Thread: Post-workout myths exposed

9. Using antioxidants post workout enhances recovery.
Here’s another myth that just makes sense: we work out, cause all kinds of damage to our bodies, then we use antioxidants to help clean up the mess. Simple and sweet. The reality? Neither simple or sweet. In fact, it may not surprise you to find that there is a clear lack of data on antioxidant supplementation following exercise.
Taking a step back to look at the basis for the theory, it’s been shown that damaging eccentric exercise didn’t change the normal levels of our body’s antioxidants (Child et al., 1999). In other words, our body has a natural antioxidant defense capability, and this was not stressed at all despite the exercise and the subsequent muscle damage.
This is contradicted by other data showing that there is an impact of exercise on natural antioxidant levels (Lee et al., 2002; Goldfarb et al., 2005), but clearly the case is not closed. With this conflicting research, you’d have to wonder if antioxidant supplementation would have any effect at all! Oh it does, my oxidized friend, but the effects are not what we’d expect!
Once again, here’s one of the most underrated research papers of the last 5 years—take note folks because this is one of those studies you need to know about. This groundbreaking research by Childs and buddies (2001) examined the impact of post workout antioxidant supplementation on subsequent muscle damage and healing.
You’ll be shocked to know they found that this practice actually increased muscle damage and delayed recovery! That’s right, the microtrauma experienced by the muscle cells was exacerbated by the antioxidants. With this, the greater the damage, the more time it takes to repair.
It seems that there are pro-oxidant effects happening here, meaning that the "antioxidants" actually started causing the damage they were meant to clean up! While this effect is thought to occur with excessive antioxidant use, it’s surprising that these effects were seen at a Vitamin C dosage of ~1100mg and ~900mg N-Acetyl Cysteine per day, for a 200 lb guy, neither of which are all that incredibly high. To my knowledge, this is the only study to investigate antioxidant supplementation after strength training. This makes the findings incredibly powerful because they are directly applicable to us!

On a personal note, I was pretty blown away when I read this paper because I’d been using Vitamin C post workout for years. While these data aren’t strong enough to make me swear off antioxidants altogether, they clearly show that we can overdo it quite easily with these supplements. More importantly, these data help us rethink the post workout window dogma.

10. Aspirin and ibuprofen are good anti-inflammatories for muscle recovery.
The topic of muscle inflammation is pretty hot these days because it’s thought that minimizing this natural response will enhance recovery. By allowing us to hit the gym or get back on the field quicker, we can once again stimulate our bodies with a hard training session.
While the theory holds some water, we need to be careful how far we take it. For example, the use of traditional pain relievers, like aspirin and ibuprofen, has been increasingly common, because most people just don’t like the feeling of muscle soreness (T-Nation readers excepted because we’re hardly "most people").
A common effect of these pain relievers is that they exert a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. This fact has excited some budding pseudo-scientists, because they reason that using these common drugs will reduce muscle inflammation and enhance recovery. Great theory, poor applicability.
Early research showed that post workout use of these drugs inhibited our natural production of a chemical necessary for muscle growth and repair (Trappe et al., 2001). Further investigation showed that sure enough, muscle protein synthesis was completely shut down when these drugs were combined with strength training (Trappe et al., 2002). As a final kick in the teeth, using these drugs resulted in no effect on either inflammation (Peterson et al., 2003), or muscle soreness (Trappe et al., 2002).
Essentially we get the worst of all worlds when combining nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like aspirin and ibuprofen, with strength straining. Having said that, it is important to note that there are several different ways of affecting inflammation, some may be good, others are clearly bad. Keep in the back of your mind that limiting inflammation is a good idea, but certainly be aware that it is not universally beneficial.


Ten Take Home Points

—glycogen restoration is all too easy to achieve and may not be as critical as once thought
—protein synthesis needs to be the focus of our recovery intervention
—pre-workout meals actually enhance muscle blood flow and nutrient delivery during exercise
—pre-workout meals, nocturnal feeding, and multiple post workout drinks are more beneficial than a single post workout drink
—the "post workout window" lasts at least 24 hours
—consuming a protein shake immediately after training hinders optimal results
—strength training acutely enhances insulin sensitivity for at least 24 hours
—whey protein is generally only moderate speed, while whey hydrolysate and pure amino acids are "fast"
—antioxidants taken after exercise may increase muscle damage and delay recovery
—aspirin and ibuprofen can prevent the exercise-induced elevation in muscle protein synthesis thus hindering growth and prolonging recovery

Five Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ: If we don’t care about glycogen, then why would we use high glycemic carbs post workout?
A: Don’t forget that the main goal is to maximize protein synthesis, which is likely accomplished using quickly absorbed carbohydrates and greatly elevating insulin.
FAQ: In the study with the pre workout drink, what did they consume and when did they drink it?
A: Pure amino acids and sucrose were consumed immediately before training started.
FAQ: Doesn’t consuming carbs before a workout cause a blood sugar crash during the workout?
A: Usually no, our catecholamine response seems to keep out blood sugar elevated without problems. But if you’re just starting to try this, consume carbs during the workout or have them ready just in case.
FAQ: If there is a 24-hour post workout window, why do we care about consuming multiple drinks?
A: The multiple drink method is still the best way to maximize our anabolic response following training. We take advantage of this "window" by spiking our blood amino acid level as often as we can.
FAQ: If there is a 24-hour post workout window, why do we care about fast or intermediate speed proteins?
A: The multiple drink method can only be used when fast proteins or amino acids are consumed. It just doesn’t work with intermediate speed proteins.

CONCLUSIONS
It’s safe to say that we’ve been brought up to date with the current research regarding strength training and nutrition. Perhaps more importantly it’s clear that the post workout dogma has been destroyed. Unfortunately, with all of this destruction going on, there is a knowledge gap that needs to be filled, which will allow us to apply these new findings.
In other words, we need to figure out what all of this science stuff means, and how we can best use it to our advantage. In an upcoming article, I’ll introduce the Anabolic Index: a detailed blueprint for making use of this latest information, allowing us to maximize our anabolic potential.
Until then, Raise the Barr!
Thanks to: Nathan Devey, Nathan Dewsbury, Tan Huaiyu, Jonathan Boyle, my Phrenologist Dr. Ryan Smith, and everyone who helped review this document.

LOL, i read this yesterday on UKMuscle. Very interesting, i dont think we will ever know what the best thing to do is regarding timing of nutrition and how much to take, it just gets soooooo confusing!!

oh my god its gonna take me a month to digest that. cheers bud! lol

interesting, very interesting. especially points 5 and 6..

points 5 and 6 basicly say im a gullable retard meat head. i no likey lol.

I don't think theres a right or wrong really, this is based on research saying one thing, there'll be just as much research saying the other, if you're getting results doing what you're doing then stick to it

Interesting reading, nothing ground breaking in there for me. Are there any supp comapnies producing a hydrolysated whey based post workout formula out there? I'd be tempted to try one, from what i've heard it tastes pretty awful.

optimum nutrition hydrowhey numerouno

I was thinking more a formula with carbs, glutamine, creatine carbs etc all inc

great post