RECOVERY
Recovery Strategies
The use of recovery strategies after exercise helps athletes to be ready to perform again during their next bout of exercise. From a nutrition perspective, there are three important recovery factors that should be focused on: refueling energy (glycogen) stores, repairing muscles, and rehydrating the body. These nutrition strategies will complement and maximize the benefits from other recovery modalities such as foam rolling, ice baths, sleep, compression garments, and massage.
Consistency in recovery after exercise will be beneficial to an athlete’s overall health and performance. The information in this section will explain key nutrition considerations to optimize and speed up recovery after exercise, which is especially important during periods of intense training and competition. It is important to note that there are currently no female-specific guidelines for recovery from exercise. Athletes should be worked with on an individual basis to guide them on how they can optimally meet their recovery needs.
The three key recovery priorities to optimize recovery from a nutrition perspective are: (1) Refuel, (2) Repair and (3) Rehydrate. These can be remembered as the ‘3 R’s’.
Each are explained in detail throughout this guide.
REFUEL
REPAIR
Rehydrate
Refuel: Carbohydrate
During exercise, especially that of high intensity, the body uses glycogen (carbohydrate) stores for energy. Glycogen stores will decline during exercise and therefore they need to be replenished afterwards.
This can be achieved by eating carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages. This will ‘refill’ glycogen stores for when the next bout of exercise begins. It can take up to ~24 hours to fully replenish glycogen stores after exercise, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise. Higher-intensity and/or longer duration exercise will reduce glycogen stores to a greater extent.
In order to optimize glycogen restoration post-exercise, athletes should ideally consume a snack containing carbohydrate after finishing exercise, within ~30 minutes. Following this, they should aim to eat a meal which contains carbohydrate, within ~2 hours.
If the exercise completed is likely to have depleted glycogen stores, then a more intense strategy is recommended: 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body mass per hour, for 4-6 hours. This recommendation is however based on low sample size studies carried out in male athletes.
Some female athletes may find it challenging to consume this amount. If carbohydrate intake is sub-optimal, adding protein to post-exercise drinks or meals can help improve glycogen recovery.
Post-exercise high
carbohydrate snack ideas
Banana
Serving size: 1 medium
Carbohydrate: ~30g
White toast
with jelly
Serving size: 2 slices with jelly
Carbohydrate: ~35g
Gatorade Thirst Quencher
Serving size: 20 oz (1 bottle)
Carbohydrate: ~30g
Granola Bar
Serving size: 1 bar
Carbohydrate: 17g
Oatmeal
Serving size: 1 cup
Carbohydrate: ~55g
Rice cakes
with Jelly
Serving size: 4 rice
cakes with jelly
Carbohydrate: ~30g
Some situations may require an increase in daily carbohydrate intake following initial refueling:
- During multi-day
sporting events
- During a busy period of competition
- When undertaking high-intensity and/or long duration exercise, with multiple exercise sessions during a 24-hour period
Repair: Protein
Following exercise muscles need to repair and remodel, which helps the body to adapt to the demands of exercise. To maximise muscle repair and to rebuild (also known as muscle protein synthesis) athletes should aim to consume approximately 20-40 grams of protein at regular intervals (i.e., every couple of hours).
Following exercise, this can be done by:
- Having a high protein snack (alongside a high carbohydrate snack) soon afterwards
- Having a meal high in protein (and carbohydrate) ~2 hours afterwards
(see below for examples)
- Ensuring high quality protein sources are incorporated
into meals and snacks for
~24 hours afterwards
Examples of 20-40g of protein
3/4 cup of
Greek yogurt
3.5 oz of
chicken breast
3.5 oz of salmon
3-4 eggs
1 tin of fish
5 oz of tofu
20 oz of cow’s or soy milk
1/2 cup of soy beans
1 scoop of
protein powder
Example recovery meals
Pasta with sauce
Carbohydrate: Pasta
Protein: Meat in the sauce e.g., beef or chicken
Rice/noodle
based stir fry
Carbohydrate: Rice/noodles
Protein: Meat, tofu,
fish or beans
Baked potato
with filling
Carbohydrate: Potato
Protein: Filling e.g., tuna, beans, chicken
Sandwiches
with filling
Carbohydrate: Bread
Protein: Filling e.g.,
lean meat, egg, tuna, hummus
Athletes may wish to use protein powder during recovery from exercise. As a guide, athletes should use protein powders that contain whey, soy or casein protein, because they are considered a ‘complete’ source of protein.
See 
and 
for more information on protein powder.
Consuming protein prior to sleeping is beneficial for overnight recovery. Some pre-sleep high protein snack ideas include:
Hot cocoa (made with milk and/or chocolate protein powder)
Greek yogurt
Cottage cheese
on crackers
Rehydrate: Fluids
Rehydration is an important part of the recovery process in order to replace fluid lost during exercise.
