You have been waiting all day to get to the gym and let off some steam. You get there and you are feeling great. You blitz through your workout. Hell, you may have even set a new PR for yourself. After you are done you may spend some time in the sauna and as you are leaving your gym, you feel like a million bucks because you know that you dominated your workout yet again. While you think it is over until the next day, the fact is you need to start thinking about what the best post-workout supplement you could take is because now is the time for your body to pack on mass and recover.
The next few hours after you get out of the gym can make or break your gains and recovery. Your muscles are all broken down, you are exhausted, and although you may be feeling great, whatever happens in the next hour or so can be the difference between growing your body or wasting your time. Right after a workout the muscles must have time to recover, which in turns means grow larger! This means you must feed those muscles to keep them from being too sore to work tomorrow or the day after.
While we have discussed some of the awesome benefits of taking a good pre-workout, in my opinion, there is absolutely no substitute for a simple and effect post-workout supplement to feed your nutrient deficient body with a perfect dose of protein and carbs. Post workout supplements come in many forms such as liquids, shakes, and even tablets. Typically they will have a blend of different carbs, proteins, vitamins and amino acids to fast track your muscles on the road to recovery after a blistering workout at the gym. If you want to build a stronger body, these nutrients are vital.
Post-Workout Supplement Benefits are Numerous which Include:
- Get protein to your tired and depleted muscles. Protein, without going too far in depth, helps repair all the micro tears you create while lifting. When the muscles begin to repair themselves is when they get larger.
- Fast Recovery. We all know that feeling of being tired and sore and completely out of energy after a hard day in the gym. Giving your body the carbs and vitamins it needs will help you recover at a faster rate and let you go on to conquer your day.
- Easy on the wallet. In a perfect world, after a hard day lifting, you would come home to a medium rare 16 oz steak ready on the dinner table. Not only is this unrealistic, but too many quality lean proteins are going to cut into your budget. Supplements are readily available and are pretty cheap when compared to alternatives.
- A proper dose of creatine. Creatine will help rebuild the muscles that you worked during your workout but will also help with the strength of that muscle. Instead of taking just a creatine supplement, you can get all you need by simply making use of a post workout shake.
- Essential amino acids such as Glutamine. If you have never heard of Glutamine, it is considered an essential amino acid. It serves a very important roll in recovery because it is responsible for protein synthesis which will help recover your muscles much faster.
| Rankings | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2:1:1 Recovery | Dark Matter | Aftershock | CellMass | Re-Con |
|
 | | | | |
|
| Nutrition | |||||
| Serving Size | 113 grams | 60 grams | 80 grams | 16 grams | 40 grams |
| Calories | 430 | 240 | 290 | 40 | 100 |
| Carbs | 69 grams | 48 grams | 35 Grams | 10 Grams | 27 grams |
| Protein | 35 grams | 12 grams | 34 grams | NA | NA |
| BCAA's |  | | |  | |
| Glutamine | | | | | |
| Creatine | | | | | |
| Preference | |||||
| Taste | 9/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Effective | 10/10 | 9.5/10 | 9.5/10 | 9/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Value | 9.5/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Our Rating | 9.5/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 |
Our Top 10 Pick for Best Post-Workout Supplements This Year
#10: Cellucore Cor Performance Beta-BCAA
If you have ever taken the time to look for a pre or post workout supplement over the last few years, chances are you have run across Cellucore in your search. The reason being is that Cellucor has been a big player putting out new products that constantly deliver what they promise. With this product being their best post-workout you will notice that they have decided to include beta-alanine. Beta-alanine is an amino acid that helps with recovery by encouraging repair as well as supporting the endurance of the muscle. You may notice that many times you will find this amino acid in many of the pre workouts as well because it is known to offset fatigue allowing you to get in extra reps. In a post workout this will help delay any soreness you may have.
A note here: If you hate the tingling feeling you get when you take a pre (this is caused by the beta-alanine) then stay away from this product. If however you love it, like I do, then give it a try. I found that it worked well.
Post workout supplements are typically taken and reviewed by men on the internet but I know many women who have given Beta BCAA a try and have been very pleased.
