Whether you enjoy running, lifting weights, cycling or simply getting out for a brisk walk, exercise places demands on your body. After a workout, your muscles need time to recover, your energy stores need replenishing and your body needs the right nutrients to support its normal functions.
Recovery is just as important as the exercise itself. Getting enough rest, eating well and staying hydrated can all help you get more from your routine. Certain vitamins and supplements may also have a role, depending on your activity levels and nutritional needs.
From protein and creatine to magnesium and glucosamine, here's what to know about supporting your body after exercise.
Why Is Recovery Important After Exercise?
Exercise challenges your muscles, joints and energy systems. During physical activity, your body uses stored energy, loses fluid through sweat and places additional demands on muscle tissue.
Recovery gives your body time to adapt to these demands. It helps replenish energy stores, repair and maintain muscle tissue, and prepare you for your next workout. ¹
Without enough recovery, you may find it harder to maintain your usual performance, particularly if you're exercising frequently or increasing the intensity of your sessions. The good news is that recovery doesn't need to be complicated. A balanced approach to nutrition, hydration, sleep and rest can make a real difference.
1. Get Enough Protein to Support Muscle Recovery
Protein is one of the most important nutrients to consider after exercise. It provides amino acids, which your body uses to build and repair muscle tissue.
During exercise, particularly resistance training, muscle proteins are broken down and rebuilt. Eating enough protein helps support this process and contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass. ¹
Good sources of protein include:
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Eggs: A convenient source of high-quality protein.
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Chicken and fish: Useful options for meals after exercise.
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Greek yoghurt: Provides protein and can be combined with fruit or oats.
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Beans and lentils: Plant-based sources of protein and fibre.
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Tofu and soya products: Versatile options for vegetarian and vegan diets.
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Nuts and seeds: Provide protein alongside healthy fats and other nutrients.
If you're regularly active, spreading protein intake across your meals can help you meet your daily requirements. A protein shake or powder can be convenient if you struggle to get enough through food, but it's not essential if your diet already provides sufficient protein. ¹
2. Replenish Your Energy with Carbohydrates
Protein often gets most of the attention when it comes to exercise recovery, but carbohydrates are important too. Your body stores carbohydrates as glycogen in your muscles and liver. These stores provide energy during physical activity, particularly during longer or more intense sessions. Eating carbohydrate-containing foods after exercise helps replenish the energy you've used. ²
Good sources include:
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Oats and wholegrains
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Potatoes and sweet potatoes
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Rice and pasta
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Fruit, particularly bananas and berries
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Wholemeal bread
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Beans and lentils
How much you need depends on the type, duration and intensity of your exercise. If you're training again within a short period, replenishing carbohydrate stores becomes particularly important. ²
3. Consider Creatine for Exercise Performance and Training
Creatine is one of the most researched sports supplements and is particularly popular among people who take part in strength training, sprinting and other high-intensity activities.
Your body naturally produces creatine, which is stored mainly in your muscles. It helps supply energy during short bursts of intense activity, such as lifting weights or sprinting.
Supplementing with creatine monohydrate can increase the amount of creatine stored in your muscles, research suggests this can help improve performance during repeated high-intensity exercise and support improvements in strength and lean body mass when combined with resistance training. ³
Creatine isn't simply a post-workout recovery supplement. Its main established benefit is supporting exercise capacity and training adaptations when taken consistently as part of a suitable exercise programme. ³
Creatine monohydrate is the most widely researched form. A daily intake of 3-5g is commonly used by adults, although individual needs and circumstances vary. ³
4. Magnesium and Normal Muscle Function
Magnesium is an essential mineral involved in hundreds of processes in the body, including energy metabolism, protein synthesis and normal muscle function. ⁴
It's particularly relevant when discussing exercise because your muscles rely on magnesium to function normally. The mineral also contributes to electrolyte balance and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. ⁴
You can find magnesium in a variety of foods, including:
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Spinach and other leafy green vegetables
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Nuts and seeds
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Wholegrains
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Beans and lentils
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Avocados
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Dark chocolate
If your diet doesn't provide enough magnesium, a supplement may help you meet your daily nutritional needs. However, taking extra magnesium isn't proven to speed up muscle recovery or prevent cramps in people who already get enough. ⁴
5. Glucosamine and Joint Support
Exercise doesn't just involve your muscles, your joints also play an important role in movement, flexibility and everyday activity.
