After a hard workout, you’ve probably noticed you get pretty sore from time to time.
Occasionally, you can be sore right after, but it’s the next few days that typically hurt the most. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
During your workouts, you're actually breaking your body down. Don't worry, this is necessary in order to build back bigger and stronger. However, recovery is also a necessary element of this process.
Without recovery, we'd never see any results!
We need the right diet and plenty of sleep, but there’s other things that can help too. What I’m talking about is recovery supplements, and they can be a huge help when it comes to your results!
Recovery supplements would be anything designed to help your body recover from tough workouts. This includes anything that helps you repair muscle, replenish energy, and more.
So, what are the best supplements to take for recovery? That's what I'm here to discuss with you today.
Before I get into the recovery supplements, though, you'll want to know why we need to recover in the first place. Let’s dive in.
Why Does Your Body Need to Recover from a Workout?
To understand why you need to recover, you need to know what actually happens to your body when you work out.
When you work out, you push your muscles past their normal limits. Because of this, two things happen...
1. Your body depletes muscle energy.
2. Micro-tears are created in your muscles and connective tissue.
In order to fully recover, you need to address both of these issues. Some people think you only need to address the muscle damage to recover ... But that's only one part of the equation.
What you’ll find out in a minute is that addressing the energy loss can also help address the muscle damage. More on that in a bit.
Believe it or not, the reason we get sore isn’t 100% understood. The most popular theories surround muscle damage and inflammation (1)(2).
When our tissues get torn up and inflamed, our bodies don’t want us to make it worse. Increasing the pain sensation for a few days could prevent us from doing more damage.
Once we’re healed up, we’re stronger and better equipped to handle that type of workout again. That’s when the soreness is typically gone.
Keep in mind that we may also get less sore the next time we do that same workout (3). However, even if you don't feel sore, your body will still need to recover from training. After all, we are still damaging muscle tissue and depleting energy.
So, when you feel less sore, it doesn’t mean you don’t need to prioritize recovery anymore. Keep that in mind as you continue your workout program.
If you don’t prioritize recovery, whether you’re super sore or not, you could run into overuse injuries. If your muscle tears aren’t repaired, they may tear worse the next time you train.
Think about the last time you had a food package to tear open, but you couldn’t do it with your bare hands. I bet you took a pair of scissors and cut a snip in it. Even a small snip makes the rest of it very easy to rip open.
Your muscles are a little stronger than that, but the concept is still true. If there is still unrepaired damage, it’s much easier to make that damage worse!
I’ve run into this problem myself several times, and it took me a while to learn my lesson. Trust me, I don't want you to have to learn that lesson as well!
I’ve torn both pecs, and even needed surgery for one of them. Trust me when I say you want to make recovery a priority. Let yourself heal and recover before you work those same muscles again.
Now that you know why you need to recover, let’s take a look at what it takes to do that.
What It Takes to Recover
Recovery is a multi-step equation, and there isn’t just one thing to think about.
For one, you need sleep. When we sleep, our body goes through many processes that contribute to muscle repair and growth (4).
You also need proper nutrition. Your muscles are made mostly of protein and water. So, it's important to make sure you're getting plenty of both.
Water is more important to recovery than most people think. After all, water does make up 76% of our muscle tissue (5).
Personally, I recommend 100-120 oz of water per day. That should be enough for pretty much everyone to stay hydrated and recover properly.
But, how much do you need on the protein side of things? Well, to maximize muscle growth and recovery you need 1.6- 2.2 grams of protein per kg bodyweight (6).
When restricting calories, you may want to increase your protein intake 2.3-3.1 grams per kg bodyweight (6).
My recommendation is try to at least shoot for the middle at about 2.2 g/kg. That works out to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
I weigh about 200 pounds, so I shoot for at least 200 grams of protein. I will say though, it isn’t always easy to get this much protein.
This is actually where protein supplements can make a difference. It takes a lot of planning to get everything in from meals alone.
Plus, if there's one time that a protein supplement can actually benefit you more than whole food alone ... I would argue that it's after a workout for recovery. I’ll get to that in a bit though.
There are other types of supplements out there that can help quite a bit too. So, let's get into some of the best supplements you can take for recovery.
How Does Taking Supplements Help You Recover?
When it comes to recovery supplements, there are 3 things they should be designed to address:
1. Repairing muscle tissue.
2. Reducing muscle soreness.
3. Replacing energy and nutrients lost during training.
When you break down muscle tissue, you have to repair the damage to recover. Your body also depletes energy, electrolytes, and more. These are issues that must be taken care of too.
