Why is Protein Important for Recovery after Workout

By Sophia McDermott, Lifestyle Coach & Fitness Expert. 

Nutrition is extremely important for optimizing workout performance before, during, and after a workout session. Your diet intake plays a huge role in your body’s abilities to adapt to, train, and recover from vigorous physical activity. And when it comes to fuelling the body with the right nutrition after a workout to aid in recovery, protein is your answer. 

Let’s see how protein helps with recovery after a workout. 

Does protein boost results?

Protein has various amazing benefits for the body, especially for people who work out. It can help boost the results of your fitness journey. Not only does adequate protein intake boost your workout results, but a fair bit of research also suggests protein to be a great support for your immune system too. 

In a 2018 review by a group of scientists, protein can, in fact, support muscle synthesis. This is how your muscles and bones recover from any tears and injuries. Physical activity builds muscles by slightly wrecking them. 

When your muscles take minor damage and heal, they come back stronger. Hence, proper healing with a protein-rich diet derived from good sources of protein can boost your workout results. More protein in the body helps with better muscle protein synthesis. 

Benefits of consuming protein.

Including high protein levels in your diet has various benefits for gym devotees. Here is why you should take protein post-workout. 

Increases muscle mass.

This is one of the biggest perks of consuming protein for muscle mass. One review from 2019 suggests that having a protein-rich diet can significantly increase muscle mass. After a tough workout your body is ready to suck up nutrients like a sponge and direct it straight into the muscle. So adding a protein shake or some eggs which are a great source of protein because of their high bioavailability is an excellent idea to make the most off those ‘gainz’ after your workout. Don’t forget to add some carbs such as some fruit with your protein to help shuttle the protein into your cells.  The findings of the review specifically reveal that extra protein after resistance exercise increases muscle gains. 

Helps bone health, ligament and tendon strength.

Giving your body some extra protein is also beneficial for your bone health. This is because your bones are highly dependent on your regular protein intake. People with poor amounts of protein in their diet often have weaker bones with lower bone density. Protein makes for one-third of your total bone mass, as suggested by this 2020 review.  But it’s not just the bones and muscles, protein helps to keep your ligaments and tendons strong too. This is super important for maintaining overall strength but also for mitigating injury too.

Not only this, but the same review also suggests that a protein-rich diet is also significant for increasing bone mineral density (BMD). So, taking enough protein in your diet can make your bones stronger, improving muscle health. 

Boosts metabolism and aids weight loss.

There is quite a lot of evidence to link protein with faster fat-burning and weight loss. The findings of one 2020 review suggest that a diet rich in protein can improve your body composition by aiding weight loss. 

You must have heard of protein-rich diet plans for weight loss. Now I am not an advocate of high protein, super low carb diets. But where adding in some extra protein in your diet is beneficial is because it replaces the processed refined carbs that most people eat. So switching the chips or crackers out for a protein shake with berries or a can of tuna and chopped carrots is a much healthier option that will assist in your fat loss journey. 

The other important thing to note is that eating protein will make you feel fuller for longer which means that you are less likely to be snacking on  things that you shouldn't. 

So, including more protein in your diet and ditching the processed carbs  can be especially beneficial if you wish to lose weight.  

If you’re looking for a trainer to guide you with the best workout plan, take my Health, Fitness & Nutrition membership. 

Sources

https://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/the-role-of-protein-in-exercise-recovery

https://www.clifbar.co.uk/article/5-facts-about-protein-recovery-after-workout

https://www.villagegym.co.uk/blog/how-much-protein-to-optimise-recovery/