Glucosamine is a naturally occurring compound found in cartilage, the connective tissue that helps cushion the ends of bones within joints. It's also available as a dietary supplement and is commonly included in products designed for joint support. Glucosamine is commonly used by people interested in supporting joint health, particularly as they get older or remain active over time.
6. Don't Overlook Other Important Vitamins and Minerals
A varied diet should provide most of the nutrients needed to support an active lifestyle. However, certain vitamins and minerals have specific authorised roles in normal body function that are relevant to exercise.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and normal muscle function. It's particularly important to pay attention to your intake during autumn and winter, when sunlight in the UK is insufficient for the body to make enough vitamin D. ⁶
Sources include oily fish, egg yolks and fortified foods. The NHS advises everyone to consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D during autumn and winter. ⁶
Vitamin C
Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage, bones and blood vessels. It also contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress and helps reduce tiredness and fatigue. ⁷
Good food sources include oranges, berries, peppers, broccoli and kiwi fruit.
Vitamin B6 and B12
Both vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. ⁷
Vitamin B6 also contributes to normal protein and glycogen metabolism, while vitamin B12 contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system. ⁷
You can find these vitamins in foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and fortified foods. Vitamin B12 is particularly worth considering if you follow a vegan diet, as naturally occurring sources are mainly animal-based.
Zinc
Zinc contributes to normal protein synthesis and the maintenance of normal bones. ⁷
It can be found in meat, shellfish, dairy products, wholegrains, nuts and seeds. These nutrients all have important roles in normal body function, but taking additional amounts won't automatically improve exercise recovery if your diet already provides enough.
7. Stay Hydrated After Exercise
You lose fluid through sweat during physical activity, particularly during longer workouts or when exercising in warm conditions.
Replacing these fluids helps your body maintain normal temperature regulation and other important functions. How much you need depends on how long you've exercised, how intensely you've worked out and how much you've sweated. ²
For most everyday workouts, water and normal meals are enough to replace fluid and electrolytes. If you've completed a particularly long or intense session, or sweated heavily, you may also need to replace electrolytes such as sodium. ²
8. Make Rest and Sleep Part of Your Routine
It's tempting to focus entirely on training, but rest is an essential part of making progress, your body needs time between workouts to adapt to the demands you've placed on it. Getting enough sleep also supports normal physical and mental function, helping you feel ready for your next session.
Most adults need around seven to nine hours of sleep each night, although individual requirements vary. ⁸ You can also include rest days or lighter sessions in your weekly routine. Gentle walking, stretching or other low-intensity activities may help you stay mobile without placing the same demands on your body as a hard workout.
FAQs
What should I take after exercise for recovery?
Start with a balanced meal or snack containing protein and carbohydrates, alongside enough fluid. Supplements such as creatine may support high-intensity exercise performance when taken consistently, while magnesium contributes to normal muscle function. Whether you need additional supplements depends on your diet and individual requirements.
Is magnesium good after exercise?
Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function, electrolyte balance and energy metabolism. However, there isn't strong evidence that taking extra magnesium speeds up recovery or prevents muscle cramps if you already get enough from your diet.
Does creatine help with muscle recovery?
Creatine is best established for improving high-intensity exercise capacity and supporting training adaptations. Some research has explored its potential role in recovery, but its main recognised benefit is improving performance during repeated high-intensity activity when used consistently. ³
Is glucosamine good for people who exercise?
Glucosamine is commonly used in joint-focused supplements rather than products designed for muscle recovery. However, evidence for its benefits is limited, and NICE does not recommend it as a treatment for osteoarthritis. ⁵ It shouldn't be relied upon to prevent exercise-related joint pain or injury.
Do I need supplements if I exercise regularly?
Not necessarily. A varied diet that provides enough energy, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals will meet many people's nutritional needs. Supplements can be useful when dietary intake is insufficient or when there is a specific nutritional requirement, but more isn't always better.
Looking after your body after exercise is about more than simply stretching and taking a supplement. Eating enough protein and carbohydrates, staying hydrated, getting sufficient sleep and allowing time for rest all play important roles in recovery.
Creatine may be useful if you regularly take part in strength or high-intensity training, while magnesium contributes to normal muscle function. Glucosamine is more closely associated with joint-focused supplements, although evidence for its benefits remains limited.
The best approach is to build a consistent routine around good nutrition, sensible training and recovery. Supplements can complement that routine, but they work best when they're chosen for a clear reason rather than treated as a replacement for the basics.
