What are recovery drinks, and what do they do? How much should you take, and when should you take it?
If you are an athlete or active individual who trains often or regularly participate in physically
strenuous activities, you are more than likely to experience muscle soreness and workout-
induced aches known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
According to Healthline, an online medical media network comprising over 150 healthcare
professionals, high-intensity exercise can cause tiny, microscopic tears in our muscle fibers, and our bodies respond to the damage by increasing inflammation, which then leads to a delayed onset of soreness in the muscles.
While we are starting to notice a rise in the use of recovery drinks and recovery products overall, there remains an information gap on how recovery drinks benefit athletes and active individuals.
Here we aim to share a bit more about what makes up a good recovery drink, when are some of the best times to consume them, and how they aid in muscle recovery overall.
What Should a Good Recovery Drink Contain?
According to uwhealth.org, for a recovery drink to be effective, it should contain protein,
carbohydrates, and/or electrolytes, depending on your workout with carbohydrates and protein being the big ones.
Replenishing electrolytes are also deemed as necessary during exercise because minerals and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) are lost via sweat regardless of whether you are training in hot and humid Singapore or taking on an overseas race in a temperate climate on the other side of the world.
One of the best options on the market is the 100PLUS PRO High Protein, which ticks all the
boxes of a convenient recovery drink which fuel your hydration and muscle recovery needs,
while helping to support the body’s requirement from pre, during to post training. This makes it an ideal recovery drink option.
100PLUS PRO also includes added branched chain amino acids (BCAA) to aid muscle recovery. To find out more about the 100PLUS PRO, read our feature on "What is 100PLUS PRO" here.
PHOTO: HANA BASIR, SPORTPLUS.SG
When should you consume a recovery drink?
Experts and research all seem to agree that the sooner you refuel, the faster your muscles
recover. While there is no hard and fast rule, most experts and research agree that the sooner you refuel and consume your recovery drink, the fast your muscles recover.
"Getting protein in right away can stimulate muscle recovery"; says Sean Casey, a physical
preparation coach from uwhealth.org.
Some of Singapore’s high performance athletes also agree that the sooner they can get their
recovery drink their post -workout when the body is ready for rapid replenishment, or training.
Said Hassan Sunny, Singapore national footballer: “I like to consume my recovery drinks or
protein shakes before my trainings but mostly right after my sessions. This helps to reduce my post-training soreness and boost my energy levels overall.”
Research from medical journals also suggest that while anything within a few hours after training still generally does the job, it is best to take your recovery drink within the first 15-30 minutes after training or exercise.
“Refuelling after sweating out key electrolytes enables the body to experience a boost in muscle growth and strength, while also reducing the risk of delayed onset muscle soreness", Marissa Miller, ACE CPT, who holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University, explained.
How do recovery drinks aid recovery?
So how do recovery drinks actually help aid us in post-exercise recovery? Recovery drinks mainly help the recovery process across three key areas: replenish glycogen stores, build muscle, and replenish lost electrolytes through hydration.
A. Replenish Glycogen Stores
Replenishing our glycogen stores, together with repairing microscopic tears within the muscle tissues that happen during exercise are often an overlooked part of post-exercise recovery. To understand this, it is important to note that glycogen is stored glucose and carbohydrates, as well as a main source of energy for the body.
PHOTO: HANA BASIR, SPORTPLUS.SG
B. Build and Repair Muscle Tissue
Protein is crucial for muscle repair because they contain protein, which are important building blocks for the body to help build muscle tissue. Athletes and active individuals in general require higher consumptions of protein, given the high levels of physical activity which lead to rapid depletion of their glycogen stores.
C. Rehydrate and Restore Electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals that play an important role in contracting muscles, nervous impulses and keeping us hydrated to ensure our bodies function healthily.
After an intense workout, it is crucial that the body's levels of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium are replaced so as to restore electrolyte balance and replace what we've lost through training / exercise.