Importance of PWO Carbs---Why?

[jsantilli]

I know there have been tons upon tons of threads on PWO carbs, but my direct question is.....how important is getting those PWO (rice cakes, rice w/dinner, sweet potato) after your training days or intense HIIT sessions?

I mean I chose to have a low carb day today and did this on a training day.....I know dumb, but I normally don't do this, but I had a terrible cheat "DAY" yesterday for Mother's Day and wanted to get back on track today with doing a low carb day to start the week out. Basically on a low carb day I allow 50g carbs and not all from veggies, but very clean complex one's to equal my 50g for the day. Normally, I'd have a med to high carb day on a training day and drink a whey protein shake and have 2 rice cakes on my way home from the gym before dinner, then I'd go home and have a lean meat with another 1/2c of rice or sweet potato to get the 46g of carbs I'm "suppose" to have PWO.

I know your body gets depleted of carbs after your workout and you need to refuel what you burned (hence fast absorbing carbs like rice cakes), but what happens if you don't? I mean what if I just drank my PWO shake, skipped the carbs all together on training days and just had my lean meat and veggies for dinner? Will this somehow slow down the protein to hit my mucles..etc? I'm just wondering how detrimental it is if I do not ingest any carbs after a full body training day and why exactly it's so important.

Thanks.

[amyloo]

Good question, I look forward to everyone's answers. I've often wondered how bad it is to go low carb on a training day after a cheat day. If I've cheated the day before and theoretically "overfilled" my glycogen stores, then am I really depleting them to the point (the next day) after training that I need PWO carbs.

[Erik]

I believe I read this exact post on O2 ...

[amyloo]

Originally posted by Thunder@May 16 2006, 08:42 AM
I believe I read this exact post on O2 ...
That's what I get for not hanging out over there anymore! :lol:

[jrb1980]

Well...I would still like to know the answer. I mean, why do some people follow diets that fail to allow for proper post-work out nutrition and they do just fine. When I was happiest with my body, very lean with good muscle tone I did not even know the concept of post-work nutiriton - just knew eat a little less, workout more, repeat.

What is the impact of post-workout carbs??

I was trying to tell my friend (who has an amazing body) that she should be having post workout carbs but couldn't say why...clearly her results don't suggest she needs them?????

[jsantilli]

Originally posted by Thunder@May 16 2006, 08:42 AM
I believe I read this exact post on O2 ...
You did Thunder. It was mine and you did not answer as you usually do. I didn't know if you viewed and/or posted there anymore, so I thought I'd post it here just in case. What is your view on it then?

[jsantilli]

Originally posted by jrb1980@May 16 2006, 11:39 AM
Well...I would still like to know the answer. I mean, why do some people follow diets that fail to allow for proper post-work out nutrition and they do just fine. When I was happiest with my body, very lean with good muscle tone I did not even know the concept of post-work nutiriton - just knew eat a little less, workout more, repeat.

What is the impact of post-workout carbs??

I was trying to tell my friend (who has an amazing body) that she should be having post workout carbs but couldn't say why...clearly her results don't suggest she needs them?????
That is what I mean....what purpose do they serve??? I thought of ALL people that Thunder would clearly break this one down.....he still has not replied! I want to know if PWO carbs are absoultly necessary for building muscle and if not, why waste carbs on senseless rice cakes, rice or potatoes if you want to do it on low carb day or any other day? I would much rather NOT have carbs later in the day anyways after training.

[absolut_blonde]

Some rice cakes or other form of carbs are really minor, calorie-wise, in the grand scheme of things. It is just one meal.

People do progress without proper PWO nutrition, just as they might make progress doing other things that aren't necessarily correct. It doesn't make those things ideal, however. (Of course, I'm no expert-- I don't know the science behind why you want carbs PWO, this is just what I've gathered from reading the boards)

[jsantilli]

I found an article that pretty much breaks it down from Thunders link. Guess you do need them PWO.

http://www.muscletech.com/NUTRITION/HIGH_P...E_2/index.shtml (http://www.muscletech.com/NUTRITION/HIGH_PERFORMANCE_NUTRITION/ISSUE_2/index.shtml)

[jrb1980]

The article says it applies to "maximizing muscle gains while minimizing fat gains", so to be clear does it also apply when fat loss is the goal. My thoughts are yes, but perhaps not as importnat???

[strongchick]

PWO nutrition IS important regardless. Research shows the best results for muscle gain come from protien + carbohydrates. What those carbs are seems to be somewhat up for debate....most people seem to like higher GI carbs, but I have seen some arguments for any carb (other than fructose) with the idea that with proper pre-workout nutrition the post workout insulin spike is not as necessary. Some people like one way, others like another. No idea which would work better for who.

It IS just one meal, albiet a very important one. If the rest of your intake is crappy, it isn't going to make or break anything.

My opinion anyway.

[Sunshine]

Proper PWO nutrition will help you maximize your gains from your WO. Whether some people can get it away without it, that, as they say, is all about genetics. Whether you are genetically gifted or genetically average or below-average, proper nutrition will still help you maximize what you can. Those who are genetically gifted can get away with a lot more as far as not following the "rules"-but they may not be getting the most out of their bodies.

[jrb1980]

I am just trying to figure out what my results came faster when I didn't utilize post-workout nutrition knowledge.........maybe because I was 19 :lol:

[Sunshine]

Originally posted by jrb1980@May 16 2006, 02:26 PM
I am just trying to figure out what my results came faster when I didn't utilize post-workout nutrition knowledge.........maybe because I was 19 :lol:
I would say yes to that!! :lol: