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The increased nutritional demands that come with being active
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Author: Norm Danniels, Sports Nutrition Expert |
The importance of protein
What you consume immediately following your exercise is almost as important as the exercise itself. Any well thought out exercise program should also give consideration to the state your hungry muscles will be in when you finish.
Regardless of your fitness goals you need to appreciate the increased nutritional demands that come with being active. For starters, every time you exercise, you deplete a significant amount of your stored muscle glycogen (carbohydrates) as well as your amino acid pool. In addition, the stress of that exercise breaks down and damages your muscle cells. The good news is that those muscle cells grow bigger and stronger as a result of that activity (provided they are properly nourished) so they can better handle that stress in the future.
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The effects of exercise are quite catabolic. You drain your fuel supplies, you eat up the circulating protein in your system, you distress your muscle cells and depending on the intensity of the activity, you can burn some muscle tissue for energy along the way.
All this adds up to a highly catabolic environment that breaks down, burns up and empties your reserves. However, you must take one step backwards in order to take two steps forward. The first step forward is the recuperation and recovery that takes place after a workout. The second step is the growth, adaptation and improvement in muscle tone that occurs, rewarding you for your efforts.
Step 1: Rebuilding process
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By courtesy of Sheila Waters, Nutritional Consultant & Manager
Sangster's Health Centres
418-500 Country Hills Blvd NE, Calgary - Canada
Phone: (403)226-5910 Fax: (403)226-5912 www.sangsters.com | | | |
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