If we divide the increase into two stages: training and recovery, which stage do you think is more important? To answer this question, you must first know its principle. The training phase is to stimulate and destroy the muscles, while the recovery phase is to rebuild the muscles, and on this basis, achieve excessive recovery of the muscles so that the muscles can grow. So in this sense, recovery is crucial to muscle growth. important. Some people often encounter poor muscle recovery after training, such as muscle stiffness, soreness, muscle twitching, fatigue, etc., which greatly affects the effect of muscle gain. What exactly causes slow muscle recovery after training? Are there any targeted nutritional strategies? These problems have long troubled many bodybuilding enthusiasts. Next, we will "prescribe the right medicine" to solve the problem of muscle recovery.
Cause 1: Acidification of body fluids
Reason analysis:
The pH value of normal human body fluids should be between 7.35 and 7.45, which is weakly alkaline. After exercise, sugar, fat, and protein in the human body are decomposed in large quantities. During the decomposition process, acidic substances such as lactic acid and phosphoric acid are produced, and many metabolic wastes are produced. These acidic substances and metabolic wastes cannot be eliminated from the body in time and remain in the body to stimulate human tissues and organs. , making people feel muscle and joint soreness and mental fatigue. Therefore, it is best not to eat acidic substances after exercise, such as big fish and meat. At this time, the body itself is acidic. If you continue to eat acidic substances such as big fish and meat, it will inevitably "add fuel to the fire" and increase the acidity in the blood, thereby aggravating muscle soreness. Fatigue and soreness will not be eliminated in time.
Nutritional strategies:
Supplement alkaline food. For acidification of body fluids, the best nutritional countermeasure is to supplement alkaline foods. Generally speaking, any food that contains high amounts of calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and other elements and is ultimately metabolized as alkaline in the body, such as kelp, spinach, carrots, celery, etc., is an alkaline food. Fruits are acidic in taste, but they produce alkaline substances after oxidation and decomposition in the body, so they are also alkaline foods, such as tomatoes, citrus, apples, strawberries, etc. After exercise, eat more alkaline foods, such as vegetables, fruits, kelp, soy products, etc., especially vegetables with bright colors, which can maintain the basic balance of pH in the body and relieve muscle soreness.
Reason 2: Glycogen consumption
Reason analysis:
Sugar is a staple in strength trainingenergy source. As training progresses, the body continues to deplete the muscles' glycogen stores. If the body's sugar reserves are too low, protein is needed to participate in oxidative energy supply and synthesis of glucose. Part of the protein comes from food, while most comes from muscle, which will inevitably cause the breakdown of muscle protein and is not conducive to muscle recovery. Adequate sugar supplementation can prevent the body from using protein as energy. In addition, sugar supplementation can promote the secretion of insulin in the body. As one of the three major anabolic hormones, insulin plays an important role in promoting muscle recovery and growth.
Nutritional strategies:
A combination of sugar supplementation before, during and after exercise has a better effect on exercise capacity than sugar supplementation before or during exercise alone. People of average weight need to eat at least about 100 grams of sugar every day to truly save protein in the body and avoid fat degradation into pyruvate for energy. The most effective way to replenish glycogen is to consume a meal rich in carbohydrates before training, mainly starchy foods, supplemented by high-sugar foods such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.; supplementing with sports drinks (such as Accelerate 100, etc.), not only quickly replenish blood sugar, but also replenish electrolytes and water lost during exercise; after training, consume simple carbohydrates (glucose, sucrose) and complex carbohydrates (such as fruits, bread, snacks) in a ratio of 1:3 etc.), which is conducive to the rapid and sustained release of insulin and the rapid recovery of muscle glycogen.
