We can all agree that right after an intense workout, consuming protein provides a clear benefit for promoting muscle repair and recovery and long-term gains in size and strength. Some may question the exact timing and source of that protein, but generally speaking, we have a consensus on the topic.

Then there’s post-workout carbohydrates, specifically this question:

To me, the answer is clear. Yes, post-workout carbs are absolutely beneficial. I’m talking about fast-absorbing carbs, like dextrose. There are two main reasons why I’m a huge proponent of post-workout carbs and why I created my Post JYM Fast-Digesting Carbs product in the first place: replenishing glycogen stores and spiking insulin.

When you train, your body’s main fuel source is glycogen, the storage form of glucose, in the muscles. During workouts, glycogen chains are broken down into glucose molecules to generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy. Hence, glycogen levels are depleted and need to be re-upped at some point.

The first point of contention on this topic is that many people argue that glycogen levels aren’t depleted enough during a typical training session to require replenishment. This makes no sense to me. First of all, any glycogen depletion should be addressed, seeing as glycogen is a crucial fuel source that aids in muscle recovery.

More than that, I strongly disagree that glycogen levels are only slightly diminished during lifting workouts. Research has shown that training sessions involving anywhere from 6-20 sets and lasting only 15-30 minutes begin to deplete glycogen stores by around 30-40%. That’s significant! Now imagine doing a longer workout (45 minutes to an hour, even up to 90 minutes) where 30+ sets are performed. I’m guessing your glycogen fuel tank would be well over half empty.

Another post-carb debate deals with timing. Some “experts” simply don’t believe that there’s any benefit to getting carbs in immediately after a workout versus a few hours later. In other words, there’s no rush. Again, I disagree.

Refilling muscle glycogen stores quickly and sufficiently after training is critical for gains. Glycogen stored in muscle cells pulls water into them to increase cell volume and fullness within muscle fibers and research suggests that greater muscle cell volume can lead to long-term growth. In addition, it’s been shown that carbs taken immediately post-workout can result in a beneficial “super-compensation” of glycogen and science has found that holding off on carbs by even just a couple hours after training can reduce the rate of replenishment by 50%.

Why risk critical muscle recovery and potential long-term gains by holding off on eating sweet-tasting carbs after a workout? Which brings up a fringe benefit of post-workout carbs: satisfying your sweet tooth!

We all know that fast, high-glycemic carbs raise insulin levels. This may not always be desirable for health reasons, but high insulin in the body after a hard workout is one time it’s a good thing.

It’s debatable whether or not insulin itself enhances muscle protein synthesis, but one thing that’s unquestionable is insulin’s direct influence on your muscles’ ability to absorb other critical nutrients. Insulin attaches to receptors on muscle cells, which allows the muscles to take up more carbs, creatine, carnitine and other amino acids – key players in muscle repair and recovery.

If you’re worried that post-workout fast-digesting carbs will promote fat gain, don’t be. Yes, sitting around on a non-workout day eating gummy bears and candy is probably not the best thing for your physique, but immediately after a hard training session it’s actually beneficial. Right after a workout is one of the few times where it’s a virtual guarantee that those simple carbs won’t be stored as fat; those carbs will be too busy restoring glycogen to be hanging out in fat cells.

There’s a reason I constantly mention dextrose and not other forms of simple carbs. Dextrose is the closest thing you can find to pure glucose, meaning it doesn’t need to be digested. It’s absorbed into the bloodstream immediately and is sent to the muscles to replenish glycogen stores very rapidly. The quicker, the better.

And then there’s fructose, a carb source I don’t recommend post-workout. Fructose is low-glycemic and research confirms that high-glycemic carbs (i.e., dextrose) restore glycogen levels the fastest. When you consume fructose, it travels to the liver before being converted to glucose. Bottom line: the body doesn’t use fructose very well and it’s not an optimal carb source post-workout.

My post-training carb recommendation is simple: shoot for around 30 grams of high-glycemic carbs within 30 minutes or so after workouts. One scoop of Post JYM Fast-Digesting Carbs will obviously do the trick, but you can also opt for food sources like Pixy Stix and Haribo Gummy Bears (both of which contain dextrose), white bread (including bagels) and even sugary cereal if you’re craving that.

Combine these post-workout carbs with a protein blend, like Pro JYM and Post JYM Active Matrix, and you’ll have your nutrient needs covered after training.