a holistic nutritionist’s guide to exercise recovery: how to get the most out of your workouts
When we think of building muscle, we usually think of lifting weights. But our muscles actually don’t get stronger from exercise alone. They get stronger from exercising and giving our body enough fuel, rest, and sleep to repair themselves (in other words, recovery!)
I’m so passionate about this topic because, as much as I’ve always been interested in fitness, understanding the importance of recovery (and the tips I share below) transformed my relationship with exercise and made me stronger (not to mention healthier), despite exercising way less.
In this blog post, I’ll share my top workout, nutrition, and lifestyle tips for supporting proper workout recovery, from how much protein you should be eating to the lesser-known factors that influence the health and strength of our muscles. I hope these tips help you as much as they’ve helped me!
THE IMPORTANCE OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS
Before I get into my recos, I want to explain why building and maintaining muscle is so important to our overall health. Our BMI (body mass index) isn’t a good indicator of our health because it doesn’t measure our lean muscle mass, which, while weighing more than fat, is crucial to our health and wellness. Lean muscle mass helps to keep our bodies and bones strong, improves insulin sensitivity, prevents injury, and helps to support a healthy metabolism (you can read more about the importance of metabolic health here). Preserving and building muscle becomes especially important as we naturally lose lean muscle mass each year starting at age ~35.
Anabolic vs. Catabolic
Our body needs to be in an anabolic (building) state instead of a catabolic (breakdown) state to gain lean muscle mass. Challenging our muscles and refuelling with proper nutrition and rest helps to keep us in a muscle-building anabolic state. On the other hand, things like inadequate nutrition, chronic cardio, stress, and poor sleep can put our body into a catabolic state, breaking down our muscles and causing us to lose muscle mass (meaning we get weaker even if we’re working out!)
HOW MUCH REST DO WE NEED?
No matter how well you eat or how much you sleep, our bodies need a certain amount of rest to repair and rebuild stronger muscles. The amount of rest we need and how much exercise we can handle will differ from person to person depending on factors such as age, health status, stress levels, and more.
When it comes to knowing how much rest your body needs, my advice is to care more about how your body feels and less about what you think you ‘should’ do, what your friend is doing, or what you used to be able to do. Do you feel like you’re:
Extremely sore?
Not progressing?
Getting weaker?
Struggling to make it through your workouts?
Having trouble sleeping?
These are all signs that you might be overdoing it in the gym and need to scale back your workouts (at least for now). More isn’t always better (you can read more about the downsides of overexercising here). I promise you, you will get much better results and feel 10x stronger working with your body than against it!
MY TOP TIPS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WORKOUTS
Now that we’ve gone over the health benefits of lean muscle mass and why rest is so important, here are my top tips for supporting muscle growth and repair:
1) Get quality sleep
I’m putting sleep at #1 because it is SO important…I can't stress this enough. I would rather someone skip a workout here and there instead of skimping on sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation is a catabolic stressor, inhibiting muscle/growth and promoting muscle loss. Plus, being sleep deprived makes it so much harder to focus on the other factors (listed below) that help to support healthy and strong muscles. So be sure to get ~ 8 hours of quality sleep each night.
2) Eat enough calories (more than you think!)
Eat less, move more? Horrible advice if you’re looking to gain muscle and strength. Yes, you might lose weight with this approach, but you’ll also lose lean muscle mass. Our muscles actually need a surplus of calories after a workout to repair and grow back bigger and stronger. No matter how hard you push yourself in the gym, you won't get stronger if you’re not eating enough. In fact, you’ll probably get weaker! When we don’t eat enough calories to meet our body's needs/activity levels our body will break down muscle to use for more essential bodily functions.
Women should eat a minimum of ~2000 calories per day, depending on factors like height, weight, age, activity levels, etc. Active women looking to gain muscle will need to eat much more. Working with a holistic nutritionist (like me!) can be a great way to ensure you’re meeting your unique caloric needs.
3) Don’t skip meals
This point goes with the point above! When we skip meals, we deprive our bodies of the calories, macro, and micronutrients needed to support muscle recovery and building, putting our bodies into a ‘catabolic’ state. So, eating regular meals and snacks is a great way to support healthy muscles.
4) Eat enough protein
About 80% of our muscle tissue is made of protein, so you can see how important it is to get enough of this macronutrient to support muscle repair and growth. When we don’t eat enough protein, our body will break down the protein in our muscle tissue to use the amino acids for more essential tissues/functions like our organs, hormones, and enzymes.
There’s conflicting advice on how much protein to get to support muscle growth and recovery, and like our caloric needs, it really depends on a few factors. Health Canada recommends that adults 19 and older consume about 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. For example, a woman who is 150 pounds should eat about 54 g of protein daily. However, that recommendation is for daily function and doesn't account for other factors like aging, health status, fitness goals, activity levels, stress, etc. A higher range closer to 1.1-2.0 g per kg of body weight per day (up to 110 g for a 150-pound woman) might be more optimal, depending on your fitness goals.
