Lucky you guys, you get to learn from my mistakes.
My legs hurt. Bad. Because I didn't eat my post-workout meals for the past two days.
Let's talk about post workout nutrition. After you run/lift/swim/dwarf toss/whatever, your muscles will be starving for calorie replenishment. Makes sense, because you burned quite a few calories tossing those dwarfs. Your muscles have been broken down in the process, and will rebuild themselves to be stronger and more resilient. Sweet.
However, they can only do that when they're fed. You've got to put building blocks in your system before your body can rebuild. In the first half-hour after you work out, your body is begging for some simple carbs and protein to start building you back up. Feed it. Physical cues?
Soreness. Your muscles are jacked. Consuming a post-workout meal reduces your soreness the next day, and speeds up your recovery time.
Trust me. I've neglected to make my shake two days in a row now, and I'm feeling the pain. I got lazy and figured I'd eat when I got home. Bad idea.
All's you need to do is make a quickie snack with some simple carbs and a decent amount of protein, and you're good to go. Some good post-workout snacks are chocolate milk (a great ratio of sugar, protein and fat), some fruit w/peanut butter, a protein shake (I like to put oatmeal in mine), or even a granola bar will hold you over until you get home.
It's the easiest way to reduce soreness. And you get to drink chocolate milk. Mmmm...
