Post workout nutrition routine during recovery week

hi, everyone!

just wondering…does your post workout nutrition routine change in recovery week?

usually, I have a protein shake right after working out because it helps me recovering; I don’t know if i should do the same in the recovery week, given that workouts are far easier. I don’t know if that would be bad for the overall recovery process…

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Fuelling the workout is the only thing I change, with the caveat that I don’t do feel the need for a specific recovery shake. I train first thing, so I have porridge (oatmeal), with berries, nuts, and whey for my breakfast after I shower.

Mine doesn’t change a bit but when I’m hungry I eat. I don’t even change on-bike nutrition.

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Thanks for the input, guys!

iI guess it’s going to be a trial and error thing…i’ll see what works better for me, although i feel i can do without the shake…

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That’s my current too.
During regular weeks following a workout I have a protein shake with the aim to have 4:1 carbs to protein (and about 10-15 grams of protein, 40 or so grams of carbs). I won’t be exact as I don’t accurately measure but I am in the range. FYI most protein scoops have over 20 grams of protein so I only do 0.5-0.75 of a scoop. The rest of the smoothie is water, some oat milk, banana and a second fruit (blueberry, mango, dates, whatever I have around) to get the carbs up.

On the bike (in recovery week) I take in less carbs but still the same volume of water. I figure I don’t need as many carbs as I am just riding in zone 2. In 60-75 minutes of zone 2 I consume one bottle that has about 25-30 grams of carbs and also a second bottle of water or a nuun tab. For hard rides I would consume 2 bottles of about 30-40 grams of carbs each in an 75-90 minute ride.

I also ride first thing in the morning and I roll out of bed and start drinking. I use to drink less and way less carbs and always had trouble with workouts. I chalked it up to be being new to endurance, masters age so slower to adapt, morning, … and I thought for 60 minutes and less you didn’t need to take on carbs. Workouts are still tough but I can much better hit the targets now and I attribute most of it to taking on more carbs.

my 2cents and experience so far

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yup…I also feel that drinking some carbs helps with endurance rides. i don’t know if it’s something psychological but I notice the difference too!

Can I ask how you decide on your grams of protein in your recovery shake?

Thanks

I just looked up the ratio of recovery shakes from brands (e.g. Skratch) an noticed they had around 10-15 grams (closer to 10 I think).