The combination of Protein and Carbohydrate for recovery in endurance sports
Whether you're a professional or amateur endurance athlete, good recovery is essential to maintain your training rhythm.
Intense and prolonged exercise can only be continued when there is an adequate amount of carbohydrates available to fuel the muscles and brain.
Exercise-induced fatigue is directly associated with the depletion of limited carbohydrate reserves in the muscle and liver.
Fortunately, after many scientific studies, strategies have been developed to ensure that not only are carbohydrate stores well replenished before exercise, but they are also restored as quickly as possible after exercise.
To do this, You can (and should) combine the intake of special supplements after training, also called recyclers.
Below we provide more details about post-workout supplements and explain the benefits of incorporating them into your routine.
How does a recovery supplement work?
After physical exercise, especially long-duration exercise, your body requires more nutrients to ensure muscle recovery and growth.
During physical exercise, the body requires a lot of energy to "burn". Much of this energy is what we know as glycogen.
By burning glycogen reserves, muscle proteins come into play and generate "fuel" for the body.
In other words, ideal levels of carbohydrate intake optimize muscle glycogen resynthesis.
So, in addition to replenishing glycogen levels and hydrating during exercise, you also need to replenish it afterward to aid muscle recovery. And that's where post-workout supplementation comes in!
The function of a recovery supplement is to accelerate the recovery of muscles that have suffered damage during training, replenishing the nutrients necessary for recovery more quickly, in order to avoid losing lean muscle mass.
The main benefits of recovery supplements are:
✅ Prevention of lean mass loss
✅ Acceleration of the body's recovery process
✅ Replenishment of consumed nutrients
✅ Refueling glycogen reserves
✅ Muscle growth and strengthening
Scientific evidence on the combination of carbohydrates and proteins as a recovery supplement
For long-duration exercises, such as triathlons, cycling, or marathons, the body eventually uses up all its reserves. So one of the The most important nutrients for recovery are carbohydrates.
The ACSM (American College of Sports Nutrition) recommends that the primary goals of recovery after training or competition are to provide sufficient fluid, electrolytes, energy, and carbohydrates to replace muscle glycogen stores and facilitate recovery.
You can find carbohydrates in foods like sweet potatoes, oats, or bananas. However, every body and training goal has its own specific needs, so consulting a diet or nutrition expert is highly recommended.
And what about protein?
Proteins also have a direct effect on the muscle recovery process, as they provide the amino acids for muscle maintenance and repair.
Current scientific evidence suggests that individuals who have limited opportunities for nutritional recovery between exercise bouts should prioritize carbohydrate intake (with fluid) during and/or after the exercise session to improve performance in subsequent tasks involving endurance and/or anaerobic activity.
So the ISSN (International Society of Sports Nutrition) recommendation for recovery is Add protein to carbohydrates in a carbohydrate to protein ratio of 3-4:1.
This results in increased glycogen resynthesis and, ultimately, improved performance.
To combine these nutrients and facilitate recovery after exercise, you can look for protein-rich foods such as meats, eggs, and fish.
However, you can also rely on complete post-workout nutritional supplements, preferably clean label products, natural and without chemical ingredients.
Xtratus Post-Workout with Vegan Protein, Carbohydrates, Electrolytes and Cocoa (Recovery)
Xtratus Post Training (Recovery) 4:1 with Cocoa.
It is designed to provide rapid replenishment of carbohydrates (glycogen) and proteins in a 4:1 ratio, resulting in better performance the next day.
In addition to carbohydrates and proteins, it contains essential amino acids for the first hour after training, which is the initial recovery phase, and electrolytes to replenish minerals lost through sweat.
Why 4:1?
Apart from the taste and easy digestion, Xtratus 4:1 contains complete proteins; we use rice and pea protein, which have an amino acid profile that complements and balances each other.
Both pea and rice proteins are famous for being complete protein sources, meaning they contain all 9 essential amino acids, and for being easily digestible and having a low potential for allergic reactions.
Pea protein has a low content of the amino acids cysteine and methionine, but a high content of lysine.
Then, it combines perfectly with rice protein, which is low in lysine but high in cysteine and methionine.
Together, They provide a complete protein with an optimal amino acid profile that is superior to any plant-based protein source.
It is 100% natural, vegan, lactose-free and free of any chemical additives such as sweeteners, flavorings and colorings.
It has an amazing chocolate flavor with zero aftertaste of vegetable protein.
How to use it?
We recommend that you follow your nutritionist's guidelines. However, supplementation is usually done shortly after physical activity, ideally within one hour of finishing your workout.
If you need more information, you can contact us through our Instagram @xtratus.spain or by email info@xtratus.es
Link to scientific research in the US National Library of Medicine: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29098657/
