As muscles become sore after an intense workout routine, they need to be allowed a period of recovery to help get back their strength. This is known as muscle recovery. It can be approached by combining a number of aspects. They include adequate sleep, nutritious food and massages. You can also consume supplements created specifically for muscle recovery i.e. muscle recovery supplements. As there are a number of supplements in the market, it is essential that you know which to incorporate into your muscle recovery program. Here are some of the key muscle recovery supplement categories that can be beneficial for you.
Branched chain amino acids
Use branched chain amino acid (BCAA) supplements for muscle recovery. These amino acids – valine, isoleucine and leucine – have to be maintained at critical levels in your body at all times. When their levels drop, the body breaks down muscle tissue to acquire these BCAAs.
In situations where you are not involved in intense exercise programs, you can supplement and maintain these levels by adopting a healthy diet. However, when you are on an exercise program that involves intense workouts, less calorie intake and cardiovascular exercises, your body’s BCAA levels drop significantly. They have to be supplemented with specific BCAA supplements.
Glutamine
Glutamine, a non-essential amino acid, is present in your muscle tissues. This amino acid accounts for close to half the total amino acid content in your body. Glutamine plays a crucial role in aiding muscle recovery. During a workout session, your body’s glutamine levels can get exhausted. This will bring down the rate of muscle recovery. And, it in turn affects your strength levels in a workout. Glutamine plays a vital role in muscle and protein syntheses, so using muscle recovery supplements with glutamine in them can speed up muscle recovery.
Creatine
Creatine, composed of 3 amino acids – arginine, methionine and glycine – plays a vital role in aiding muscle recovery. It supplies energy to muscles during a workout session.
This energy is supplied when your muscles are engaged in intensive training and exercises. During this time, your muscles have energy to only last through 15 seconds. When this is depleted, creatine – produced in your liver – supplies muscles with supplementary energy. So, it is important to provide creatine supplements to muscles when you are on an intensive workout program.
Anti-oxidants
Research suggests that oxygen radicals can cause cellular damage when muscles are ruptured during a workout routine. To limit their negative effect, the body requires a supply of anti-oxidants. Two vitamins that are capable of achieving this are Vitamins C and E.
Anti-oxidants play two other vital roles: inflammation and swelling reduction. They also aid in eliminating muscle wastes and enhance their functioning. An anti-oxidant in muscle recovery supplements capable of doing this is alpha-lipoic acid.
Beta-hydroxy beta-methyl butyrate
Beta-hydroxy beta-methyl butyrate (HMB) is produced from proteins that contain leucine. Fitness experts believe that HMB is capable of reducing break-down of muscles even after an intensive exercise routine. HMB can be used as a muscle recovery supplement especially if you are engaged in strength and speed training. This will help your muscles gain strength and size relatively faster.
L-carnitine
The best source of L-carnitine is meat – especially the kidneys and liver. It transports fatty acids over cell membranes and facilitates their metabolism. Fitness experts believe that consuming L-carnitine after a workout routine will help reduce muscle tissue damage caused by it.