Women Vs. Men: Post Workout Supplements

Working out on a regular basis promotes good health, and that of course very much includes good physical fitness. This may be a well known fact, but what few people know is that the benefits of your physical activity do not occur during the activity, but rather after you've finished working out.

Your health and physical condition improves as a reaction to the physical demands you placed on your body during a good workout session. As a result of each well-planned workout, you become stronger, fitter, and healthier in the moments following your workout.

This is known as the recovery period. During the recovery period, the body tries to return to its natural state, known as homeostasis. This means that the heart rate decreases, breathing shallows, and the body returns to its normal temperature. If the demands placed on the body during the training session were great, it will also attempt to make the changes to be able to better manage the demands for next time. This is known as adaptation.

What is Adaptation in Workouts?

Adaptation to exercise occurs in the recovery phase. The human body is very adaptive to external conditions. This is how physical feats are met. Through a series of trainings and adaptations, the body is better accustomed to the demands that are placed on it.

• Sleep: good sleep quality and quantity are required to get the best results, as much of the growth and mental preparedness occurs at this time.

• Nutrition: very good nutrition is required to elicit the desired results. The right portions of vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients are responsible for refuelling and make up the building blocks of connective tissue.

• Wellness: emotional and mental wellness are both required to elicit good results at the gym. High stress levels and anxiety can severely limit your results during your workout for the simple reason that they both have a debilitating effect on the central nervous system.

Why use workout supplements?

Workout supplements are meant to take care of the nutrition part of your recovery. Both men and women can benefit from supplements, improving their post workout recovery. In the best situations, recovery periods should be quick and complete, maximizing the potential benefits of working out. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.

The biggest reason why recovery periods are not as effective as they can be is that recovery foods should be taken almost immediately after the workout. The most critical recovery time is within 30 minutes post-workout. These are the golden moments that must be carefully planned; and the main reason why post-workout supplements have been so effective and useful.

Convenient packaging and different options make them great supplements to your regular daily meals and snacks.

What post workout supplements are there?

There are many different types of supplements intended to boost post workout recovery, many which are specifically marketed to women, and others which are marketed to men. What really sets men's and women's supplements apart is marketing and packaging.

In reality, the same mixes are generally good for people of both sexes, as long as the recommended dosage is accommodated for. A male who is 220lbs should be taking a larger dose of any workout supplement than a 140lb woman.

There are a few types of post-workout supplements to choose from:

• Mass gainers: these are full of sugars and are high calorie options for (typically) men who have trouble gaining weight. Women will typically avoid mass gainers.

  Read more: 5 Recovery Snacks To Eat After A Workout

• Protein mixes: these are varying qualities of protein with medium, low, or no sugars at all, which are used to help feed extra protein to torn muscles; if they contain sugars, they help to refuel the muscle as well.

• Amino acids: these are the smallest molecules which make up proteins, and they are used to help with muscle and connective tissue repair and regrowth.

What is different about men's and women's needs?

As we mentioned above, the main difference between men's and women's needs when it comes to post workout supplements is the dosage.

The second consideration is that men and women may also have different goals. Losing and gaining weight is playing with science. There is physiology and chemistry involved in every action and reaction your body goes through. Specific workouts are known to cause weight gain and loss, and nutrients play a similar role. Just the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats are required to feed muscles after a workout.

A third consideration to take when it comes to differing needs among men and women is the nature of the workout. Man or woman, an easy workout won't get the greatest results. Lifting weights and engaging in high intensity workouts does get results, especially with the aid of the right supplements to get the recovery and adaptation process moving smoothly.

Choosing a supplement based on your goals

For fat loss: opt for a low carb protein shake (3 to 8 grams carbs). Go for a medium protein serving, about 10 to 20 grams per serving. Look for a high quality protein with the word “isolate”. If you digest milk products easily, opt for “whey isolate”.

For general health: go for a well balanced mix mix of carbs to protein. The ratio of carbs to proteins should be equal, or pretty close to it.

To improve athletic performance or gain mass: pick a high carb, high protein mix. You'll need the maximum amount of fuel for muscles, so look for high-carb protein shakes, with 27+ grams of carbs and 30+ grams of protein per serving.

Of course, post workout supplements that contain hormones or "legal substitutes" are also on the market and generally aimed at bodybuilders. In these cases, avoid steroids and consult your doctor before taking any supplements aimed at men or women.