It is well-known that protein plays an integral role in the recovery of athletes. It is also important to consume carbohydrates.
Each time an athlete works out, their body’s primary goal is to replace glycogen storage. By consuming carbs as part of a recovery meal, the body can resynthesize glycogen faster, and plasma glucose and insulin concentrations increase.
If the athlete eats more complex carbohydrates as part of the recovery meal, they will serve three purposes:
- Replacing glycogen storage
- Providing essential nutrients to the athlete
- Improving their performance.
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The American Institute of Sport and the United States Olympic Committee agree that training volume increases the need for carbohydrates. Keeping nutrition on a schedule is the key to nutrition periodization. Typically, athletes should consume 1 to 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight (0.45 to 0.68 grams per pound) during recovery. It depends on the length and intensity of the workout.
In 2010, there was a flurry of activity in the running world due to an article in PLOS Computational Biology. It calculated how much extra carbohydrates you need to consume during a marathon based on how quickly you burn carbohydrates in your body.
Nordic researchers are known for their rigorous experiments in muscle physiology. It is no exception: volunteers underwent four muscle biopsies in one day, which involved snipping out thigh muscles for analysis. You’ll get a remarkable look at what’s going on inside your muscles.
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One point is that overall muscle carbohydrate availability varies, whereas individual muscle fiber carbohydrate availability varies. Sprinting at the end of a race or a soccer game, for example, requires all muscle fibers to fire. The empty fibers will compromise your performance even if the adjacent fiber is full of carbs.
It takes about 30 minutes for the body to recover. It would be ideal if an athlete would recover after each training session with a full meal. This meal would have sufficient protein and carbohydrates to allow for recovery and some additional calories from fat to qualify as a meal.