral.
When taken on morning time, this should be seen as breakfast cereal like oats or an evening meal of tomato sauce pasta and lean protein.
3. Fruits and vegetables
At the outset, foods from the group of fruits and vegetables are regarded to consist of vitamin, mineral or antioxidant compounds that work very well in support of muscle recovery. Some recovery-boosting fruits and vegetables include:
- Berries: The berries that are; blue berries, strawberry, raspberry contain something known as antioxidants which aids in reducing inflammation of muscles that enhances the recovery process.
- Spinach: This cream/ green vegetable is a rich source of iron, and it also acts as an oxygenating agent to the muscles as well as a factor in creating energy.
- Beets: Beets packed with nitrates also help improve blood flow and oxygen delivery to the muscles, and andes do just that.
Include these-fruits and vegetables into your diet by blending, mixing with salads, or sautéing.
4. Healthy fats
While not a direct facilitator of muscle recovery, a component of fueling the body, fats also help in absorption of vitamins and are energy substrates. Some healthy fats that support muscle recovery include:
- Avocado: Avocados are also filled with monounsaturated fats and provide potassium, important to muscle and nerve functioning.
- Nuts and seeds: Protein-rich healthy fats containing almonds, English walnuts, chia seeds and flaxseeds are rich in vitamins and minerals important to muscle health and recovery.
Ensure you have some healthy fats in your meals; you can cut your avocado, add it to your salads, or take a handful of nuts and seeds in between meals.
5. Dark chocolate
In fact, you would be surprised to learn that dark chocolate also triggers muscle repair after exercise! Dark chocolate flavonoids are strong antioxidants. It is these flavonoids that help to act as natural anti inflammatory agents in addition to increasing circulation within muscles and as such help support muscle recuperation. All you need to ensure is to use quality dark chocolate of 70 % cocoa or darker.
Timing Your Meals and Meal Plan to Muscle Recovery Window
Along with this, we are suggested to take a right meal plan and learn when and what to eat so that muscles can go back at their best. Here are some practical tips to consider:
- Post-workout nutrition: Helping just in muscle repairing and glycogen refilling it pass a lit of protein and carbohydrates after each session. Take a protein shake with banana or chicken and quinoa salad for instance.
- Pre-bedtime nutrition: For example, a small portion of almonds as a bedtime snack or hard boiled egg it is a nutrient dense snack. You will be able to sleep well because your muscles will keep on repairing themselves throughout the night.
- Hydration: If hydrated, muscles will work better and also recommend to drink water the entire day.
Conclusion
Recovery of the muscles is such an important part of any fitness programs and the following are some of the ways to do it. Post workout meals that promotes the repairing of muscles include proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and fats, chocolate and fruits. Accordingly, by adding these foods into your diet, in addition to healthy portion control and scheduling, you can improve muscle repair and overall gains in the process.
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