POST-WORKOUT CARBS: A PERFORMANCE-
ENHANCING DRUG?
Carbs are not “bad”—they are just woefully misused today.
If you choose to consume them, it is best to time them so
that the anabolic stimulus serves a functional purpose in the
body–to enhance your performance, not weigh it down. A
best-case scenario? Refilling muscle tissue with stored sugar
after a bout of vigorous exercise.
Resistance training is one of the best known means of
improving overall insulin sensitivity, but the post-workout
period in general has the additional benefit of turning
muscles into a sponge for sugar in the blood. This is owed
to the GLUT4 receptor. A channel for glucose, these
receptors hide under the surface of muscle cell membranes
until they start contracting, at which time they pop up to the
surface. (Remember the neurotrans-mitter receptors from
chapter 2 and how they bob up to the surface? This is
exactly the same economical mechanism, elegantly
reappropriated for muscles. Your DNA and genome are like
an erector set–with modular and swappable parts that can
have completely different functions using the same building
blocks!)
Once present on the cell surface, a GLUT4 receptor will
turn into a spigot that allows sugar to flow into the cell like
water through an open dam. This means that for the same
given amount of carbs, less insulin is needed to safely
partition and dispose of it if consumed post-workout. What
does this mean for you? Carbs are less likely to promote fat