How To Speed Recovery With Nutrition & Supplementation For Exercise

Training sessions are designed to push your body beyond your limits to enhance performance, increase muscle growth and strength. Eating immediately after workouts provides carbs and protein to replenish stored carbs and help to repair torn muscles with protein. Supplements play a role in producing energy and may prove beneficial during the post-exercise recovery period.

Step 1

Take BCAAs, known as branched chain amino acids, as well as leucine, valine and isoleucine along with L-glutamine immediately after workouts. Leucine seems to signal muscle anabolism by promoting insulin secretion and usage by muscles to uptake blood sugar and amino acids for recovery, according to Mike Greenwood, Douglas Kalman and Jose Antonio in "Nutritional Supplements in Sports and Exercise." During the post-exercise recovery period, glutamine levels drop in the blood because of the increased demand put on glutamine by recovering muscles. This drop in glutamine may open the door for decrease immune system function and open the door for infection. Supplementation of glutamine after exercise may decrease your risk of developing post-exercise infections, according to Greenwood, Kalman and Antonio.

Step 2

Take your multivitamin with your post-workout meal. Vitamins C and E can aid in muscle recovery and reduce delayed onset of muscle soreness. These two antioxidants protect your body against free radical damage. Vitamin C may delay muscle recovery after exercise, according to Mike Greenwood, Ph.D., Douglas Kalman, Ph.D. and Jose Antonio, Ph.D. in "Nutritional Supplements in Sports and Exercise." Taking vitamin C before exercising has proven beneficial, but during the post-exercise recovery period has produced mix results with delaying muscle soreness and preventing radical damage. Maintaining adequate vitamin C levels may be necessary outside of exercise recovery. Vitamin E helps lessen muscle damage from oxygen radials produced with exercise, according to ExRx.net. Multivitamins or single vitamin E supplements may help speed muscle recovery after training by reducing muscle damage from free radicals for endurance athletes.

Step 3

Eat a mixture of carbs, protein and fat after your workout. You body is the hungriest for nutrients approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour after your workout. This is the prime time to rebuild your glycogen or muscle glucose stores, according to John Ivy, Ph.D. and Robert Portman, Ph.D. in "Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sport Nutrition." Amino acids provided from protein aid in repairing torn muscles. Amino acids from fat also increases absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin E that aid in muscle recovery.

Your muscles don't rely on one single nutrient after workouts to speed up recovery. All three, carbs, protein and fat, work together to prime the environment for your muscles to become stronger and have more endurance for each new workout.