Does it matter what time you consume your post workout?

Many fitness gurus out there want to tell you about the benefits of nutrient timing, that consuming certain macros at certain times of the day are critical for losing body fat and gaining muscle. There are advocates of consuming most of the days calories during the morning while the opposing camp states that eating a big dinner later in the evening is the key to getting the results you seek. But really, which school of thought should you be listening to?

We’ve all heard it before. When it comes to building and maintaining muscle after a tough workout you have to be sure to have great post workout nutrition. That’s very true. It’s not like you can lift hard in the gym then rush home, have a bowl of ice cream, and think you’re going to be making some major gains. It’s just not going to happen no matter how hard you train. But besides the obvious fact that having a fattening snack after training would pack on the fat, the notion of the Anabolic Window has been ever present.

The Anabolic Window can be defined as the time after training where the body craves nutrients, consumption of these particular nutrients ensuring that the body will make the adequate muscle gains. The time of that window? It was originally estimated at 30-45 minutes after completing your training. With such a small window – you had to come to the gym well prepared with a protein shake ready made so that you didn’t miss out on the window of opportunity to make the best gains.

It’s not necessary to consume that protein shake directly after training. The theory behind the whole nutrient timing thought process is actually from a study years ago that delaying consumption of fast burning carbohydrates after a workout resulted in less glycogen re-synthesis. So the theory of consuming your nutrients within an hour of completing your workout was born. Subsequent studies have debunct this theory, but it has still managed to survive to this day.

So is nutrient timing truly useless? Find out on page 2!