The Post Workout Window Of opportunity

Many folks new to working out and weight lifting routines are not aware that your muscles do not grow while you're in the gym. If you're still struggling to grow, chances are all you're doing is hitting the gym and not paying enough attention to nutrition and recuperation. I guarantee you bigger and better results if you just take advantage of the post-workout window of opportunity and feed your muscles exactly what they want to grow.

First things first you have to realize that your muscles do not grow in the gym. What you're actually doing when you push and pull weights is stratching and tearing the muscles underneath your skin. That's why you get a pump when you're really hitting your muscles hard... it's your body reacting by rushing blood to the "injured" muscles. So if you don't grow while you're working out in the gym when do you grow?

After you put down the last weight and you finish your last rep... that's when your muscles start growing! Matter of fact your muscles have an opportunity to start growing right after you leave the gym if you supply them with some crucial nutrients that they're in desperate need of.

Protein and carbohydrates are the two critical nutrients you need to consume immediately following a workout. If you're going to consume sugar this is the best time of the day to do it. Immediately following a workout your body is literally looking for something to burn as fuel because if you worked out the way you're supposed to then you should have burned all the food you've consumed throughout the day and now your body is runing on empty and your muscles desperately need to start repairing themselves.If you want to start rebuilding your muscle and also give your body the critical nutrients it needs to survive then you want to make sure you consume three things!

Sugar or a simple carb is the first of three nutrients you need to take immediately following a workout. Your muscles are made of water and protein but protein are the "building blocks" of muscle. Since simple carbohydrates are normally broken down within 30 minutes you also want to make sure to consume some type of complex carbohydrates for long term energy. Drinking a protein shake is the best and fastest way to feed your msucles immediately following a workout. Post workout protein shakes are a dime a dozen and you're sure to find many at your local supplement shop.

If real growth is your ultimate goal then you'll also want to eat a solid meal within two hours of your gym session. Make sure both protein and carbohydrates are both present in your meal. Any type of red meat, chicken, turkey or fish will do for the protein and rice or potatoes are my favorites for the complex carbohydrate side. Once you realize that growing bigger muscles is more then just working out in the gym and going through your current bodybuilding workout program, you'll be on the fast track to getting huge and reaping the full benefits of your workouts. This is probably the single biggest change you can make today that will have the biggest impact on your growth.