These Post-Workout Shakes will give You Maximum Muscle Mass

The chances are that you know exactly how to fuel up for your actual workout, but you might be left searching for energy after you finally place the weights back onto the rack. After a serious exercising session, your body will probably be running on empty fumes.

If you don’t bother to follow your workout up with the right intake of nutrients, then you may struggle to stop the breakdown of muscle proteins that goes into your body’s attempt to refuel itself. When you eat, the glucose that you don’t immediately need goes into your liver and muscles in the form of glycogen?which makes up the body’s main source of energy. Carbohydrates can be one of the best ways to fill your tank, if you go low-carb with your post-workout meal, your body may need to break down existing muscle to fuel itself.

If that is the case, then you have just nullified 20 to 40% of your workout for example.

Now that you know exactly what you need to make the most out of your sweat sessions, here are some useful post-workout smoothies that can help you attain the nutrients your body craves.

For Maximum Muscle Mass

1. Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Who ever said that something couldn’t taste amazing and be good for you at the same time? For a chocolate and peanut butter shake, add one cup of water or unsweetened almond milk to a scoop of chocolate flavored protein powder. Add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter, half a cup of cottage cheese, and a cup of ice. Throw all of your ingredients together in a blender and mix them until you have smooth mixture, then simply enjoy!

2. Gingerbread Cookies

Sticking to the much-loved theme of sweet treats ? this ginger-bread cookie shake is bound to make you look forward to your exercise routines more than ever. Take half a scoop of meal replacement powder in chocolate and combine it with a full scoop of vanilla protein powder. Add half a teaspoon of cinnamon, one cup of skimmed organic milk, half a teaspoon of ginger, 1 cup of Greek yogurt, a handful of ice cubes, and a dash of ground cloves ? then you’re ready to go. Introduce all of the ingredients to your trusty blender and blend until smooth.

3. Banana Peanut Butter

Fruity and refreshing, yet still deliciously sweet at the same time, this shake is sure to brighten up your day. Simply add half a cup of unsweetened almond milk to half a banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter, a cup of ice, some pure organic honey, and a cup of plain uncooked oatmeal. Don’t forget to mix in half a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder and blitz all of the ingredients in a blender.

4. Almond Coconut

For something that’s a little more exotic, grab a scoop of chocolate protein powder and add a handful of delicious roasted or raw almonds. Throw in a cup of vanilla almond milk, a cup of ice, half a teaspoon of almond extract and a table spoon of unsweetened coconut. For the perfect shake, put all of the ingredients aside from the almonds into the blender and blitz them on medium high power until they’re smooth. Add your almonds and blend for a further fifteen seconds, or until you can see that all the nuts are chopped.

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5. Cherry Vanilla

Who doesn’t love a healthy dose of cherries after a trying workout? For this decadent shake, mix three quarters of a cup of coconut milk with half a scoop of vanilla whey protein, a cup of pitted dark cherries, half a cup of cranberries and one and a half teaspoons of almond butter. Mix in a cup of ice, one teaspoon of pure agave nectar, and a tablespoon of chia seeds and you’ll be ready to go!

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6. Apple Pie

How about all the warmth and goodness of a home-baked apple pie, in the convenient shape of an easy-to-transport smoothie? To make this delicious treat, you’ll need one apple, with the seeds and core removed, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, one scoop of protein powder ? vanilla flavored, a quarter cup of walnuts, five ice cubes, and a cup of water or almond milk. Just blend until you’ve got a deliciously smooth mixture, and then enjoy.

7. Grasshopper

This one is actually a lot more appetizing than it may sound at first. To make your very own grasshopper, mix an eighth of a cup of frozen spinach with half a cup of almond milk, one scoop of protein powder, a healthy helping of mint extract, five ice cubes, and half a cup of water. Place all of your ingredients into a blender and you’ll have a shake that’s ready to quench your thirst and build your muscles all at the same time.

If you keep consuming shakes like this, you may be in the next Expendables movie fighting Barney Ross (Stallone) at the end!