Top 15 Natural Muscle Recovery Drinks For Runners

muscle recovery drinks for runners

Normal activities and sports exercises are always encouraged for all of the people due to its health benefits for the human body. When almost of participants consider their purpose of doing exercise is getting rid of exceeded fat and losing weight thereby keeping practicing hard while not supplying their bodies with enough energy but it is alternatively necessary to fulfill it with carbohydrates. An adequate consumption of carbohydrates helps refill the energy and glycogen essential for your body and hydrate your muscles after being stretched. It is particularly true when you have completed a long run or cycling, or done a long cardio endurance bout. A serving of protein or muscle recovery drinks will supply amino acids to heal the micro muscle fiber tears occurring during your exercise.

Muscle recovery drinks are very helpful in providing easily-digested protein and essential carbohydrates for your muscles immediately. Particularly, protein powder blended with water or pre-packaged drinks that don’t need to be freeze make them more beneficial for the body rather than other foods on the whole. And if you are usually careful after a tough activity, it had better sip some muscle recovery drinks than eat solid food indeed. The consumption of protein and carbohydrates in the form of liquid helps your body process the nutrients easily so that your cells can receive the healthy nutrition.

This time, VKool.com would like to show you top 15 natural muscle recovery drinks for runners. There are many kinds of beverage as well as various recipes of homemade smoothie to do to supply the human body with enough energy. For those who don’t know or wonder what kind of beverage is good for their condition, just spend a few minutes reading our article to have more experience!

Top 15 Natural Muscle Recovery Drinks For Runners  

1. Water

muscle recovery drinks - water

Water is not only indispensable for the human life in common but it is extremely important for people who have experienced any working activities or sports exercise. There will be some cases in which participants find it unable to take in any kinds of drink except for water, which means water may be the best one of the muscle recovery drinks indeed. During and after running for less than 1 hour, water is always highly recommended for you. You are advised to consume 5 and 12 ounces of water between 15 minutes doing exercise instead of waiting until you really feel thirsty as you have been already dehydrated.

If you are really a picky person, you can control the consumption of water so that it is adequate, you should weigh before and after a run. For example, a weight loss of between 2 and 3 pounds during a marathon is normal and a loss of 2 percent or more of your body weight may show your dehydration. In addition, you should drink 12 to 24 ounces of water per day for each pound lost. But you may notice that if you gain weight after a run, you are overhydrating indeed, so you should find out a suitable solution.

Learn more: Muscle imbalances revealed review

2. Sports Drinks

Sports drinks may be the better muscle recovery drinks for those who have experienced a run or hard exercise longer than an hour. It is time water failed to supply you enough minerals and carbohydrates while sports drinks are highly recommended because of its high contents. After an hour of constant activities, carbohydrate stores are depleted, so your body may face a problem of stress and fatigue sometimes. To keep your body always energetic, you should take in sports drinks in order to replenish these stores and restore electrolyte balance. 
It is advised to take in 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate for each hour of exercising and if you have a longer run, remember to consume adequate amount. Good muscle recovery drinks should contain 38 milligrams of potassium and 100 to 110 milligrams of sodium per 8 ounces. Especially, if you participate in a specific race, you should consume some sports drinks that provide you on race day.

Read more: Top 25 best foods for muscle recovery

3. Chocolate Milk

muscle recovery drinks - chocolate milk

The next one of the muscle recovery drinks is chocolate milk that is an optimal drink for those who have long runs due to its contents of protein with both of the simple and complex carbohydrates. In fact, the simple carbohydrate provides fuel replenishment quickly and the protein aids in building and repairing muscles in its form of whey and casein. In other words, this kind of milk provides fluid and various minerals for rehydration of your body after hard exercise.

While carbohydrate-rich drinks are always highly suggested for runners as the endurance training may deplete muscle glycogen, low-fat chocolate milk is the rich source of carbohydrates. The research before showed that the athletes who consumed low-fat chocolate milk or protein-based drinks after workouts could cycle nearly 2 times as long as the others who consume other beverages. They concluded that protein content of milk boosts glycogen synthesis while chocolate milk effectively aids the muscle recovery. In other words, the consumption of chocolate milk helps improve the endurance via post-exercise. Not only does it speed up the muscle recovery but it also lengthens the time to reach exhaustion of a subsequent exercise even better than sports drinks. Besides that, this kind of muscle recovery drinks contains high levels vitamin D and calcium that are all essential for the bone health

See more: Nutritional, health and beauty benefits of chocolate

4. Coconut Water

Coconut water is also popular for those who do exercises on a regular basis, so it is also considered as an ideal one of the muscle recovery drinks. The consumption of coconut water supplies natural electrolytes such as sodium and potassium that are reduced during exercise.

