Cyclists improve recovery with carbs-protein

TUESDAY, JULY 06, 2004

Quickening the recovery phase, the period between training sessions or performance bouts, is becoming increasingly the focus in elite sports.

Better recovery allows competitors to fit in more quality training and get an edge over their opponent - without having to resort to risky substances.

Traditionally, sports nutritionists have recommended that athletes, particularly in endurance sports, ingest carbohydrates immediately after exercise to rapidly replenish glycogen stores. But a groundswell of research continues to point to the inclusion of protein in the mix for optimum recovery.

A recent example is a study from James Madison University, Virginia, which looked at the effects of two kinds of drink in the post-exercise period: a carbohydrate-protein drink (balanced at 4:1), and a carbs only drink. Researchers studied eleven male cyclists, aged around 25, for the drinks' effect on time to fatigue, recovery and muscle damage.

The cyclists performed two exercise bouts about one day apart, with some drinking the carbs-protein combination, others drinking the carbs-only formula. During exercise the drink was consumed at 8mL/kg every 15 minutes, then after training, a single 10mL/kg dose was taken. Four to seven days later the exercise was repeated with each cyclist drinking the opposite drink.

Muscle soreness, rated 24 hours after the first exercise, had increased in the carbs-only group, but not among the carbs-protein drinkers. Creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage, had more than doubled in the carbs only group but attenuated by 45 percent in the other group. Time to fatigue was improved only slightly in the carbs-protein group.

Improvement in recovery using a carbohydrate-protein formula is the principle behind products such as Protein Revival.