Here is a recipe to recover more quickly from exercise: eat a meal rich in complex carbohydrates and wash it down with five or six cups of coffee. Glycogen, the muscle primary fuel source during exercise is replenished more rapidly when athletes consume a carbohydrate rich meal and caffeine following exhaustive exercise, new research from the Journal of Applied Physiology shows. Athletes who ingested caffeine with carbohydrate had 66% more stored glycogen in their muscles four hours after intense exercise compared to when they consumed carbohydrate alone.
It has already been established that consuming carbohydrate and caffeine prior to and during exercise improves performance; this is the first study that reports consumption of post-exercise carbohydrate and caffeine improves muscle recovery.” If you have 66% more muscle glycogen available the next day there is no question a athlete will be able to perform better” states the study’s author Dr. Hawley.
It is not yet clear how caffeine aids in muscle recovery, higher glucose and insulin levels were likely to be a factor or caffeine may increase enzymes that increase muscle glucose uptake before and after exercise. Caffeine is present in many foods, some examples are coffee, cola, and chocolate.