Eat gummy bears for better recovery after a workout, says fitness expert

Sweets after the gym – surely not?

How you recover outside the gym will make or break your fitness progress. But one bodybuilding expert relies on an unconventional approach to get his recovery in check – eating gummy bears.

Sweets aren’t exactly a health food, so this seems counterintuitive, right? In a video posted to TikTok, exercise physiologist Dr. Jim Stoppani explained why he eats gummy bears after hitting the gym.

“Following a tough workout, there’s nothing I look forward to more than recovering with a handful of gummy bears,” Stoppani said.

“The best, the fastest and the most complete muscle recovery occurs when you consume carbs immediately after you train that are in the same form as your blood sugar (glucose).”

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Won’t eating sweets lead to fat gain?

Sweets are high-calorie and stocked full of sugar (primarily glucose and dextrose), but Stoppani says consuming them right after training won’t lead to weight gain.

When you hit the gym, you deplete your body’s levels of glycogen. This is stored in muscle cells. You need to restore glycogen levels so you can kickstart recovery after a workout. Recovery is where you grow and get stronger.

Consuming simple sugars is arguably the best way of going about this.

Stoppani has previously written that “the best way to replenish muscle glycogen stores after workouts is to consume high-glycemic carbs as soon as possible after workouts.”

Do you necessarily need to eat gummy bears? Probably not.

They are on Stoppani’s list mainly because he likes eating them, but other high-glycemic foods will do the same job.

If you’re looking for a more natural alternative that is less processed, try adding honey to post-workout protein porridge.

How much carbohydrate should you consume after training?

Stoppani says you should consume 30 to 60 grams of carbs after a workout. This should be consumed alongside 30 to 40 grams of protein, to repair muscle tissue broken down through exercise.