Strategies for awesome recovery
Recovery is just as important as the training itself, as it is recovery that allows the body to build itself up stronger and adapt to the stresses from all the training time you put in. There are many different recovery methods, but the most important factor for your recovery is undoubtedly nutrition and rest/sleep, where there is strong scientific support.
Nutrition is the absolute primary tool that we can manipulate to speed up recovery. Taking care of nutrition also positively affects sleep, which in turn continues to enhance recovery. The absolute most important and often decisive factor is that you reach an adequate energy intake (kcal/kJ). The body cannot create anything new from nothing; a continuous flow of building blocks is needed for this. Breaking down energy intake into macronutrients, carbohydrates are by far the most important, as they slow down breakdown and become new glycogen, which is our main fuel in the muscles. Next comes protein which is necessary for creating new muscle protein, new mitochondria, enzymes, and more.
Carbohydrates are what slows muscle breakdown and replenishes your glycogen stores, while protein provides building blocks for rebuilding and further enhances the storage of glycogen (carbohydrates). The body will always prioritize slowing its own breakdown before focusing on building new (a wise choice, stopping decay before new construction) and therefore, carbohydrates that slow down breakdown take precedence over protein after a completed session. Below, we will look at recovery based on different timeframes.
Short recovery time < 8 hours
(Between two hard interval sessions or a double competition day, for example.)
Carbohydrates
If you are doing multiple sessions in the same day with short breaks in between, it's essential to replenish carbohydrates immediately after each completed session. At this point, replenishment is super effective as the enzymes that control storage, as well as the transport protein that pulls carbohydrates into the muscles, are fully activated. Providing carbohydrates at a rate of at least 70g/hour immediately after the finish line has been shown to lead to 45% faster glycogen storage over the next 2 hours, which means that just 4 hours after the finish line, you are well recovered, and the body can begin to focus more on repair and rebuilding. Once again, it prioritizes slowing down breakdown (here, carbohydrates are crucial) before it starts to build up and strengthen the muscles (here, proteins are crucial).
Protein
To maximize recovery, 20-30g of high-quality and complete protein (about 0.25g/kg body weight) consumed immediately after finishing a session is a good foundation to start rebuilding. Our recommendation is that you consume something with complete protein, meaning all amino acids are present in sufficient amounts. If you delay protein intake by as little as 3 hours after finishing training, your capacity for rapid rebuilding decreases.
Practical applications
20-30g of complete protein and 70g of fast carbohydrates (glucose and fructose-based) mixed in 0.5-1 liter of water immediately after training/competition. This should be followed by a composite slightly larger meal containing both carbohydrates, protein, and fats within 3 hours. Avoid all overly heavy foods like red meat, high-fiber sources, and other foods that you know your stomach isn't completely happy with every time during this meal. This is important because there will be less than 4-5 hours until the next activity.
Recovery Time 8-24 Hours
(During a training camp or stage race, for example.)
If you have a whole day for recovery, the timing of carbohydrate and protein intake becomes less important. What is much more important here is that you get in a sufficient amount of energy spread throughout the day.
Carbohydrates
In studies where glycogen storage in cyclists who consume carbohydrate-rich meals similar to the Tour De France teams' nutrition schedule (12-12.5g carbohydrates/kg body weight, just over 1 kilogram of carbohydrates/day) was examined, it doesn't matter if they divided their intake into everything from 2 large meals to up to 16 small meals throughout the day. The glycogen storage 24 hours later was the same in both groups.
Keep track of your intake on a daily basis and adjust the amount of carbohydrates according to your body weight, nothing else. For moderate training – 5-7g/kg body weight, hard training 6-10g/kg body weight, and very tough or high-volume training, 10-12g/kg body weight. For glycogen storage itself, it doesn't matter how the carbohydrates are provided. But at the same time, make sure to stay well hydrated. For practical reasons, it can be difficult to consume larger amounts of carbohydrates at around 8g/kg body weight and above in a day. Especially if you also want to keep fiber intake low to keep your stomach calm. In these cases, easily digestible, high-glycemic carbohydrate sources such as sports drinks, gels, and bars can facilitate energy intake.
Protein
Amino acids (the building blocks of protein) make up a very small part of the energy during normal daily activities. But during more intense physical activity, the breakdown increases rapidly, thus also raising the protein needs in the diet, with a recommended intake landing at 1.2-1.7g/kg body weight. What is important to highlight here is that this is an intake that you as an athlete almost always reach if you simultaneously compensate for energy, that is, eat as much as your body needs to recover maximally.
But if we want to be optimal (which is always fun), you should aim for 20-30g of complete protein in each meal throughout the day (preferably a meal every 3-4 hours for a continuous flow of both carbohydrates and protein without feeling overly full).
Recovery Time Over 24 Hours
Here, you can take it easy. The importance of a carefully planned diet decreases as your recovery time increases. Of course, there is a point in recovering quickly by eating soon after your workout so that you ultimately achieve better training effects and more "bang for the bucks" even from the competitions. However, you don't need to count carbohydrates and protein in grams. Just make sure to have a proper meal within 3 hours after your workout. Possibly a smaller recovery snack (chocolate milk, milk, fruit, recovery drink) right after your workout to halt the breakdown and to kick off recovery immediately.
Special Tips – Creatine Monohydrate for 80% Faster Recovery
For faster glycogen storage, you can consume creatine monohydrate in a dose of 5x5 grams evenly distributed throughout the day along with 0.5-1 liter of extra water. In a newly published study, this small amount of creatine monohydrate has significantly sped up the replenishment of muscle glycogen. So much so that regular exercisers, meaning athletes without a super-efficient recovery system, have reportedly regained full, and even overflowing, glycogen stores in their muscles as early as 24 hours after their workout.
Learn More Tips from the Scientific Community
Carbohydrate-rich foods such as pasta, rice, bread enhance the quality of your sleep and reduce your "sleep latency," but only if consumed at least 1 hour before bedtime. A protein-rich meal also seems to improve sleep quality, while a fat-rich meal decreases it.
Research agrees on these points, and if we were to find an explanatory model for the effects of different energy substrates on your sleep quality, then an increased intake of carbohydrates and protein may result in lower levels of stress hormones, as the body has fuel for recovery. Otherwise, it breaks down proteins into amino acids which it reuses as building blocks where needed.