Quick, Easy & Effective Post Workout Shakes
May 3rd, 2007 by Mehdi
Strength training & weight lifting break down muscle, burn calories and make you sweat. You need food post workout for muscle recovery & rehydration. Post workout shakes can take care of all of that. Here’s how.
Why Post Workout Shakes? If you workout in a commercial gym, it can take you an hour before you can eat something. You first have to shower & drive back home. Easier is taking a shake with you & drinking it post workout.
But whole food remains better than supplements. I workout in my home gym. When I’m done working out, I go straight to the kitchen & get a whole meal. Usually tuna, rice & banana.
Ingredients for Post Workout Shakes. Protein for muscle recovery. Carbs for energy. Water for rehydration.
- Whey. Get 1g/lbs protein daily. 40g per meal if you weigh 200lbs & eat 5 meals daily. 1.5 scoops whey contains 40g protein.
- Oats. Quick oats work best: they’re smaller than instant or rolled oats. Get as much carbs out of oats as you get out of whey.
- Milk. Helps weight gain if you’re skinny. But watch out with milk if you want to lose fat.
- Fruit. Full of vitamins & minerals. Bananas, raisins, etc.
What about Dextrose & Maltodextrin? Both have a higher Glycemic Index (GI) than oats. However their GI is irrelevant. Other ingredients influence the total GI: whey also spikes insulin for example.
Oats contain vitamins, minerals & fiber. Dextrose/maltodextrin don’t. Stick to oats. You’ll never achieve immediate absorption of nutrients anyway. Eat well pre workout so you have nutrients available when your muscles need them.
How to Make Post Workout Shakes
- Take Shaker. Fill your Protein Shaker with 500 ml water (or milk). The whey won’t stick at the bottom of your shaker if you add water first.
- Add Whey & Oats. I use Optimum Nutrition Whey: never clumps & tastes good. Add quick oats.
- Shake it. Make sure your shaker doesn’t leak. Close the shaker & shake it hard. Add water if the mixture is too thick.
Quick oats. Instant & rolled oats are too thick for shakes unless you grind them.
Water first so the whey doesn’t stick at the bottom. Quality whey won’t clump.
Shake it. Add water if necessary. Put in gym bag. Done.
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Flavored, or unflavored oats? That is the burning question, I’ve never tried that, and I believe from now on under certain conditions I will try that.
Mehdi,
What do you think of dextrose? Studies have shown that it will raise your insuline production after your workout.
And what do you think of maltodextrin? It is a complex carb source, like oats, it’s less complex, but it doesn’t have a taste and you’re body takes it much easier then instant oats.
@Taijutsu
1) Whey spikes insuline post workout
2) If timing is important, focus on your pre workout nutrition. You never achieve immediate absorption of nutritients, even with high-gi carbs.
3) Dextrose has zero vitamin/mineral/fiber content compared to oats.
Thx for your explanation Mehdi, I’d never thought before that dextrose and maltodextrine has a zero vitamin/mineral/fiber content.
And we are indeed talking about pure sugar and whey also spikes insuline. I’ll try the new PWO shake today.
taijutsu
It’s worth mentioning here that fructose (sugar derived from fruits) will only restore glycogen stored in the liver. This is why fructose should be avoided post-workout. You want a simple carb that will restore muscle glycogen, not liver glycogen. Any simple carb other than fructose will do.
MikeDiesel. Fructose indeed replenisch liver glycogen & not muscle glycogen. Reason why I include it in my post workout nutrition is for vitamin/anti-oxidants benefits. You need fruit, post workout is a good idea. Most tend not to enough fruit anyway. Get a high amount of protein & carbs post workout, some fruits for general health considerations, you’ll be ok.
Hey this was very helpful thanks! But umm, one question, where can I purchase “Brinta” at?
I live in Europe (Belgium). “Brinta” is a local brand of instant quick oats, I don’t know if you can get it a broad, but I guess not.
Quaker probably sells instant quick oats. If not you can use rolled oats & grind them in a mixer. The oats should be small enough so you can drink the mix.
What would you consume pre-workout? Is a scoop of whey + water okay?
That would work yes. Or one meal consisting of meat + whole grain carbs/veggies/fruit 1h -1h30 before workout, that’s what I usually do.
Hello - I’m just learning about post workout meals / spiking / creatine etc and I”m getting very confused. I really try to avoid sugar of any kind but most people seem to suggest that dextrose with creatine after the workout is by far the best. I would like to use raw honey but im told it just doesn’t work. I was also told to avoid oates after a workout because of the fibre?? I was having creatine and honey in warm water immediately after my workout then within 25 - 20 mins i was having w whey protein hake with banana, oates and nuts all in brown rice milk. Is this suitable post work?? Thanks
@Marc
Just get whey + oats post workout, you’ll be ok. Pre workout nutrition is more important than post workout.
Mehdi,
I got confused with the comment you made to Marc. Please explain, btw this site is kewl, love the info and your quick response to a question.
How much oats in the shake?
I’m also curious on how many oats to use.
@ Blake & Justin
This is what Mehdi posted in the forum:
“protein: carbs ratio should be 1:2. So 40g protein 80g carbs. I used to take 60g out of oats post workout, the rest from fruit.”
I found some Brinta in a specialty grocery store. The label reads “whole wheat instant cereal”, so it might be similar if not the same as cream of wheat for those of us living in North America..unless that is a different product that Brinta makes.