Personally, I don’t think it’s something we need to be super rigid about or be so concerned with timing it perfectly…but tracking your protein intake for a couple of days to gauge how much you’re actually getting can be helpful. Intentionally including a good quality source at each meal and/or snack can make all the difference.
But it’s not all about quantity! Quality matters too!
The protein we eat should be a source of all 9 amino acids (either on its own or combined with other proteins), bioavailable (meaning used by our bodies easily), and properly digested. For example, while dairy is a complete protein, it can also cause inflammation if you're sensitive to it. Inflammation actually inhibits muscle growth and promotes muscle loss. It's always important to look at things holistically and to put our overall health first, and fitness will follow!
You can learn all about the power of protein here.
5) Eat your complex carbs
While protein is important to healthy muscles, we also need enough complex carbohydrates to build and maintain muscle mass. Carbs are stored in our muscles as glycogen, which our body uses for energy. So, eating plenty of complex carbs will give us the energy to challenge our muscles to grow stronger. Glycogen is also muscle-sparing because our body will break down muscles for fuel when it’s low.
Aim for about 60% of your calories or plate to consist of complex carbohydrates (think whole grains, fruits, and vegetables).
6) Address nutrient deficiencies
Certain micronutrients like vitamins and minerals also play a role in exercise recovery and overall muscle function and health. Plus, if we’re working out heavily and not fueling our bodies adequately, we might be at risk for deficiency. Here are some micronutrients to be mindful of:
Iron: This vital mineral is part of hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen from your lungs to your body's tissues, including your muscles. Since we need more oxygen to carry out strenuous exercise, active individuals are more likely to have iron deficiency, which can result in poor muscle recovery. Women are also more at risk for iron deficiency because of menstrual bleeding (if you are experiencing heavy periods, read this blog post)! So if you’re experiencing symptoms of low iron (shortness of breath, sore muscles, delayed recovery, fatigue, bruising, cold sensitivity, etc), I definitely recommend asking your doctor for a blood test. Note: In Western medicine, a ferritin level of 12-20 ug/L indicates possible iron deficiency. However, there is a big difference between ‘normal’ and optimal, and you might still experience poor recovery even if you’re not technically iron deficient. Many naturopathic doctors recommend women aim to have ferritin levels closer to 75-100 ug/L for optimal health.
B12: Like iron, B12 is important for red blood cell production, which helps to deliver oxygen to our muscles and synthesis new proteins for muscle. Animal products are a source of B12, but plant-based eaters need to supplement.
Vitamin D: Low vitamin D levels increase a person’s risk of age-related loss of muscle strength, so we need to supplement in the colder months (especially for us Canadians). Adult women need ~ 1,000-2,000 iu daily for optimal levels.
Zinc: Zinc deficiency can negatively affect muscle recovery since it plays a role in protein synthesis. Shellfish and meat are good sources. Plant-based eaters can find it in nuts and beans.
Magnesium: Magnesium assists in normal muscle function, and we lose it through sweat, meaning people who exercise heavily need to be more mindful of their intake. We also need more magnesium when we're stressed, so supplementation can be helpful. Whole-food sources of magnesium include almonds, cooked spinach, cashews, black beans, peanut butter, dark chocolate, avocados, and brown rice.
7) Reduce inflammation
As mentioned above, inflammation can hinder muscle growth (as well as contribute to many chronic diseases), so it’s something to be mindful of. Common root causes of inflammation include:
Poor nutrition
Dietary allergens
Chronic stress
Sedentary lifestyle
Over-exercising (again, more isn’t always better!)
Check out this blog post to learn more about managing inflammation through nutrition and lifestyle.
8) Stay hydrated
Be sure to drink plenty of water during workouts, as well as on rest days! Studies suggest dehydration can negatively affect our muscle tissue, leading to a catabolic state (breakdown). Since we lose electrolytes (minerals like sodium, magnesium, and potassium) through our sweat, taking an electrolyte supplement (like LMNT) can help support hydration and recovery, too.
9) Limit alcohol
Alcohol consumption, particularly binge drinking, can negatively impact workout recovery because it impairs muscle protein synthesis. One more reason to question our relationship with alcohol and its place in our lives!
10) Manage stress
Chronically high cortisol (stress hormone) puts the body into a catabolic state, leading to muscle breakdown and weakness, so stress management (read this blog post for my top tips on managing stress) is definitely an important aspect of workout recovery. Don’t forget that overexercising can lead to high cortisol levels, too—another reason why we need to take rest days and listen to our bodies.
11) Let go of the workout
This one goes with managing stress! One of the best pieces of advice I got from a fitness instructor was to leave your workout on the mat. Take a few moments (whether that’s lying on your mat, taking a hot shower, reading, or watching your favorite show) to switch out of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and shift into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). And when it’s a rest day, fully allow yourself to rest, let go of the feeling of needing to do more, knowing you’ve done enough (because you have), and that resting is equally important to reaching your fitness goals (because is it).
Looking for 1:1 support? Book a nutrition counselling appointment here or email me at info@maggimichellenutrition.com to learn more about my services and fees.
