How do you get the most out of your workouts? I love talking about recovery because, generally, it’s a way to get better without doing more activity. There’s lots of nutrition products out there marketed towards recovery, so how do you choose? Below are some of my nutrition related favorites: ranked from more to less expensive.

Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential mineral which plays a role in muscle function and energy metabolism. It’s required in over metabolic reactions in the body and helps maintain heart rhythm, blood pressure, immune function, blood glucose levels, and promotes calcium absorption. Personally, I noticed a difference in sleep quality after supplementing consistently. Most Americans consume less than desirable amounts. To make matters worse, athletes lose small, yet notable amounts of magnesium in sweat, so they may require more than the average person.

Ask any practitioner and they’ll tell you it’s important to assess current stores of a nutrient before beginning any sort of supplementation routine. The problem is that it can be difficult to assess magnesium as most of it is stored in bones and tissue. The best method to evaluate magnesium stores is quite impractical and can be too expensive.

The RDA for Magnesium is 400-420mg for men and 310-320mg for women. Of course, it’s always best to try to increase magnesium intake using food first. Food sources include pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, almonds, spinach, beans, cashews, and peanuts. However, there are many available magnesium supplements that marketed to athletes which have received positive feedback. Many different type of magnesium supplements exist (Magnesium Citrate, Magnesium Glycinate, Magnesium Malate), and it seems mixed source magnesium supplements are most popular. Still, it’s probably best to avoid high dose supplements, especially without discussing with your healthcare team first. Most excess magnesium is excreted by the kidney, and while people usually don’t report negative side effects from high magnesium food, high intakes from supplements can cause issues. Which makes sense considering the primary ingredient in some laxatives is magnesium.

Protein Powder

I like protein powder for a number of reasons, but I think mainly because it’s shelf stable and easy to incorporate into meals or snacks. Toss into a smoothie post workout, mix into overnight oats, or add into pancake batter. There’s lots of possibilities. Protein powders are an easy way to up the total protein intake of your diet, which can help with growth or maintenance of muscle mass during periods of heavy training.

There are a few considerations when deciding between protein powders. Most ideally, the protein powder will have some sort of NSF or Informed Sport Certification on the label. These certifications mean that every batch of the product has been tested for dangerous or banned substances. Both Informed Sport and NSF certifications check product contents against the ingredient listed on the product. All supplements carry some risk, but supplements with these certifications are the safest ones you can choose to consume.

I’m partial to whey protein powders because of their higher bioavailability but plant-based options can work too. Protein dosage seems to be more important that the protein type. Look for a dosage that suits your needs, and bonus points if the protein powder contains high amounts of the amino acid, leucine, which may play a role in muscle protein synthesis. Importantly, if you’re using protein powder post workout, mix it with a source of carbs for optimal recovery.

Tart Cherry Juice

Sore Muscles? Tart cherry juice may be the product for you. Moderate to strenuous exercise increases the production of free radicals in muscle. These free radicals can result in oxidative stress which contributes to muscle fatigue. Muscle damage, oxidation stress, and inflammation are all normal responses to exercise. Antioxidants, especially anthocyanins which produce the dark red/purple colors of fruits, are found in high amounts in tart cherry juice. These antioxidants also have anti-inflammatory qualities to help to combat the free radical production and oxidative stress. and it’s well established that tart cherry juice may benefit muscle soreness. Considering tart cherry juice also contains tryptophan, an amino acid precursor to melatonin, it may promote better sleep quality.

What about high dose antioxidant supplements? Is it a good idea to regularly megadose antioxidant? Well, probably not. There’s theory that oxidative stress is a necessary part of the recovery process, and that high dose supplements of antioxidants (especially vitamin E and C) can diminish the response to training. So, unless your diet is quite poor, it’s probably not a good idea. So similarly, it may not be beneficial to be chugging cherry juice with every meal and snack, but it may be helpful around competitions, when intensities are high and muscle soreness peaks post-race.

Soup

Yes, soup. Let me explain. In nutrition, there’s five key tenets of recovery:

1. Replenish glycogen stores with carbohydrates
2. Repair muscle damage with protein
3. Rehydrate with fluids
4. Reinforce the immune system with antioxidants

The fifth we'll talk about in the next section, but soup covers all these necessary pieces of recovery. The sky is the limit. You could choose the classic chicken noodle, minestrone, or even go for something like pho. It’s got carbs, protein, fluids, and usually some sort of vegetable (or fruit). Obviously, I’m highlighting soup here because its cold out. What soup is for winter, smoothies are for summer. The key here is to choose nutrient-rich foods plus fluid for optimum recovery.

Rest

Probably the simplest and, can be the most difficult for some people. Rest is necessary for recovery. Even if your nutrition is perfect, it takes time to repair muscle damage and replenish glycogen stores. Without time to recover, athletes risk overtraining and increased risk of injury. It’s about finding balance. Your ability to train hard is limited by your ability to recover from that training. Athletes need to take the time to relax and get off their feet in order to perform at their best. Aim for at least eight hours of sleep per night and incorporate rest days into your training plan.

It’s safe to say, there’s lots of ideas about what’s best when it comes to recovery. Each one claiming to be the one thing that will make that performance changing difference. In reality a well-rounded approach is key, prioritizing rest, and establishing a solid nutrition foundation to get the most out of your training.