Strength exercise is a great way to build muscle, lose fat, increase metabolism, enhance the nervous system, improve sleep, and create a healthier body and lifestyle. Drinking meal replacement shakes are beneficial to those committed to a strength exercise routine due to their convenience and complete nutrition profile. New meal replacement shake drinkers may wonder when the optimal time to drink their meal replacement shakes is: before a strength exercise workout or after?

Drinking a meal replacement shake before or after a strength exercise is up to you. Each option offers different benefits that could help your body heal or perform. The truth is that a meal replacement shake is beneficial for someone doing strength exercise both before and after a workout. When you choose to drink a meal replacement shake to improve your performance during a strength exercise depends on your body and what feels best to you.

At ENU, we strive to formulate products that will positively impact your athletic performance. Our ENU Nutritional Shakes can help your body perform during a workout and help you recover after exercise. To purchase ENU Nutritional Shakes to promote strength, visit our website.

What Are the Benefits of Drinking a Meal Replacement Shake Before Strength Exercise?

Eating before exercising is important because it will provide you with the energy needed to have a safe and effective workout. If you can give your body the fuel it needs to perform at its best, you can ensure that your body will respond to your workout in the most capable way. This is especially true while doing strength exercises, since your muscles will be challenged to go beyond their normal demands. Giving them the proper energy to be able to work hard during strength exercise – without damaging or overexerting them – is key.

Boosts Available Macronutrients

The most important nutrients for an effective workout are protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Protein is important because it supplies amino acids and repairs and builds the muscle fibers that will be broken down during exercise. Protein can boost the amount of muscle mass gained after a strength workout. Carbohydrates, especially complex ones, are necessary because they provide the body with energy in the form of glucose. And fats are necessary for a good workout because, aside from making you feel satisfied, they assist in the absorption of other nutrients.

While it’s important to eat food before a workout to have nutrients to support the energy you’ll be expending, meal replacement shakes from ENU are especially effective because they provide all of the ingredients that allow your body to perform at its best. These ingredients include whey protein (the most highly absorbed protein available), soy protein (high in valine, which promotes health function of cells and organs), natural carbs (derived from complex sources such as tapioca, brown rice, and quinoa), quality fats such as sunflower and coconut oils (allowing for vitamin and mineral absorption), and an array of necessary vitamins and minerals. ENU Nutritional Shakes are free from artificial sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup and are instead sweetened with non-bitter stevia.

Improves Performance

Meal replacement shakes can promote protein synthesis that can improve your overall performance during strength exercises. For example, ENU Nutritional Shakes are made with 100% whey protein, which has the highest leucine content of any other protein substance. What’s leucine? It’s an amino acid that has unparalleled abilities to promote protein synthesis. Essentially, leucine gives your muscles that extra boost in the gym. When consumed regularly through meal replacement shakes, leucine can increase strength and endurance. Adding leucine into your diet can better your performance during strength exercises, especially when you drink it before you work out.

People doing strength exercise workouts are not advised to replace all of their meals with the best meal replacement shakes. They’re intended to replace some meals, not all of them. Strength exercisers are also advised against drinking meal replacement shakes directly before their workouts. Meal replacement shakes should be consumed at least 60 minutes before a workout, though between 2 and 3 hours before is ideal. Do what feels right for you and your body.

What Are the Benefits of Drinking a Meal Replacement Shake After Strength Exercise?

Just as it’s important to eat before exercising, it’s also important to eat after exercising. This applies to strength exercise, after which your body is depleted of energy and is working to rebuild the muscles that were broken down during the workout. Eating after a strength workout assists the body with muscle protein growth, restoring glycogen stores, and enhances and speeds up your body’s recovery process.

Refuels

After a strength exercise workout, your body needs protein and carbohydrates more than anything else. Protein provides your body with the amino acids necessary to repair and rebuild broken-down tissues that were damaged while working out. Carbs are necessary after a strength workout because they replenish your body’s glycogen stores and stimulate insulin secretion. ENU Nutritional Shakes to promote strength provide both protein and carbs in a ratio that is ideal for your body’s recovery.

Drinking a protein-dense meal replacement shake after a strength exercise can refuel your body’s protein supply and inhibit the loss of lean muscle mass. Some people think that eating after a workout undoes all the efforts of your exercise. On the contrary, your body needs nutrients after a workout. Instead of opting for that sugary snack, choose a healthy option, like ENU Nutritional Shakes to promote strength.