The aim is to completely replace fluid and electrolyte losses prior to the start of the next bout of exercise. Athletes can obtain personalized post-exercise fluid requirements by using the Gx patch, or by using the guidelines set out below. In brief, athletes should begin to rehydrate immediately after exercise by sipping on fluids such as water, a sports drink or a protein shake. Following this, athletes should continue to sip on fluids to continue to rehydrate.
In most situations, normal eating and drinking practices will replace water and sodium that has been lost. However, if dehydration is severe (>5% of body mass) or if rapid rehydration is needed (<24 hours before next exercise bout), it is recommended for athletes to drink 1.5 L of fluid for each 1 kg of body mass lost.
For full recommendations and detailed information, 
.
Practical suggestions
Suggested items to meet all recovery requirements after exercise are protein shakes or smoothies (both ideally made with milk, see below).
These are both good options because they contain the fluid, protein and carbohydrate to kick start an athlete’s recovery all in one go. Dairy and soy milks (including flavoured milks) are also good options to include within post-exercise recovery beverage for the same reason. If athletes have the resources, they can prepare a smoothie before exercise, or buy a ready to drink beverage, to take with them to ingest straight after exercise.
Sports drinks contain fluid and electrolytes, as well as carbohydrates, which help athletes to begin rehydrating and refueling after exercise.
In addition, sports drinks are designed to pass quickly from the stomach into the body, making them a good option post-exercise.
Beverages often provide a convenient option as athletes can sip on them at their own pace if they do not have appetite for food.
Recovery smoothies
Protein
Protein powder
Milk powder
Yogurt
Fruits: Banana, apple, mango, pineapple, orange, strawberry, cherries, blueberries
Honey
Frozen fruit
Dried fruits
Carbohydrate
Fluid base
Water
Fruit juices (adds carbohydrate)
Cow’s milk (adds protein)
Soy milk (adds protein)
Almond milk
Oat milk
Lack of hunger
after exercise
It is important to recognize that it is natural for athletes not to feel hungry after exercise. It is however a barrier to meeting nutrition recommendations to support recovery.
If this is an issue, there are strategies that can be used to ensure athletes still recover. After athletes have finished exercise, they can wait 20-30 minutes for the blood to be redistributed from exercising muscles to the gut before starting their recovery food or beverage. They can then begin to sip on fluids, rather than being in a hurry to begin eating solid foods.
In many circumstances there is plenty of time to refuel, repair and rehydrate in the days prior to the next intense bout of exercise, allowing athletes time to be ready to perform at their best again.
The guidelines outlined above are to “optimize” and “speed up” recovery. The need to recover quickly depends on when the athlete is next required to perform.
Competition
recovery
Competition Day
Sleep
Potential general
recovery strategies
Compression
garments
Nutrition recovery strategies
Within 30 min afterwards
A snack high in carbohydrate
and protein
Rehydrate post-competition with fluids
Milk based drinks, a protein shake or a sports drink are good options
Within ~2 hours afterwards
A meal high in carbohydrate
and protein
Competition Day +1
General recovery strategies
- Foam rolling and stretching
- Bath/jacuzzi/sauna/
contrast therapy
Nutrition recovery strategies
- Ensure meals contain sufficient and high quality carbohydrate and protein sources
- Continue to rehydrate with fluids
RECOVERY
References
Collins, J., Maughan, R. J., Gleeson, M., Bilsborough, J., Jeukendrup, A., Morton, J. P., Phillips, S. M., Armstrong, L., Burke, L. M., Close, G. L., Duffield, R., Larson-Meyer, E., Louis, J., Medina, D., Meyer, F., Rollo, I., Sundgot-Borgen, J., Wall, B. T., Boullosa, B., … McCall, A. (2021). UEFA expert group statement on nutrition in elite football. Current evidence to inform practical recommendations and guide future research. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55(8), 416.
Heaton, L. E., Davis, J. K., Rawson, E. S., Nuccio, R. P., Witard, O. C., Stein, K. W., Baar, K., Carter, J. M., & Baker, L. B. (2017). Selected In-Season Nutritional Strategies to Enhance Recovery for Team Sport Athletes: A Practical Overview. Sports Medicine, 47(11), 2201–2218.
Holtzman, B., & Ackerman, K. E. (2021). Recommendations and Nutritional Considerations for Female Athletes: Health and Performance. Sports Medicine, 51(Suppl 1), 43–57.
Phillips, S. M., & Van Loon, L. J. C. (2011). Dietary protein for athletes: From requirements to optimum adaptation. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29 Suppl 1, S29-38.
Snijders, T., Trommelen, J., Kouw, I. W. K., Holwerda, A. M., Verdijk, L. B., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2019). The Impact of Pre-sleep Protein Ingestion on the Skeletal Muscle Adaptive Response to Exercise in Humans: An Update. Frontiers in Nutrition, 6, 17.
Tipton, K. D. (2015). Nutritional Support for Exercise-Induced Injuries. Sports Medicine, 45 Suppl 1, S93-104.
Trommelen, J., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2016). Pre-Sleep Protein Ingestion to Improve the Skeletal Muscle Adaptive Response to Exercise Training. Nutrients, 8(12), 763.
