10 After-Workout Foods to Build Muscles
Building muscles is one of sports nutrition goals, where healthy feeding habits influence your body build-up. The food is the fuel that does workout and exercises possible, not only in building up the body but also in helping you recover.
According to a sports dietician, who is also an ironman athlete, Marni Sumbal, some other benefits of proper sports nutrition includes the following:
- Enhancement of the immune system
- Reduction of muscle soreness
- Replenishment of glycogen
- Overall improvement of the athlete’s strength
Eating immediately after a workout may not directly influence your muscle-building immediately. However, most athletes also ensure that they take the essential nutrients in simple food items such as protein bars or shake for better digestion.
Nevertheless, athletes need to make the best decisions for their overall health and fitness, especially after a challenging workout or performance. This special attention puts you in a better position for better results and more stable health and fitness growth.
According to sports nutrition specialists, below are 10 essential food items you can take to support your muscle growth and help your recovery process.
Top 10 After-Workout Foods for you
1. Whole eggs
In the pursuit of getting ripped, you should try out whole eggs. You may have learned that it is safer to eat only the egg whites and not the entire egg.
But research from the University of Illinois showed that whole eggs gave 40% more protein toward muscle building than taking egg whites alone. In other words, there is a more muscle-building response to your body when you consume both the egg white and the yolk than taking only the egg white.
The egg yolk contained phosphorus, iron, minerals, vitamins, and some healthy fats. These fats form the primary driving force behind the repair of worn-out tissues supplying the needed nutrition that only the egg whites cannot deliver.
To optimize this food, you can marsh a few boiled eggs and mix them with a quarter of Greek Yoghurt. Add about a half teaspoon of curry powered and a pinch of salt to taste. Spread the final recipe on rye crackers and enjoy.
2. Ricotta
Sports nutrition using the ricotta can significantly influence your muscle-building process, with dairy being the primary ingredient. A cup of ricotta contains about 28 grams of milk protein, which can also provide whey protein and a high amount of the amino acid leucine.
This amino acid is responsible for the signaling of the muscle cell locus to initiate another muscle’s growth. Therefore, dairy foods rich in protein are useful in building and repairing worn-out muscle fibers and cells.
The options may also include a combination of milk-based drinks with 9 grams of raw protein. Or you may add a carb-only beverage with the same amount of calories to enhance the body’s strength. Besides, this combination of protein with carbs in this proportion can also strengthen the bones.
A workable recipe will include half a cup of park-skim ricotta cheese plus half a teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix these ingredients up thoroughly in a bowl and add a third of granola in a cup and half cup of berries to complete the equation.
3. Cottage cheese
In a way, many people have relegated the need for cottage cheese with the Greek Yoghurt taking its place. But the essence of cottage cheese cannot be overemphasized in that it contains far more proteins per gram than the same amount of Greek Yoghurt per gram.
It also contains close to 3 grams of leucine, an essential amino acid, in one cup. This cottage cheese measure is enough to build and enhance your muscle build-up and repair. In summary, serving cottage cheese plainly or with the addition of unique flavors is a great way to go.
4. Whole grain bread
A whole-grain meal is a capital ingredient of a balanced diet that should take not less than 70% of typical food composition. However, for men and women in sports, the recommended nutrition has other essential food items.
Carbohydrates are essential for working muscles up, but white bread may not get the same approving nod. However, the carbs present in whole grains are highly beneficial due to the number of contained fibers that aid digestion.
You can work the whole grain bread from maybe, wheat into an egg salad sandwich. And apart from the fiber content, the baked wheat bread also contains some protein measure, artificial ingredients, including fillers and preservatives.
5. Smoked salmon
The characteristic feature of the salmon fish is the presence of omega-3 fatty acids. Apart from the salmon, the same essential fatty acids are found in sardines and mackerel. More so, these food items play a vital role in reducing the possibility of muscle soreness after an exercise session.
The means of doing that is by enhancing the lower levels of delayed muscle weakness or laxness. More so, the omega-3 fatty acids can also reach the inner muscle cells to reduce the muscles’ painful inflammation caused by exercise-induced damage.
The fatty acid can also enhance the anabolic pathway for muscle protein synthesis. A helpful recipe will include a small whole-grain bread wrap containing 2 tablespoons full of cream cheese and 3 ounces of sliced smoked salmon. You may also add a quarter cup of sliced pickled beets and a handful of arugula.
6. Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are examples of carb-rich foods that can help prevent the usual drop in the immune system whenever you just complete an exercise. Other examples of such foods include whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
The body also finds it much easier to release the embedded energy in the carbs than those stored as fat. In preparation, you can boil the sweet potato in a tight plastic wrap while adding a few holes until the potato becomes tender.
Next, remove the boiled potato wrap after about 6 minutes and marsh it, adding a third of apple sauce. Besides, you may put half a tablespoon of ginger powder and put some dried cranberries as well as pumpkin seeds.
Conclusion
When rounding off your sports training session, make a conscious effort to build a nutrition disciple for what you take. More so, this article already expounds on preparing some of these essential food combinations that can help replenish your energy after a serious workout session.
Apart from the repair of the muscle fibers, the foods can also support your immune system and overall health. We will like to learn how some of these food combinations work for you afterward.
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