#9: Nutribolic Anabolic State
One of the biggest contenders on the supplement market comes straight out of Canada known as Nutribolics. I know a lot of people taking this product and when I got some to try out and read over the label, it is no wonder why. There is a whipping 10 grams of BCAA’s with each serving making this one of the best post workouts currently available. When I got mine I recognized something on the label that I was unsure of which was HICA. This is alpha hydroxyisoscaproic acid. I quickly did a search and found that this is part of what makes this product get rid of and delay any muscle soreness. After I took it, the next day I didn’t really have any DOMS at all!
The taste of this product was great and both I and the girlfriend enjoyed it. On top of that, there are no included fillers which means that each thing that goes into the package is there to aid you in your recovery and build a better you. If you have a blender on hand, I would suggest using that to mix this with because when I mixed it with just a spoon or my shaker bottle, there was a little bit left at the bottom.
#8: AminoLast by Gaspari Nutrition
If you want to know what happens when an entire team spends a few years developing and researching a product based on current research to help your body recover at fast speeds, then you end up withwhat Rich Gaspari has created; Aminolast. This product packs a full dose of electrolytes to combat cramping, BCAA’s and peptide amino acids as well as a mix they called AMMOJECT. All of this combined helps get rid of fatigue from the muscles and aid in a speedy recovery. Aminolast is a great post workout to grow larger and feel great while doing it.
#7: After Max by Optimum Nutrition
Optimum Nutrition is known well in the fitness space and I regularly use many of their products because they deliver results. If you are looking for a post-workout then no one would second guess using After Max after busting your ass in the gym.
When you pick up a tub of After Max and take a look at it, you will notice that the serving sides are HUGE. I mean it! At 3 scoops a serving, this is one of the biggest for post workouts. With that said, not everyone will or should use the full 3 scoops. Depending on how much you use each time, you can become more cost effective. If you use the full serving size each time you make your shake, you will pay about $2 per serving and if you use less, you will easily pay less. Taste is spot on and with all ON products and it mixes perfectly with no chunks at all.
If you are to take a full serving each time, you can expect it to contain 40g protein and 40g carbs. It also packs in 5g creatine, 5g glutamine, and over 22 different vitamins.
If you are like me and would rather not take 10 different supplements to get a certain result, then buy some of this and try it out without any fuss.
#6: ReGen Endurance And Recovery Formula by RSP
We have not entered the top 5 yet, but this was a close one because RSP has put out ReGen which is one of the most balanced blends of energy and recovery we have come across here. The ReGen blend packs in amazing BCAA’s, agmatine, malate, Vitamin B6, and a load of other muscle healing supplements to get you recovered and ready to go after your body depletes all that is left from your muscles. Like most products in this space, it includes Glutamine which is a personal favorite to help recovery. When I was taking this product, even during the night following my workout, I felt that I was not sore and was a lot less fatigued which let me go out and enjoy myself instead of ending up on the coach at the end of the day. All this combined means another hard day in the gym tomorrow instead of being tired and worn out.
Some people like to use RPS ReGen as an intra workout supplement but I think it is best used for a post workout. To comment on the taste, I thought it was good without tasting artificial and it mixes easily without anything left over after shaking it up.
Enter the Top 5 Post Workout Supplements
#5: Re-Con by Muscle Pharm
Do you recognize Muscle Pharm? You should! As one of the most reputable brands in the workout scene, ReCon enters out list at number 5. This post workout is perfect for those that are trying to get bigger or just want to recover faster.
If you are wondering why we put ReCon into our top 5, all you need to do is look at the nutrition profile to find out why. There is no protein packed into this tub nor is there any fat. Crazy right? However, instead of packing in protein or fat, Muscle Pharm put in 27 grams of carbs in a 3 stage delivery system. These are glucose, inulin, and dextrose to get those glycogen levels back to where they should be after a hard day. It also puts in an excellent BCAA blend into ReCon that looks very similar to their own BCAA supplement blend. To top it out, they call it a recovery accelerator, but really it is a mix of arginine, glutamine and taurine that they put in.
This is currently one of my favorite out there but the reason that it is at number 5 in the list is because of the price of about $1.10 a serving. You get what you pay for though, so the choice is yours!