Coconut water is suggested to consume before and during a post-run of fewer than 60 minutes. In fact, this clear liquid inside coconut fruit contains various minerals and nutrients without any fats and owns a tangy and light almond flavor. It is estimated that 11 ounces of coconut water have 670 milligrams of potassium and 14 grams of sugar which is higher than that in sports drinks. And the reason why coconut water is one of the best muscle recovery drinks is that its potassium plays the main role in maintaining water balance and relaxing triggered when coming closely with sodium. Besides, this water can provide enough carbohydrates for a run for an hour indeed but not enough sodium for other longer runs.

5. Iced Green Tea

Iced green tea is another of the muscle recovery drinks and often consumed before and on an easy run that lasts for less than an hour. Green tea is famous for its rich source of catechins that are antioxidants essential to fight cancer and heart disease. According to research, these antioxidants are beneficial in relieving muscle damage that is caused by exercise and speeding its recovery. A recent study conducted among people with exercises showed that people who consumed equivalent 5 cups of green tea a day for 3 months along with carrying out exercise reduce more belly fat than the others who only exercised. Moreover, iced green tea is not only a tasty drink alternative to water for short runs but it also contains caffeine that boosts the speed of athletes and their and endurance. And if you choose green tea as one of your muscle recovery drinks, you should maintain a regular consumption with unsweetened in order to avoid the excess of calories.

It is advised to Steep tea bags for 3 minutes or more so that more catechins are released. Alternatively, if you buy bottled tea, you should choose some brands with the sugar content fewer than 15 grams per eight ounces.

Learn more: Fresh green tea leaves benefits: 13 advantages for skin & health

6. Cherry Juice

muscle recovery drinks - cherry juice

If iced green tea is consumed after an easy run, cherry juice, on the other hand, is taken after a hard run. It has been believed that cherry juice is a useful one of the muscle recovery drinks after doing exercises.

In fact, cherries contain a higher amount of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties than many other fruits, which makes them ideal to recover and hydrate the damaged muscles. A study conducted by British researchers showed that the runners who drank tart cherry juice before and 2 days after a marathon can reduce the risks of inflammation, muscle damage, and oxidative stress. Therefore, it is suggested to drink a cup of tart cherry juice after an exercise on heavy training. However, you should not guzzle it as water because one cup of cherry juice contains up to 30 grams of sugar and 130 calories, which is not healthy for your body indeed.

See more: Home remedies for high uric acid levels in blood

7. Vegetable Juice

Vegetable juice, one of the natural muscle recovery drinks, is often consumed for a post-run. While vegetable juice has been widely used to improve the digestion, supply the body with natural nutrients, and hydrate the skin, it is also very helpful in recovering the muscle damaged by the hard exercise. For example, any vegetable juices that are made with tomatoes contain lots of lycopene. It is an antioxidant needed to protect muscles from any oxidative stress after exercise.

Vegetable juices have 13 to 17 times the content of potassium and 3 to 5 times the content of sodium in sports drinks. As a result, vegetable juices are always appreciated and consumed with post-run snack that contains carbohydrates and protein.

Read more: 35 Healthiest fruits and vegetables in the world to eat & juice

8. Coconut Shake

Coconut shake is also another of the muscle recovery drinks that are often consumed during the post-run. It is because it contains a large amount of protein, carbohydrates, and electrolytes that are all beneficial for this recovery.

To make coconut shake, you have to prepare a container of 11 ounces of coconut water, 1 cup of cherry juice, 1 cup of frozen strawberries, 1 scoop of protein powder, and 1 banana.  You then put all of the ingredients to a blender and blend them together and consume the beverage immediately.

Read more: Protein shake ideas for weight loss: 35 best recipes

9. Banana Berry Blast

muscle recovery drinks - banana berry blast

Banana berry blast is another of the muscle recovery drinks for people after hard exercise. Not only does this smoothie have good flavor but it also contains a large amount of antioxidants and protein extracted from yogurt. This is the reason why it is suitable for those who lose energy and need protein to supply their muscle for recovery. However, it is not complicated to make this smoothie on your own that you just need some natural ingredients indeed:

Banana berry blast is made up of 1 banana, 1/3 cup of each fresh or frozen strawberries and fresh or frozen blueberries, 2/3 cup of ice, and a cup yogurt. After preparing all of these ingredients, place them in a blender and blend them until smooth then you can consume this smoothie immediately. Drink a glass of banana berry blast about 15 minutes after exercising to get the recovery of muscle.