The damage and inflammation caused by the workout also leads to a lot of soreness. This soreness may even be the main reason some of you are reading this.
Trust me, I don’t enjoy being sore either. That’s what I’m here to help with! It's also one of the biggest things recovery supplements aim to help out with.
Now, different types of supplements can help you recover in different ways. They all still revolve around those 3 things, though.
With the right post-workout supplement regimen, you could notice a big difference! I know for me, recovery supplements have been a game-changer.
So, what are the best supplements you can take for post-workout recovery?
The Best Supplements to Take For Recovery
So ... What recovery supplements should you be taking?
There are several types of recovery supplements out there, but these are the top 5 I recommend. All of them can help support at least 1 of the 3 issues we're looking to solve for after a workout.
Let’s start with post-workout protein.
Post-Workout Protein
By now, you should know that protein is the building block of muscle tissue. After all, besides water, your muscles are made of protein.
So, just like you need more bricks to repair a brick wall, you need protein to repair muscle damage. It’s the material you need to build bigger and stronger muscles over time.
You can find protein in foods like chicken, salmon, beef, and eggs. Those are all great sources for your meals. After a workout, though, is the one time a recovery supplement could benefit you more than whole food.
This is because of the speed at which certain protein supplements can digest. The protein supplement I'd suggest after a workout is whey protein isolate.
Whey protein isolate has arguably the best amino acid profile for muscle growth. It also digests very quickly. So, it may help stimulate muscle protein synthesis more than other proteins like soy or casein (7).
Muscle protein synthesis is the process of building muscle inside the body. It’s a VERY important process in recovery.
It's no wonder why using whey protein isolate after exercise can help increase muscle mass (8). It’s been shown over and over to be highly effective as a recovery supplement.
It can be even more effective when taken with high glycemic carbohydrates like glucose as well.
Glucose Supplements
Did you know that carbohydrates can play a critical role in recovery?
You see, your muscles have this energy stored in them called glycogen. This is a type of carbohydrate, and it’s your main fuel source during intense exercise.
The simplest carb source in your body is called glucose, and it’s a quick source of energy for us. We have some in our blood for quick use, but we can’t let it get too low or we’d pass out.
This is where glycogen comes into play. It’s a bunch of glucose bound together in branches. When we need energy, our muscles break off branches of it to use for quick bursts of energy.
When you finish a workout, your body is depleted of this much needed energy source. Well, your muscles need this energy back to recover.
This is where a lot of people wonder, "Couldn't you just eat carbs to replenish glycogen?" You sure can, but it may not be as ideal. You see, there are two different types of carbohydrates: complex and simple carbs.
Complex carbs, such as those you'll find in a lot of whole food carbohydrates, can get the job done. However, after a workout, I recommend going for simple carbohydrates.
Simple carbs like glucose are what's called high-glycemic. This means they spike your blood sugar and insulin levels quickly. Your body can also break down these carbs a lot more quickly.
For your meals throughout the day, you don’t really want this to happen too much. After exercise though, it can be quite advantageous.
Research shows that insulin has an “anti-catabolic” effect on muscle protein (9). It also is anti-inflammatory (10).
But, why does that matter?
After intense exercise, inflammation increases that can further break down muscle tissue. This increase in muscle breakdown could potentially lead to excessive soreness for days.
When you take simple carbs like glucose after a workout, it spikes insulin. This can help prevent the extra muscle damage, and could help reduce the amount of soreness you feel.
I’ve actually tested this out myself. I notice a HUGE reduction in soreness when I mix glucose with my protein post workout. I’ve also seen hundreds of other people notice the exact same thing over the years too.
That’s not the only benefit of taking glucose with your protein either. It may help you replenish energy faster too.
In fact, taking protein with carbs after a workout can help replenish more energy than carbs alone (11). This is another reason why I recommend mixing whey protein isolate with glucose after training.
They work synergistically, and benefit the main purpose of the other in addition to their own. Together they can help support reduced muscle breakdown, increased muscle growth, and reduced soreness.
When it comes to recovery supplements, I consider them to be staples!
Creatine Monohydrate
While we’ve already covered what I consider to be the most important supplements for recovery, there are more that could help.
For example, creatine is another favorite of mine.
Creatine monohydrate also happens to be the most studied supplement on planet Earth. It’s usually taken for its ability to increase muscular strength and size as well (12).
