What’s the Point of a Recovery Drink?

You have probably heard of recovery drinks but if you are new to the fitness world, you may not understand why they are necessary. Unlike a basic post-workout snack, recovery drinks are designed to maximize the benefits of your workouts by speeding up the recovery process that happens in the hours following. To truly understand the purpose of recovery drinks and why you should incorporate them into your fitness program, a little science lesson is in order.
 
What Happens During Exercise?
 
When you exercise several things are going on inside your body. First, you are burning calories and your body is accessing glycogen stores for energy. Glycogen, made up of glucose (sugars) is stored in muscles and created with the help of insulin. Coincidentally, insulin levels also decrease immediately following exercise.
 
In addition to glycogen depletion and insulin reduction, your muscles are experiencing trauma. Slight tears occur in your muscle proteins. After your workout, your body begins to repair your muscles through protein synthesis. Through these repairs your muscles are strengthened and fortified, similar to patching a hole in your jeans, or reinforcing steel with welds. This process of tearing down and repairing is what accounts for muscle growth.

How does the recovery drink help?

Science has shown that a recovery drink can speed the time it takes your body to “recover” from these effects of exercise. A recovery drink seeks to do two things: replace glucose to aid in the production of glycogen, and speed protein synthesis by increasing insulin and amino acids (proteins that make up the building blocks of muscles).

Drinking a nutritious recovery drink within an hour of exercise can help your body replace energy stores, prevent sore muscles, and even increase muscle mass through the protein synthesis process. A good recovery drink should consist of vitamins, protein, and a good balance of carbohydrates (both simple and complex).

A quality recovery drink is important in any fitness regime, particularly following intense workouts. Check out our recovery drink , the P90X Peak Recovery Formula, designed specifically for the P90X system, an incredibly intense exercise system.