The Best Workout Recovery Drinks To Say Goodbye to Cramps

Buying Guide: Workout Recovery Drink

Overwhelmed with the wide variety of workout recovery drinks up there? Don’t be! We curated this detailed buyer’s guide to help you zero in on the right one!

What Exactly Is a Workout Recovery Drink?

A workout recovery drink is formulated with minerals, electrolytes, and vitamins to replenish nutrients that you may have lost due to sweating.

If you’re an athlete or somebody who exercises regularly, you’re going to need that energy back before your next workout. It’s difficult to consume all the nutrients you need to replenish through your everyday diet. So what do you do? You enjoy a workout recovery drink!

If you have the real thing, you’ll notice instant results and your sore muscles will recover more quickly. Better yet, you’ll notice that you’re able to sleep better and perform better in the gym. This is why it’s extremely important to carefully choose your recovery drink!

Key Ingredients To Look For in a Workout Recovery Drink

Most workout recovery drinks on the market are often marketed and overlapped with pre-intra-post workout supplements, which is totally fine. What you need to be mindful of, however, are the ingredients inside.

You might also want to be mindful of your allergies (if you have any) while choosing a drink. As a general rule of thumb, look for a workout recovery drink with the following ingredients:

Vitamins

Vitamin B12, in particular, is important for nerve health and your body’s blood. It can prevent megaloblastic anemia, a condition that makes people feel tired and weak. If you get muscle cramps frequently, you might have a deficiency of vitamin B12.

Other important vitamins would be vitamin D for bone health and muscle contraction and vitamin C for the development and repair of body tissues.

Electrolytes

Potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium are the most important electrolytes to look for in your post-workout recovery drinks. Sodium tops the list and is most important for rehydration. That’s exactly why most athletes on a budget will just add a pinch of salt to water after their workouts.

Melatonin

Melatonin is believed to reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress. It also helps provide your muscles with a better environment for growth. Melatonin is also great for a good night’s rest, putting any sleep troubles to bed and turning you into a brighter, fresher, and stronger person in the morning.

Carbs

Our bodies have carbohydrate reserves, known as glycogen. They’re the primary source of fuel during exercise. Most athletes will need some of it right after workouts. That’s exactly why there are some carbs in post-workout drinks.

We also advise that you think about your muscles before buying a recovery drink that’s high in carbs. Why? You’re going to need them if you plan to gain weight and bulk up. You might want to cut back on carbs and take in more protein instead if you’re trying to lose fat and gain muscle.

Others

The aforementioned ingredients are just the primary ones. Most workout recovery drinks will have dozens of nutrients. Caffeine, omega-3s, b-complex, turmeric, L-carnitine, and more. Make sure to thoroughly read the manufacturer’s instructions and ingredients before purchasing to make sure your workout recovery drink has a formula that works for you.

Natural sweeteners

If you want to steer clear of sugar, just look for sugar-free variants. If you want your workout recovery drinks to be slightly sweet, you can look for ones with natural sweeteners like monk fruit or stevia.

Do You Need a Workout Recovery Drink?

If you constantly have sore muscles or if you feel lethargic, lazy, or experience muscle cramps, you need a workout recovery drink! These problems occur when you’re running low on the nutrients that aid muscle growth and replenish fluids back in your system.

There are, however, two types of people who may not benefit from a workout recovery drink:

1. Those who exercise occasionally and for short durations
2. Those who exercise at low intensities and don’t sweat a lot

Both these situations indicate that you’re neither losing many minerals nor straining your muscles excessively. So you don’t need a recovery drink to regain any lost energy, just remember to rehydrate yourself.

Energy Drinks vs. Workout Recovery Drinks

Energy drinks are loaded with sugars and several stimulants. Workout recovery drinks, on the other hand, are meant to restore electrolytes and glycogen levels in your body. Some recovery drinks also contain stimulants like caffeine but they’re usually in small amounts just to get you started for the day.

There are usually little-to-no artificial ingredients in post-workout drinks because they’re meant to be for athletes and individuals who highly value their health. The whole purpose of a recovery drink is to regain your energy without having to consume a lot of calories or solid food.

So in layman’s terms, workout recovery drinks help restore energy levels after exercise. An energy drink, on the other hand, is a high-sugar, high-caffeine drink that might help you focus but it’s not a healthy option in long term.

Key Benefits of a Workout Recovery Drink

1. Speeds up recovery and gets you ready for the next day
2. Enhances protein synthesis, helping you rebuild and grow your muscles quickly
3. Replenishes your glycogen levels
4. Helps you sleep better and wake up refreshed in the morning
5. Improves future performance