Recovery Drinks: How & When You Should Use Them

Recovery drinks are specially formulated to provide all the nutrition you need to make a speedy recovery after heavy exercise. The three key nutrients to focus on for recovery are:

• Carbohydrates: To help replenish glycogen stores, reduce muscle soreness and maintain blood sugar levels.
• Protein: Promotes growth to help repair damaged muscles, enhances immune function.
• Sodium: Rehydrate and replenish electrolyte stores.

You can often get all these nutrients from a well-balanced meal after you run. However, sometimes you just don’t have time to prepare a meal and then sit down to eat it. This is where Recovery Drinks come in.

Containing high levels of carbs, protein, and sodium, Recovery Drinks provide all of the three key nutrients to kick start your recovery.

Our Nutrition Calculator can be a helpful tool to help workout how much nutrition you need, including recovery products.

How to use recovery drinks?

There are a few ways you can use a recovery drink mix. The most common way is to just mix the powder with water and consume as a drink/shake.

However, if you’re feeling a bit more creative and you have the time, you could try mixing your recovery drink powder into a smoothie mix, or even a pancake batter.

Obviously, it’s no longer a drink at this point, but it is delicious!

When to use recovery drinks?

The best time to drink your recovery drink or any other form of recovery nutrition is ASAP!

Starting your recovery routine as soon as possible after you finish your workout or race is crucial for a fast recovery and preventing illness due to exercise-induced immunodepression.

The best time to have a recovery drink is 20-30 minutes after you finish exercise. This is another reason recovery drinks are so popular, they’re quick to prepare meaning you can start your recovery quickly and easily. You can also add a recovery bar into your post activity routine especially when you are away from hone for a quick and easy snack, for big sessions why not have both.

However, a recovery drink isn’t necessary after every single run. If you’re just going for a short run or doing some light exercise, then you won’t need the extra carbs and protein that you get from the recovery drink.

Instead, reserve them for your longer runs and more intense exercise. 

Things to consider:

As with any other product, recovery drinks aren’t necessarily for everyone. Some people may not like the flavour or texture. Others may just prefer to eat real food to aid their recovery.

Not using recovery drinks is completely fine if you know how to get the correct nutrients from your food.

Similarly, if you do use a recovery drink in your routine it is important that you still eat some real food for the additional nutrients that you need in your everyday diet.

You What to eat after you run, about some of the foods you can eat post-exercise that are great for aiding recovery!

The perfect recovery routine needs: The correct nutrients, plenty of water to aid hydration and rest!

Recommendations. Try adding a recovery drink into your routine.

The ultimate chocolate hit: OTE Whey & Casein Protein

Best Selling Vegan: Tailwind Recovery Mix

Top Selling Whey: SiS Rego Rapid Recovery 

Alternative products that are designed to optimise the post-workout recovery process and maximize the benefits of training efforts.

Not keen on shakes: Victus 03 After

Recovery Drink Tablet:  BIX Recovery 

Hot Chocolate: Mountain Fuel Night Fuel