How long does it take for muscles to repair themselves after a workout?

[Halfnelson]

Hi all,

I have a few questions regarding muscle tissue repair and nutrition following a workout. Yes, I've read Alan Aragons stuff (it's great), but want your opinions as well.

1) How long does it generally take for muscles to repair themselves from the 'microtears' they develop during weight training?
2) If muscles take 24 hours or longer to repair, should I still be eating lots of protein the next day?
3) Is the 1 hour 'window of opportunity' really that important to maximise muscle repair and growth?
4) Should I mix my post-workout shake with water or milk? I have read that milk slows the digestion rate. So I usually go with water, whey and dextrose or a banana.
5) Does about 50grams protein and 50 grams carbs in my post-workout shake sound about right?
6) How soon after my post-workout shake should I have a meal?

Thanks

[man0war]

1) If you're a beginner it will probably take less time. Intermediate-ish and onwards I'd say 3 days [especially for the larger muscle groups, but pretty close for the small ones as well] is a really safe minimum bet.

2) Indeed , that's why people suggest you get some kind of slower-digesting protein before bed, and yes - have enough protein all the time. If you were to train every 2nd day you'd probably just have < a little > more protein on your training day since you'd have a big ass shake post workout and maybe some amino's or something during the workouts.

3) All these things aren't completely necessary but they make for an optimal detailed - documented approach to training

4) The milk itself has a slower digest to it, not the whey. There's no seriously obvious difference. Having it with water and a banana or two seems like common sense to me though - you get the protein and some solid carbs, as in you also felt like you ate something. Plus the bananas also have some fiber.

5) This is ok either way. If you're a very small guy you'd want to keep it max. 40-50g and carbs .... as much as you want basically to fit into your daily limits. I myself am quite a large dude 6'5" , 260 and I usually try too keep each of my meals at most 45-50 grams of protein. I'll go up to 60-65 in some cases but as I said , if you're smaller you'll do fine with 40 to 50. This is all getting very detailed by the way, anything between 30 ant 60 will be effective generally speaking.

6) for 50 grams protein and 50 grams carbs you can sure wait a while. 1 to 2 hours after I'd say - somewhere in that timeframe.

Cheers !