Fit or Fiction: Is Your Fitness Recovery Flawed?

Many fitness enthusiasts have misconceptions about post-workout meals and eight out of 10 feel they are not doing enough to help their bodies recover after exercise. Abbott’s EAS® Sports Nutrition is debunking post-workout myths and sharing the facts – all good news for the 98% of survey respondents who said they were looking to improve how they felt post-workout.

A recent U.S. survey from EAS found gaps between Americans’ knowledge surrounding post-workout nutrition and their desire to improve their fitness routines and results. The vast majority of fitness enthusiasts – 82 percent – admit to falling short when it comes to post-workout nutrition habits. In fact, many fitness enthusiasts view post-workout nutrition as negatively impacting desired results, which isn’t true.

EAS shares the top three myths surrounding post-workout diet and nutrition and gives the real facts to ensure fitness enthusiasts know how to maximize their workout results.

Myth: “If I eat calories right after my workout, I’ve just wasted my time at the gym.”

36% of fitness enthusiasts don’t want to consume calories after a workout

Truth: If you don’t get the right amount of calories and nutrients back into your body it could actually negatively impact your results. Exercise and nutrition work in tandem. Evidence shows that obtaining proper nutrition at the right time is critical in maximizing the benefits of training regimens, including performance and improving lean muscle tone and reducing body fat.

Myth: “I’m an endurance athlete; I need carbs, not protein.” OR “I’m strength-training; I need protein, not carbs.”

50% believe consuming carbohydrates post-workout could yield less optimal results and 53% believe that eating protein after a workout will build undesired muscle

Truth: The body needs both to fully recover. In fact, endurance athletes tend to experience the most muscle breakdown and need protein to support muscle health. Individuals who rigorously strength train deplete energy stores quickly and need carbohydrates to replenish. Maintaining strength and energy and recovering quickly for the next day is the challenge that ALL athletes and fitness enthusiasts face.

Myth: “The exercises I’m doing are more important than what I eat afterwards.”

While 72% of fitness enthusiasts know that post workout nutrition helps restore energy, only one in three recognized that it also helps to decrease muscle breakdown

Exercise and nutrition are a partnership. Refueling at the right time with the right food is critical for maximizing the benefits of training regimens, including performance and improving lean muscle tone and reducing body fat. By eating the right foods at the right time after a workout, you'll provide needed nutrients and energy to muscles when they are most ready to use it- therefore, reducing muscle breakdown and fatigue and preparing you for the next workout.

About the Survey

The comprehensive survey was conducted from August 20-24, 2012 by Market Probe International among a nationally representative online sample of 1,000 “Fitness Enthusiasts.” For the purposes of this study, a “Fitness Enthusiast” is defined as a person who exercises three or more times per week for 30 minutes of medium to high intensity activity (4+ on a 10-point scale). The margin of error of +/- 5%.

Last updated February 2013