Build Muscle

Anabolic window: fact or fiction?

What does it mean?

In the period after your workout, your body is in an anabolic state. Spoiler alert: this is called the anabolic window. This period is essential for the recovery and growth of your muscles. The length of this period differs per individual. A common starting point is half an hour to a maximum of one hour after training.

How do I get the most out of the anabolic window?

When you do not or not enough nourish the body with nutrients such as proteins and carbohydrates during the anabolic window, your body goes from an anabolic state to a catabolic state. Either it goes from a muscle-building state to a muscle-breaking state. To avoid this, it is essential to get enough protein and carbohydrates.

What are the right protein and carbohydrate sources?

To provide your muscles with these nutrients as quickly as possible, it is advisable to take quickly absorbing proteins and carbohydrates.
Protein is a building material and iis very important for muscle recovery. Whey protein is available in three varieties: concentrate, isolate and hydrolyzate. Concentrate is the least quickly absorbed, followed by isolate. Hydrolyzate is the crème de la crème of proteins. It can be absorbed extremely quickly and is therefore extremely useful in the anabolic window.
An example of hydrolyzate proteins is PeptoPro

As already mentioned, your muscles need fast-absorbing carbohydrates to maximize recovery. Besides the fact that they are useful as an energy source (they provide 4 kcal per gram), they also play a major role in muscle recovery. By taking carbohydrates, you quickly restore muscle glycogen levels. This prevents muscle breakdown and also improves the absorbability of the proteins.
Good sources of quickly absorbing carbohydrates are Vitargo and dextrose .