The Best Time to Replenish Glycogen and Exercise

Carbohydrates have been center stage in the media for some time now. They tend to be vilified in the nutrition world, but many people don't realize that their bodies run on carbohydrates.

Your body relies on carbohydrates — in the form of glycogen — to get you through that grueling spin class or your favorite workout video according to Len Kravitz writing for the University of New Mexico.

Read more: Burning Fat Vs. Glycogen

Glycogen is a polysaccharide that serves as an energy storehouse. Glycogen is found in the liver and muscles. The muscles convert glycogen into usable energy and your body utilizes your glycogen stores throughout the day according to The Sport Journal.

This is why it's important to maintain proper nutrition to keep those muscle glycogen stores replenished. With exercise, those stores are quickly depleted.

Your body stores enough glycogen to last 12 to 14 hours of daily activity. That same amount of glycogen will get you through two hours of sustained exercise.

While the body uses glycogen at the beginning of any exercise, the body will eventually use fat stores for energy, but glycogen is required to convert the fat into usable energy. Glycogen is the fuel in your gas tank that you need to keep going.

Read more: How Long Can the Body Use Glycogen as an Energy Source During Aerobic Exercise?

The best time to replenish your glycogen stores is within 15 minutes of completing your workout according to ACE Fitness. If carbohydrates are consumed immediately after exercise, the body is able to retain up to 50 percent more glycogen.

Depending on the length of exercise and muscle fibers involved, it can take between 22 hours to four days to completely replenish your glycogen supply. The maximum window for "best-case" glycogen replacement is two hours post exercise.

The consequences of not replenishing the muscle glycogen stores are dire. If not properly fed, the body will start consuming muscle in order to fuel itself. Before a lengthy athletic event like a marathon, participants will often "carb-load."

The purpose of this is to make sure the glycogen stores are completely full so the body doesn't turn to alternate sources of fuel. Glycogen replacement is essential to the body's repairative process.

Read more: 4 Reasons to Eat More Calories (And Carbs) At Night

Muscle glycogen replenishment in the form of a post-workout meal doesn't need to be large. Generally, 150 to 250 calories of quality food will suffice. ACE Fitness recommends a three to one ratio of carbohydrates to protein for the optimum replacement of your energy stores.

Avoid meals with a high fat content, as fat slows digestion and delays the delivery of much needed nutrients to your muscles.

Suggestions for meals include protein shakes, eggs and orange juice, tuna fish sandwiches, bananas, low-fat yogurt and oatmeal with fresh fruit. Try hummus with pita and whole wheat crackers with cheese as well.