Findings from other studies have reported mixed findings learn more with respect to the influence of CHO+Pro on these variables. Some have reported attenuated muscle soreness ratings or Mb levels

following heavy endurance [6–8, 10, 11] or resistance exercise [4, 38], while others have reported no differences between treatments [12]. Though it cannot be concluded that recovery was different between treatments based on the CK data alone, other information from this study could suggest a potential tendency towards augmented recovery with CM. For example, increases in MVC over the four days of ITD were slightly greater with CM ingestion (53 ± 75 N) than with CHO (16 ± 93 N). This observation is consistent with findings TGF-beta inhibitor from Valentine et al. [10], who reported that CHO+Pro ingestion improved muscle function versus CHO and placebo LY3023414 purchase beverages following heavy endurance exercise. The difference in MVC levels between treatments in the present study was not statistically significant (p = 0.295), but may warrant investigation in future studies in light of the relatively small effect of our ITD protocol on symptoms of overreaching, as discussed below. From a functional perspective, the

most important measure of ‘recovery’ for athletes is performance in subsequent exercise. Some recent investigations have reported that CHO+Pro co-ingestion during/following heavy endurance exercise may improve subsequent exercise performance versus CHO [9, 14–18]. However, a similar number of studies have reported no differences in subsequent performance between CHO and CHO+Pro recovery beverages [6–8, 11, 19–21]. Subsequent very exercise performance was not assessed in the present study, as it was not possible to perform repeated sport-specific exercise testing within each training period without interfering significantly with the prescribed training programs from the coaching staff. However, sport-specific exercise tests (T-drill, vertical jump) were conducted within the ITD periods, and compared between treatments. Performance test results were virtually identical

between treatment periods, suggesting that post-exercise CM consumption did not have a preferential effect on short-duration, high-intensity whole-body exercise performance versus CHO. Our findings suggest that isocaloric CHO and CM beverages provide similar effects on whole body exercise recovery during short periods of heavy soccer training. Few studies have examined the specific effects of CM on recovery from heavy endurance-based exercise. Karp et al. [22] compared three recovery beverages consumed following a glycogen-depleting session of cycling intervals. In a time-to-exhaustion test performed four hours later, cyclists rode significantly longer with CM compared to a commercial CHO+Pro beverage, but had similar performances as compared to a commercial CHO beverage.