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The Effects of Nutrition and Exercise Recovery
The importance and effect of nutrition during exercise recovery is significant as it plays
an important role in helping the body recover from the stressors induced by exercise such as
muscle tears, soreness, and/or restoring normal resting homeostatic conditions. Recovery can
refer to a distinct time frame such as the time it takes for heart rate to return to normal levels or
the restoration of force capacity by the muscles in the event of muscle damaging exercise.
Nutrition plays an important role in exercise recovery since it can improve performance during
exercise and also improve an individual’s muscle/body recovery after exercising. This also
accounts for the rationale behind protein intake and replenishment of carbohydrates following
exercise, as they aid in muscle recovery and protein synthesis. It is also important to maintain
adequate levels of hydration to prevent excess dehydration, maintain electrolyte levels, and
intake of protein following exercise to repair muscles. Lastly, although much research has been
conducted on the effects of nutrition and exercise recovery, there remains to be studied the
impact and types of abnormalities in exercise recovery that can occur. In addition, the timing of
nutrition following exercise serves as another target to study in determining when nutrition
following exercise is most beneficial.
An example of the impact of nutrition on post exercise recovery is protein intake.
Multiple studies have confirmed that after intense endurance or resistance exercises, replenishing
protein stores through protein intake is recommended. This is due to increased protein turnover
rates from endurance and resistance exercise, which can lead to protein deficits and a negative
protein balance if protein intake is not replenished. The research conducted by Beck and
colleagues demonstrated that protein consumption following exercise is significant because it
enhances muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and net protein balance by increasing mitochondrial
protein levels with endurance exercise and also increased myofibrillar protein levels with
resistance exercise.1 Protein intake following exercise allows for quicker and more effective
muscle recovery and protein synthesis, which can heal muscle tears that occurred during training
and strengthen muscle tissue as well. In 2 well controlled studies by Beck and colleagues,
supplementing post exercise nutrition with protein intake showed improvement in aerobic
performance of participants, increased muscle hypertrophy, and improvements in strength
performance.1 Exercise induced protein synthesis is increased for the first 24-48 hours following
exercise and when supplemented with protein intake after exercise, there is an additive effect on
muscle growth and protein synthesis as well.
Numerous studies have confirmed that nutritional supplementation with branched chain
amino acids (BCAA) are also associated with increased post exercise recovery and enhance