#4: CellMass 2.0 by BSN
Looking to get the most after you hit the gym? BSN has a new product on the post-workout market and it’s something special. Within a single serving you will get 3 different forms of creatine to help strengthen and build your muscles. If you are a female who likes to do a lot of cardio, I would stay away from this as it tends to dehydrate you a bit, but if you are male and looking for max results, this is a perfect product. Aside from the heavy amount of creatine, CellMass 2.0 comes with hydrolyzed whey prtein, a healthy amount of glutamine, and taurine. The 2:1 Protein to carb ratio in CellMass is perfect to rebuild your body into a stronger version of itself.
#3: AfterShock by Myoxgenix
You have heard all about the anabolic window that people talk about which is essentially the time after an exercise where nutrition can put your body from a catabolic state to an anabolic one. The science aside, if you want to get one of the most effective post-workouts into your body in that window, then Aftershock is a great choice for maximum recovery.
Aftershock uses a 1:1 ratio of protein and carbs giving 34g of whey isolate and protein and then 30g of carbs per serving. If you are someone who has sore joints after a gym session, this product has a complex to help support your joins as well as what they call an Antioxidant blend. All of these products have BCAAs and this one is no different but it packs in a whopping 7.25 grams of BCAAs and 8 grams of a creatine/glutamine mix which aids in the speed of recovery.
If you are reading some reviews on Aftershock you may have noticed that people think it’s a great product but complain about the taste. I thought this was strange as I think it actually tastes great. If I were to give a recommendation, I would suggest the fruit punch and you can never go wrong.
As with a few products on this list, it does have a downside. The downside to AfterShock is that it will cost you almost $2 per serving for a 2 pound tub. This is a bit on the high end but pricing aside, we found that it helps so well with recovery and mass gains that we simply had to put it at number 3 on our list.
#2: Dark Matter by MHP
Choosing Dark Matter as number 2 in the list was a hard decision but It really does deserve its place because overall, it is just better than most other supplements. A serving size will give you 12 grams of protein and will pack in 48 grams of carbs that will predominantly come from dextrose and waxmax. These carbs are essential to restore the glycogen levels in your muscles that you depleted from the epic gym day you just had. Building on the protein and carb foundation, Dark Matter contains a creatine blend to help growth and packs in an impressive amino acid blend to help your muscles rebuild themselves. Put this all together and you get one of my favorite supplements to take after a workout.
Not only is it one of the best performing, but Dark Matter is also great tasting. With the great taste though, there has to be a downside and that is that the mixability is a bit poor. I would suggest you have a blender on hand to take care of this problem. It is also priced at about $1.60 a serving but if you have the money and you want to spend it on a superb product that performs, this is the one to drop that money on.
#1: 2:1:1 Recovery by Optimum Nutrition
We finally made it to number 1! In our opinion, Optimum Nutrition’s 2:1:1 recovery is simply the best supplement to rebuild and refuel your tired muscles after a blistering workout. The ingredients in this product are just better than almost all other products on the market and that is exactly what helps you recover fast, get rid of or reduce the soreness in your muscles and that is what should happen after you finish your day at the gym.
True to its name, you get a 2:1 ration of carbohydrates to proteins. This helps get your glycogen levels back up to what they should be but it also has 5 grams of BCAAs for every serving you take which are the essential building blocks of building muscle! The massive protein blend of 30.8 grams of protein per 100g of product has 3 different types of protein. These are hydrolyzed whey, casein, and egg protein. Hydrolyzed whey gives you fast absorbing power to replenish your muscles fast. Egg protein absorbs a little slower to promote recovery and casein protein is slow digesting to promote growth and recovery over an extended period of time.
With a serving size of 2 scoops you will be paying around $1.30 per serving but like most post workouts, you may not need to use an entire serving. Get the product and experiment with how much is best for your body. While it may not be a cheap product, it is definitely the best!
If you want a post-workout recovery shake or drink to get rid of feeling tired and sore, then this is the one you want to take. You will refreshed and ready to work out even harder than the day before by taking 2:1:1 Recovery. You simply cannot go wrong with this product!
Let’s Summarize!
- If you want to build muscle and recover fast, you need to fill your body with the proper nutrients within about 1 hour of working out.
- Using a post workout combines different supplements to encourange recovery and cell growth within your muscles. You can take 1 product instead of taking many individual supplements and get results.
- Taking a post supplement after your workout today will help you go hard in the gym tomorrow.
If you like to use a post-workout that is not mentioned here, give us a shout out in the comments and let us know what you are using!
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