
(Understanding cortisol is one of the secret sauces to weight control and optimizing your workout results read a good cortisol article here for more information.) Since it is a stress hormone it also promotes fat storage which is the opposite of what you want. Cortisol is a “stress” hormone, and one of its effects is to break down muscle tissue for energy if glycogen levels are low. First it replenishes the glycogen that you lost during the workout and helps squash the harmful effects of cortisol. In the 1-hour window after a hard workout, your body will get the maximum benefit from a combination of sugar and protein. Recovery drinks are designed to address all of these needs with a combination of simple carbohydrates (sugars) and protein. Finally large amounts of the hormone cortisol are released into the bloodstream which, if left unchecked, promote unwanted muscle breakdown and fat storage. Secondly, muscle fibers are damaged, so that when they repair themselves they grow larger and stronger than they were before. Once depleted it needs to be replenished in order to have energy for the next workout. First, energy stored in your muscles in the form of glycogen burns and gets consumed. When you have a hard workout several things happen to your muscles.

There are many options out there for a good post-workout drink, so let me compare 3 different ones that I’ve used: P90X Results & Recovery Formula, GNC’s Amplified Recovery Protein, and plain old non-fat chocolate milk. You’ve probably heard about the importance of drinking a “recovery drink” after your workout, but you may not be sure why or what a recovery drink is. I am switching to the new products, and you can read my post about the Performance Line HERE). Beachbody has designed a new post-workout drink (along with several other sports nutrition mixes) based on the latest sports science. UPDATE August 20, 2015: The latest science since Results & Recovery formula was introduced years ago suggests that the concept of drinking a post-workout drink with a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein which is high in sugar may not be as effective as the earlier studies suggest.
