Muscle Recovery After Workout: All You Need to Know

Recovery after workout is a nutritional strategy used by athletes to refill their glycogen stores, feed their muscles, and rehydrate their bodies after exercise.

It is often used in conjunction with fueling and carb-loading, but it can also be used as a standalone strategy after any physical activity.

In this blog, you'll learn all you need to know about proper muscle recovery.

What Is Muscle Recovery After Workout?

Muscle recovery after workout is the act of supplying your body with three vital nutrients immediately after exercise:

• carbohydrates,
• protein,
• minerals.

The purpose of muscle recovery is to allow your body to quickly restore energy levels, repair and grow muscle tissues, and replenish the electrolytes lost through sweat during exercise.

Proper muscle recovery will allow you to reduce fatigue and muscle soreness and feel more energized and motivated to perform your next training session. In the long term, proper muscle recovery also prevents illness and injuries, as it allows you to maintain a strong immune system and helps the body to function optimally.

On the other hand, the lack of proper recovery has the opposite effect, leading to fatigue, muscle soreness, and impaired body functions, and over a prolonged period of time, chronic stress, weakened immune system, and higher chance of illness and injury.

The purpose of recovery is to provide your body with carbohydrates, protein, and minerals immediately after exercise.

The Vital Nutrients for Recovery

To properly recover after exercise, you need to provide your body with carbohydrates, protein, and electrolytes within 30 minutes after exercise.

Carbohydrates for Recovery

After exercise, your body's glycogen stores are low or, in case of prolonged high-intensity exercise, fully depleted.

Refilling your glycogen stores should be one of your top priorities, as low glycogen stores, i.e. low energy levels, lead to increased stress levels. Without adequate energy, your body won't be able to function properly so you should always try to manage stress.

Low energy levels and increased stress also lead to a weakened immune system. If you fail to recognize the importance of a strong immune system, be sure to remedy this mistake now!

Many athletes rush to consume protein after exercise, but as important as protein is, its efficiency will be significantly lower if your glycogen stores are empty.

The best source of carbohydrates to quickly replenish your glycogen stores is a combination of glucose and fructose. These two simple sugars will be quickly absorbed in your body and stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver.

Carbohydrates boost your energy levels, which makes them crucial for muscle recovery after workout.

Protein for Recovery

Protein has long been hailed as the ultimate nutrient for muscle recovery, and this is perfectly reasonable, as protein is needed to repair damaged muscles and trigger muscle growth. But keep in mind that optimal muscle recovery also requires carbohydrates.

There are many perfectly viable sources of protein available, so you can choose whatever source you like.

There is one aspect to consider, though — the ratio between carbohydrates and protein. There are several different ratios being used, such as 2:1 or 3:1, but research seems to confirm that for an endurance athlete, the optimal ratio is 4:1.

Did you know that endurance athletes need more protein than weightlifters? 

Minerals for Recovery

Whatever small thing your body wants to do, it needs an electrolyte to carry out the task. Electrolytes, which are simply minerals once they enter the bloodstream, pretty much run the show.

After exercise, plenty of minerals will have left your body through sweat, and you'd do well to replace them immediately.

The minerals you need to replace are:

• sodium chloride aka salt,
• potassium,
• calcium,
• magnesium.

Getting all these minerals from food is difficult, that's why we recommend electrolyte supplements.

If you are interested in the precise amounts of minerals to replace during and after workout, check out this article.

The Best Way to Recover After Workout

Optimal recovery requires you to provide your body with all the necessary nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and minerals) within 30 minutes after your workout.

That's difficult to do with regular food for two reasons:

• it's not practical,
• it's difficult to get all the nutrients you need.

This is why athletes use recovery drinks.

A high-quality recovery drink contains all the nutrients you need:

• the perfect combination of fast-acting sugars,
• the correct amount of high-quality protein,
• the optimal concentration of minerals.

With a variety of recovery drinks available on the market, not all of them optimal, it's important to choose a recovery drink you can trust.

Conclusion

Recovery after workout is a nutritional strategy used by all types of athletes to provide their body with the nutrients it needs to refill glycogen stores, repair and grow muscle, and rehydrate.

To recover, your body needs carbohydrates, protein, and minerals within 30 minutes after exercise. The most efficient way to provide these nutrients is by using a recovery drink.

Taking care of proper recovery will allow you to perform at your best over a prolonged period of time and realize your full athletic potential, while avoiding stress, illness, and injury.