Maximise Recovery? How? What supplements?

tomhurst

Hey guys,
I've recently started at the gym, as I have one at work so have started going on my lunches.
I do about a 40 min run for now, but wanted to know how to maximise Recovery. I want to ideally go for 5 consecutive days (weekdays) and then have the weekend off. I feel a 40 min run 5 days in a row isn't too extreme?
I know I haven't done it long, but last week I only managed 3 consecutive days and then was hurting too much.
At the moment I'm taking 1 bcaa tablet pre workout and 2 immediately after.
Then after showering I'm having 1 scoop of myprotein whey powder with a pint of skimmed milk.
Could I improve recovery or reduce pain by doing or taking anything else?
Thanks very much

TavistockToad

Build up to it, start with 3 days with a rest in between.

Bwilty7

1:1 ratio of carbs to protein within 45 minutes of the completion of your workout. I use BCAAs once a day everyday as well.

sijomial

Rather than try to supplement your way out of recovery why not manage your exercise better to minimise recovery issues? Building duration and frequency should be done progressively to avoid the fatigue/recovery issue in the first place.
Alternate days of walking and running perhaps?
If losing weight size of deficit / rate of loss also has a big impact.

For cardio recovery (shouldn't be necessary for short duration) 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is a classic combination.

BCAAs are a waste of money, if you need supplementing to hit your protein goal then choose whey protein.

Azdak

Hitting yourself over the head with a hammer and then asking for a better aspirin is not very effective. It better to stop hitting yourself on the head.

DX2JX2

Unless you're a pro or very competitive athlete, post-workout supplements aren't terribly important.

The key is to gradually build yourself up. Doing too much too soon is a guaranteed injury and supplements will not help with that. This holds true for all high stress/impact physical activity, but is especially true for running where fatigue and injury risk is based on your cumulative training load.

For your info, 5X40 minute daily consecutive runs is a pretty heavy workload. You really need to start with 2 runs per week and then gradually increase. Most recreational programs will have you run 3 or 4 days per week max, with one or two workouts per week dedicated to cross-training, and two pure rest days.

Ideally your rest days will be spread (for example, 3 days on, rest, 2 days on, rest) so as to avoid an excessive risk of injury late in your weekly program.

cwolfman13

tomhurst wrote: »

Hey guys,
I've recently started at the gym, as I have one at work so have started going on my lunches.
I do about a 40 min run for now, but wanted to know how to maximise Recovery. I want to ideally go for 5 consecutive days (weekdays) and then have the weekend off. I feel a 40 min run 5 days in a row isn't too extreme?
I know I haven't done it long, but last week I only managed 3 consecutive days and then was hurting too much.
At the moment I'm taking 1 bcaa tablet pre workout and 2 immediately after.
Then after showering I'm having 1 scoop of myprotein whey powder with a pint of skimmed milk.
Could I improve recovery or reduce pain by doing or taking anything else?
Thanks very much

Going from no running to running 5x per week for 40 minutes is too much. You don't need supplements, you need to build your fitness up. Even seasoned runners like my wife do not run 5 consecutive days in a row and have rest and recovery days built into the week. A recovery day for my wife is usually an easy road ride on her bike to move, but low impact to help with recovery.

tomhurst

Thanks for the feedback guys. Can't really argue here as every reply has said the same thing. I'll just step down how much I'm doing! Being impatient and wanting quick results. But it's about the long game.
Thanks all!