Post Workout Nutrition for MMA Athletes

Most nutrition and wellness experts will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While its hard to disagree with breakfast, the all important post workout meal is a close second. Timing your nutrients correctly plays a gigantic role in muscle recovery. The idea is that post workout nutrition is to provide the body with a large amount of macronutrients so the body can begin rebuilding muscle after exercise. MMA fighters train multiple times daily so it is crucial to consume a post workout shake. This shake should be consumed right after practice in the gym after your last round or set. Here is a sample post workout shake for a 200lb athlete:

50 grams of Hydrolyzed Whey Protein
50 grams of dextrose
5 grams of BCAA's
5 grams of Creatine Monohydrate
10 grams of glutamine

Hydrolyzed Whey Protein
Hydrolyzed Whey Protein is the fastest absorbing protein substance available. After training we want to get the muscle building amino acids from the Hydrolyzed whey into our exhausted body and into the muscle tissue as soon as possible. Its a little more expensive than generic Whey Protein concentrate but its totally worth it. Save yourself a stomach ache and go with a higher quality protein. You're muscles will thank you later.

Dextrose
Dextrose is simply a form of glucose. Dextrose is extremely abundant in nature and can be found in many plants and animal tissues. The body relies on glucose for energy, using this sugar to power cells. Using dextrose will create an insulin spike. This spike is perfect after training as it helps shuttle nutrients to the muscles faster and replace depleted glycogen stores.

BCAA's
Branch Chain Amino Acids are among the nine essential amino acids for humans. Essential amino acids are amino acids that cannot be made by the body and must be ingested through diet. The three type of BCAA's: leucine, isoleucine and valine. Taken immediately after training, BCAA's can help promote protein synthesis in your muscles to speed up the recovery process. BCAA's should be taken by every athlete not just MMA fighters.

Creatine Monohydrate
Over the last ten years creatine Monohydrate has kind of got suck with a bad rap. Mostly because of large supplement companies want see an increase in sales so they constantly come up with new creatine products that have little or no science behind it because good old normal highly effective creatine monohydrate isn't considered cool or sexy anymore amongst gym rats. Lets get something straight here, Creatine monohydrate has been the most studied dietary supplement of all time. It is safe and extremely effective. Creatine helps to supply energy to all of the cells in the body. It is naturally produced in the kidney and liver from amino acids l-arginine, glycine, and l-methionine. Creatine occurs naturally in vegetables, fish, and read meats. In a nutshell creatine will help promote faster recover, increase muscle size, and athletic performance.

Glutamine
Glutamine should win the MVP award when it comes to a must have supplements for MMA fighters. It is the most abundant amino acid found in the human body. It is considered to be the ultimate amino acid when it comes to muscle repair, muscle recovery and reducing muscle soreness. MMA training causes glutamine levels in the body to fall drastically which has a negative effect on muscle recover. Adding glutamine to your daily diet and in your post workout shake can greatly enhance recovery time.

Every top athlete should pay close attention to post workout nutrition. Simply ingesting this muscle building recipe will increase your chance of getting your hand raised inside the cage as well as looking and performing at your best.