The athlete that competes in the occasional prolonged endurance event such as the marathon may not have the need for resynthesizing muscle glycogen rapidly, but one who participates in multiple, frequent activities that tax carbohydrates stores, such as weekend soccer tournaments, may require fast recovery.
Restoration of body’s carbohydrate stores can be achieved if carbohydrate is consumed quickly after depleting exercise. Delay for as little as 2 hours may result in significantly less muscle glycogen synthesis. Therefore, the athlete seeking fast recovery should consume carbohydrates as soon as feasible after the depleting exercise.
Athletes requiring rapid replacement of carbohydrate stores should eat or drink as soon as possible after depleting exercise. They should choose carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, and preferably consume them in small, more frequent meals rather in large amounts at one time. After this initial replacement period, the normal predominately complex carbohydrate diet can be resumed.
The following general recommendations are provided, but they should be fine-tuned with consideration of your individual total energy needs, your specific training objectives, and how well you perform after adjusting your diet
- For fast recovery after a hard workout or competition, eat 1.0-1.2 grams of carbohydrate/kg body weight each hour for the first 4 hours of recovery.
- In preparation for an easy day of moderate-duration, low-intensity training, your 24-hour recovery diet should include 5-7 grams of carbohydrate/kg body weight.
- In preparation for a session of moderate or heavy endurance training or competition, your 24-hour recovery diet should include 7-12 grams of carbohydrate/kg body weight.
- If you are participating in extreme exercise training (4-6 hours per day or more), your daily diet should include at least 10-12 grams of carbohydrate/kg body weight.
Choose nutrient-rich carbohydrate foods like fruits and vegetables and add other foods to recovery meals and snacks to provide a good source of protein and other nutrients. These nutrients may assist in other recovery processes and, in the case of protein, may promote additional glycogen recovery when your carbohydrate intake is sub-optimal or when frequent snacking is not possible.
When the period between exercise sessions is less than 8 hours, you should begin eating carbohydrate as soon as practical after each workout to maximize recovery between sessions. It may be advantageous to eat your carbohydrates as a series of snacks during the early recovery phase.
- During longer recovery periods (24 h), you should organize the pattern and timing of carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks according to what is practical and comfortable for your individual situation. Liquid and solid forms of carbohydrate are equally effective in replenishing glycogen.
- Carbohydrate-rich foods like potatoes, pasta, oatmeal, and sports drinks that have a moderate-to-high glycemic index are good sources of carbohydrate for muscle glycogen synthesis and should be the major carbohydrate choices in recovery meals.
- Adequate energy (calorie) intake is also important for optimal glycogen recovery; if you deliberately restrict your energy intake to lose weight, you may find it difficult to eat enough carbohydrate to optimize glycogen storage.
- Don't base your intake of carbohydrate, fat, or protein on a percentage of your total energy intake because such guidelines are difficult to follow and are not strongly related to your muscles' absolute need for fuel.
- Avoid drinking excessive amounts of alcohol during the recovery period because it is likely to interfere with your ability or motivation to follow guidelines for recovery eating. Follow sensible drinking practices at all times, but particularly in the recovery period after exercise.
The above practical dietary recommendations will help ensure that your glycogen stores are sufficiently replenished before your next training session or competition. You should aim to eat enough carbohydrate to meet the fuel requirements of your training program and to optimize restoration of muscle glycogen stores between workouts.