We already have natural levels of creatine in our muscles. It's what helps us rapidly recycle ATP during exercise leading to more output in every set.
We typically have the capacity to hold more than we produce though, which is where creatine supplements can be helpful. They give our body more creatine to recycle ATP for our workouts.
What most people don’t know is that creatine can also help to reduce muscle damage after exercise (13).
So, creatine may not only help you lift more weight, and build more muscle, but could also help support recovery too. Sign me up!
This could make creatine one of the more beneficial recovery supplements out there.
I usually mix it right into my post-workout shake with glucose and whey isolate. That makes for the perfect post-workout recovery supplement in my opinion.
L-Glutamine
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your muscles. It’s also one of the most under-utilized recovery supplements.
When your body needs glutamine, it may start breaking down muscle tissue for more. This happens during exercise and in stressful situations.
Your immune system uses glutamine for energy too. So, when you get sick, you may want to add extra glutamine if you don’t want to lose as much muscle from it.
What makes L-glutamine one of the top recovery supplements though?
Similar to creatine, L-glutamine can help to reduce exercise induced muscle damage (14). It’s also been shown to improve recovery time and reduce muscle soreness (15).
It may not be a bad idea to throw glutamine into your post-workout shake for this reason. Although, I understand if you don’t want to throw a bunch of different things into one shake.
This is when you could consider taking it pre-workout. Many people will use it both before and after their workouts.
Electrolytes
As we all know, hydration is key after a workout. Water isn’t all you need to stay hydrated though.
…You also need electrolytes!
Hydration is important to help your muscles recover, and electrolytes play a key role (16). Ideally, you'll want to take them after exercise with plenty of fluids because you lose both through sweat.
Plus, electrolytes are crucial. You'll find that they help with pretty much every process in your body. To name 2 specific electrolytes, sodium and magnesium are especially important to have.
Sodium plays a major role in fluid retention (17), which can help you rehydrate your body. It’s also heavily involved in the electrical activity of your nervous system (18).
I'd say you definitely want to keep your nervous system working normally!
Magnesium is another very important electrolyte. It plays a role in allowing your muscles to relax amongst several other things.
Studies even show that post-workout magnesium intake can help reduce muscle soreness (19). So, if the main reason you’re reading this is because you’re getting sore, don’t skip out on electrolytes!
Choosing The Best Muscle Recovery Supplements
When it comes to the best supplements for muscle recovery, quality can be key. Believe it or not, there is a big difference in quality among different supplements on the market today.
Many protein supplements, for instance, can vary quite a bit. A lot of whey proteins get treated with high heat, and sometimes strong acids.
These harsh treatments can denature the protein quite a bit (20). When you overly denature whey protein, it can reduce its effectiveness (21).
At 1st Phorm, our mission is to help real people earn real and long-term results. That's why our commitment from day 1 has always been to make the highest-quality products possible. We want to give you the best tools to reach your goals and feel your best!
Our post-workout supplements are no exception to this commitment. In fact, we use a low temperature, chemical-free process to manufacture our protein. Trust me when I say, you can literally taste and feel the difference!
So, when it comes to post-workout protein, Phormula-1 is a supplement I think you'll love. Plus, Phormula-1 is designed to be mixed with our post-workout carbohydrate supplement: Ignition. This is what I personally take after my workouts.
If you're interested in giving them a try, they're even available at a discount in the Post Workout Stack! We even offer the Natural Post Workout Stack and Vegan Post Workout Stack in case you prefer natural sweeteners or follow a plant-based diet.
Now, what about the other recovery supplements we discussed?
Well, you can always add creatine to your post-workout shake. It's what I do! We offer that too with our Micronized Creatine Monohydrate.
We also offer Glutamine and electrolytes too. However, If you start anywhere, I would say the Post Workout Stack will be your best bet.
Heck, you'll even get a vitamin, mineral, and electrolyte blend in Ignition as an added benefit. This can help cover your some of your electrolyte needs for after your workout as well.
At the end of the day though, all of these recovery supplements can help support your recovery. If you’re recovering quickly, and you’re less sore, you’re more likely to keep on training too.
That’s the goal for most of us. We all need to keep going, and I don’t want soreness and recovery to be an issue for any of you!
So, if you have questions or need any help at all, don't hesitate to reach out!
We have a full team of NASM Certified Personal Trainers and Nutrition Coaches right here in St. Louis, Missouri who are happy to help out. Just give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 or send us an email at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com any day from 6 AM to 10 PM Central.
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