Campbell, J. A., Richardson, M. T., Wingo, J. E., Neggers, Y. H., Lawrence, J. C., Leeper, J. D., & Bishop, P. A. (2011). The effect of acute carbohydrate-protein supplementation following exhaustive resistance exercise in trained females. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(5). Supplement abstract 2219.

This study examined the recovery capabilities and soreness responses of resistance-trained females (N = 9; 19-35 years) following three sets to failure for eight exercises without supplementation, with post-exercise consumption of a carbohydrate-protein mixture, or a carbohydrate-only beverage. Recovery was measured as the group mean number of repetitions performed using the 10 repetition-maximum for each exercise at baseline compared to the total following the three treatments. Soreness was also measured using a 100 mm visual analog scale. Twenty-four hours of passive recovery was observed between each baseline trial and the follow-up session with a seven-day washout period between each set of trials.

After 24 hours, repetitions for the carbohydrate-protein conditions were similar to both carbohydrate-only and control conditions. For all conditions, soreness after exercise was significantly higher than baseline. Mean soreness was similar for all conditions. Large inter-subject variability existed across all treatments for all variables

Implication. Supplementation with carbohydrate-only or carbohydrate-protein does not enhance 24-hour recovery compared to a no-supplementation condition. Women were able to perform similarly to baseline in each scenario despite experiencing a significant level of soreness.

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