Beginner's Fitness Programs

The benefits of cardio workouts have a short life. Most of the health benefits of cardio exercise are from the most recent session, not from a week ago, nor from a month ago. If you do a cardio workout only once a month, you are not getting any benefit from it, so you really need to put a cardio workout on your schedule 2 to 3 times a week.

However, this “short life” of cardio workout benefits has a good side, too, if you know how to utilize it. One good side effect is the enhancement of body metabolism. When you perform an aerobic workout, your insulin sensitivity will go up. Immediately after you finish your cardio workout, if you eat low carbohydrate food, this insulin sensitivity is significantly enhanced. This means that the body can easily take up the sugar from the blood stream and save it in the muscles for later use. Besides, as far as insulin sensitivity is concerned, the calories of the food doesn’t affect the sensitivity, which means that you don’t need to starve yourself to improve your insulin sensitivity. This is great news, since it means you can increase your metabolism without starving yourself, and your body may use more calories in the long run.

So what should we do? First of all, don’t drink any sugared electrolyte drinks. If you are doing cardio workout lasting less than one hour, you don’t need it anyway. Drink plenty of water immediately after your workout. Then, eat a real balanced meal, such as steamed fish, vegetables, and brown rice less than an hour after your cardiio workout to get the full benefit of it. If you don’t have a time to eat real meal for a while, you may want to eat some fresh fruit and nuts (avoid dried fruits). The combination will give you a great lower carbohydrate food.

Note that if you are a hardcore cardio person, and often run one hour or more 4-5 times a week, then this may not be a good option for you. You actually need to take “sugar” immediately after the workout to minimize muscle fatigue. You may also need an electrolyte supplement. I personally like to eat bananas as it they high in potassium, which is good for muscles.

Source: Journal of Applied Physiology, January 2010. What You Eat After Exercise Affects Health Benefits

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