Cause 3: Loss of electrolytes
Reason analysis:
Exercise will cause a lot of sweating. Even if you perform moderate-intensity exercise indoors for one hour in winter, you will lose about 1000 ml of sweat. During this process, a large amount of electrolytes (mainly sodium and chloride, and a small amount of potassium and calcium) are unknowingly excreted from the body along with sweat. The habit of many people to replenish white water will also aggravate the loss of electrolytes in body fluids. The above-mentioned electrolytes play an important role in maintaining the normal energy supply of various organs. When the human body loses a large amount of these electrolytes and cannot be replenished in time, it will cause muscle twitching, weakness, and even metabolic disorders in the body.
Nutritional strategies:
Sports drinks. The most convenient way to replenish electrolytes is to supplement with sports drinks. Sports drinks can not only replenish water, but also contain sodium, potassium, chlorine and other ions and sufficient sugars, which can quickly replenish electrolytes in a timely manner. For short-term and low-intensity exercise, due to the regulation mechanism of electrolyte reserves in the body, just replenishing water is enough. For high-intensity and long-term exercise, it is recommended to take a break every 15 minutes and drink about 200 ml of sports drink.
Reason 4: Consumption of B vitamins
Reason analysis:
B vitamins are water-soluble vitamins. With the loss of sweat, B vitamins will also be dissolved in sweat and excreted from the body in large quantities. These B vitamins are indispensable substances for promoting metabolism in the body and converting sugar, fat, protein, etc. into heat. If these vitamins are lacking, the energy supply of cells will immediately decrease, causing metabolic disorders: Vitamin B1 can promote body metabolism and protect nerves. System function, reducing fatigue after exercise; vitamin B6 participates in protein metabolism and hemoglobin composition, helping to repair muscle cells and supply oxygen to muscles. Therefore, the lack of B vitamins will also directly affect the energy supply of muscles and the repair of muscle cells.
Nutritional strategies:
Supplement B vitamins. If it is difficult to absorb all B vitamins, here are foods rich in B vitamins:
1. Foods rich in vitamin B1: wheat germ, pork leg, soybeans, peanuts, tenderloin, ham, black rice, chicken liver, germ rice, etc.
2. Foods rich in vitamin B2: eel, beef liver, chicken liver, mushrooms, wheat germ, eggs, cheese, etc.
3. Foods containing vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, pantothenic acid, and folic acid: liver, meat, milk, yeast, fish, beans, egg yolks, nuts, spinach, cheese, etc.
4. In addition to the above foods, you can also choose to supplement multivitamin preparations (such as Vitabol, etc.)
Cause 5: Free radical damage
Reason analysis:
The human body produces a substance all the time - free radicals. Free radicals are like a double-edged sword. Under normal circumstances, they have a certain protective effect on the human body. However, the production of free radicals will increase exponentially when exercising a lot. During fitness training, the body tissues are relatively ischemic and hypoxic, which will produce a large amount of free radicals. free radicals. They are very active molecules that attack body tissue, disrupt muscle cell membranes, cause subtle damage to muscle cells, and affect muscle protein synthesis. In addition, free radicals can also damage other tissues of the body, causing reduced immunity, muscle soreness, and making it difficult to recover from fatigue.
Nutritional strategies:
Supplement antioxidants. As the saying goes, where there is a spear, there is a shield. The shield that cells use to resist free radicals is antioxidants. The main antioxidants in the diet include lycopene, vitamins E, C and beta-carotene, as well as trace elements such as zinc, selenium, manganese and copper. For bodybuilders, antioxidant supplementation may not significantly improve exercise capacity, increase lean body mass, or improve strength, but it can shorten the body's recovery time, reduce muscle soreness, relieve fatigue, and enhance immunity. Among the above antioxidants, lycopene is the nutrient with the strongest antioxidant activity known in nature.Its antioxidant and free radical scavenging ability is 1,000 times that of vitamin C and 102 times that of vitamin E. Tomatoes, watermelon, and grapefruit have the highest lycopene content. But lycopene derived from tomatoes is easily absorbed in the circulating blood. At present, although no authoritative organization has given a recommended daily intake of lycopene, the diet should be rich in processed tomato foods, or drink 540 ml of tomato juice every day, or take lycopene capsules.