Learn more: 13 good things to eat after a workout to fuel up the right way

10. Pineapple-Banana Smoothie

Pineapple-banana smoothie is a tasty beverage also an energetic source supplied for those who have experienced hard exercise. Just close your eyes and drink this tasty smoothie then you may lose your mind as you are relaxing your body on a tropical island. In addition, pineapple-banana smoothie is also one of the muscle recovery drinks that supply your body enough fluid and nutrients after losing them along with your exercise.

Pineapple-banana smoothie is made up of 1 cut banana, 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks, 1 cup of pineapple juice, and 4 ice cubes. On having prepared enough ingredients, just place them in a blender and blend them until smooth then you can consume it as a refreshing beverage.

See more: 39 Tips On How To Increase Muscle Strength Naturally At Home

11. Watermelon Smoothie

Watermelon smoothie is also a great one of muscle recovery drinks. It is often consumed after a hot run to refresh and refill your body with fluid, protein, and carbohydrates. It is advised to freeze watermelon chunks before using them to make a smoothie because the process may become faster whenever you want.

To make watermelon smoothie, you have to prepare 2 cups of chopped watermelon, 1 cup of ice, and ½ cup of yogurt then add all of them to a blender blending them until smooth. You can see that it is actually not difficult to make watermelon smoothie with simple ingredients as mentioned above.

12. Mandarin Orange Smoothie

muscle recovery drinks - mandarin orange smoothie

While all of the smoothies above are high in protein supplied to relieve the muscle, the mandarin orange smoothie is very rich in vitamin C with a delicious taste. After carrying our exercise with the loss of sweat, your body always needs a supply of water that is better when containing as much as vitamin C as possible. That means orange smoothie is beneficial for the recovery of muscle indeed.

This one of the muscle recovery drinks is made up of 3 mandarin peeled and unseeded oranges, ¼ cup of orange juice, ½ cup of yogurt, and 1 cup of ice cubes. You just have to place them all in a blender and mix them well then drink your smoothie immediately.

Learn more: What causes loss of muscle mass – 9 most common causes

13. Mango Smoothie

Mango fruit is known to be rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, thus, it is not only added to daily diet but it is also used to make a smoothie for athletes. In other words, mango smoothie is considered to be a great one of the muscle recovery drinks as well. Being a tasty and refreshing beverage, mango smoothie always receives the love from people, especially who often get in exercise and want to be energetic after working.

To make mango smoothie, you have to prepare a large diced and chilled mango, a banana, 1 cup of orange juice, ½ cup of yogurt, and 6 ice cubes. You then blend all of the banana, orange juice, and yogurt and add mango with ice cubes ice to continue blending until they are well mixed in.

Learn more: benefits of mango fruit on health and beauty

14. Banana And Chocolate Smoothie

As mentioned above, chocolate is very beneficial in recovering muscles because of its rich source of protein and carbohydrates. There is another way to use chocolate rather than chocolate milk as one of the muscle recovery drinks, which is known as a chocolate smoothie. This smoothie, in combination with banana, can give a better taste and richer health benefits indeed.
Banana and chocolate smoothie is made up of 1 frozen banana, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of non-fat yogurt, and ¼ cup of milk. You just have to blend all of the ingredients then consume this smoothie with an excellent taste of chocolate and banana mixture.

Read more: Banana smoothie recipes for breakfast.

15. Peanut Butter Smoothie

Having a high level of protein, peanut butter smoothie is considered to be a perfect drink for recovering muscle after a long run. To make peanut butter smoothie, you have to prepare 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 cup of chocolate ice cream or low-fat vanilla, and ¼ cup of skim milk then blend them together until smooth. And it is time for you to drink this tasty and healthy smoothie.

See more: Top health benefits of peanut butter for women

Related article: 13 Best Drinks To Lose Weight Fast

After reading the article on 15 natural muscle recovery drinks for runners our main Health page, hope that you can know more great beverages for the muscle recovery thereby consuming them after easy or hard exercise. Please let us know if you have any question by leaving them below and share with us other muscle recovery drinks if you know or experience.

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