Repairs

While protein is necessary after a strength exercise, what’s the use if it can’t be synthesized? Drinking a meal replacement shake with leucine after a workout can reduce recovery time and allow you to exercise sooner. Leucine works to repair the tiny tears in your muscles that are caused by working out by promoting protein synthesis. After a workout, you can recover more quickly and feel ready to exercise sooner by drinking a meal replacement shake.

Since ENU Nutritional Shakes contain whey and soy protein, they can be consumed directly after a workout because they’re absorbed by the body more quickly than any other type of protein. If drinking meal replacement shakes too closely to a workout upsets your stomach, try drinking them after instead. Watch how your body reacts and follow suit.

Should I Drink a Meal Replacement Shake Before or After Strength Exercise?

Each gym-goer has their own preference for when to drink a meal replacement shake in relation to working out. Some people want to power up before they exercise. Others like to refuel with a shake after they’ve cooled down. You might be wondering, what’s the best option? In reality, that depends on each individual person.

Some people find it uncomfortable to eat or drink anything too close to a workout. Having a full stomach while exercising can impede your performance. However, maybe you need that zap of energy to do your best in the gym. So, what should you do? Well, choose a meal replacement shake that is easier to digest. For example, the whey protein in ENU Nutritional Shakes is among the most easily absorbed protein available. Whey isn’t hard on the stomach, allowing your body to digest nutrients quickly before a workout. In addition, our shakes have four grams of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) per serving. MCTs, promote quick absorption, allowing you to drink your favorite meal replacement shake before a workout without concern over an upset stomach.

But is drinking a meal replacement shake after a strength exercise better? In all honesty, no one knows. While each option has its own benefits, scientists haven’t determined if one is better than the other. It’s up to you and your preference. Try out both methods and see which one you like better. You might even decide to drink a meal replacement shake before and after you exercise.

Should I Drink a Meal Replacement Shake Before and After Strength Exercise?

Drinking a meal replacement shake before and after a workout can be beneficial for some people. However, if you decide to take that route, it’s important to keep the nutritional facts of your favorite meal replacement shake in mind. Just because it tastes good doesn’t mean you should drink it all the time.

When you drink lots of meal replacement shakes, you’re adding many calories into your daily diet. Of course, strength training might burn some of those calories. However, drinking two meal replacement shakes a day in addition to your existing diet may cause you to gain weight.

For example, each ENU Nutritional Shake contains 400 calories per serving. Opting to drink a shake before and after your workout will add 800 calories to your daily intake. For some people, gaining weight through muscle gain is the goal. If that’s the case, it’s still important to understand that your weight can increase rapidly by adding that many calories into your daily diet. It’s just something to be aware of if weight gain isn’t one of your health goals.

Can I Drink Meal Replacement Shakes Any Time of Day?

While not designed to replace all solid foods in a diet, meal replacement shakes can replace isolated meals or a portion of a diet. If not being consumed directly before or after a strength exercise workout, they can still be used to support a strength exercise workout regimen and promote overall health. They can delay hunger, keep your metabolism going between meals, and supplement nutrition where it may be lacking in other areas of your diet.

The positive benefits of meal replacement shakes can impact your health even if you drink them irrespective of your workout. Just check the label to see what you’re consuming. Unfortunately, many meal replacement shakes contain unhealthy additives and excess sugars. Opt for a well-balanced meal replacement shake to feel confident about what you’re putting in your body. For example, ENU Nutritional Shakes to promote strength contain 20 grams of protein and 400 energy-dense calories. Our shakes are fortified with 24 essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs.

Whenever you decide to drink your favorite meal replacement shake is up to you. Do what feels best for your body and what causes the best results. Before adding any supplemental nutrition to your diet, talk about it with your doctor. A medical professional can give you the best advice. For your health, it could be optimal to drink meal replacement shakes more or less frequently. Your doctor can let you know what they think is right for you. Whether before or after a workout or any time in between, ENU Nutritional Shakes to promote strength can provide all the nutrients your body needs to become strong and healthy.

Try Our Meal Replacement Shakes for Energy Before or After a Strength Exercise

ENU Nutritional Shakes are an ideal addition to a healthy lifestyle, thanks to their convenience and complete nutrition profile. To learn more about how you can incorporate ENU Nutritional Shakes to promote strength into your life, visit us online today.