After you finish a hard workout in the gym, the next thing that you need to be focusing on is getting a speedy recovery. Remember, your progress is going to be directly linked to the recovery rate that you experience.

If it takes you days to recover, it’s that much longer that you need to spend away from the gym.  During this time, progress will slow. The more frequently you can train – assuming optimal recovery, the faster you will move ahead in your workouts.

This said, there are a number of products that are designed to help improve recovery rates when used regularly. These post workout products should be used as fast after training as possible.

Let’s look at the top options available at GNC right now.

Dymatize Iso-100 Whey Isolate

First up on the list is a high quality whey isolate protein powder. This is going to help to reach your muscle tissues as quickly as possible, providing them with the raw materials they need to rebuild themselves up stronger than they were before.

Immediately post-workout, your muscles are broken down, tired, and in need of repair. This protein powder will help fix the situation in a hurry. Designed to be digested as quickly as possible, it’s a great go-to choice for that post workout meal.

Available in great tasting milk chocolate or vanilla cream, you’ll find it mixes up instantly.  They also make a supplement called Xpand Xtreme Pump which is a creatine supplement that apparently works very well.

MusclePharm Glutamine

Glutamine is one particular amino acid that plays a key role in the immune response and is needed in order to ensure optimal recovery from your workout sessions. Each time you’re in the gym, your immune system will take a beating, so providing a flood of glutamine post-workout gives you the ammunition you need to kick-start repair.

MusclePharm’s glutamine is 100% pharmaceutical grade and will mix up easily so you can blend it right into your post workout protein shake. It has no taste, so you won’t even know it’s there – but you will feel the difference in makes in your recovery.

Cellucor Cre

Creatine is one of the most well documented supplements that’s proven to help with lean muscle building and advanced strength gains. Now, Cellucor takes creatine to a whole new level.

With their Cre product, they combine a standard dose of creatine (5 grams) along with betaine. Betaine has been shown to have remarkable impacts on both strength gains and lean body composition, so can help you take your results that much higher.

Taken together, you’ll notice that you can work harder in the gym without fatigue, lifting more weight for an increased number of sets.

This product can be taken before or after your workout, however because creatine will be absorbed faster and more effectively when taken with a simple carbohydrate source, post workout tends to augment the process. This will help it get right into the muscle cells where it’s needed.

Cre has also been designed to help minimize the typical bloating results that may occur when using creatine, so you can rest assured that won’t be bothering you and you’ll look fuller and more muscular, not soft and like you’re retaining water.

PharmaFreak Amino Freak

Branched chain amino acids are also going to play a key role in the recovery of your hard working muscles post-workout. They’re designed to be used by the muscle tissues themselves, bypassing the liver and assisting with energy, rebuilding, and muscle growth.

This PharmaFreak product contains clinically validated amino acid dosages in the proper ratio for optimal muscle growth and repair. It’s also been formulated to help boost total amino acid absorption by up to 62%, allowing you to get even better results from this product than others that have comparable levels of these branched chain amino acids.

When using this product regularly, you should also see a decreased level of muscle breakdown during your workout sessions by up to 45%, making the recovery process that much easier and faster.

The product also comes complete with an Anti-Cortisol complex, which will help to break down any cortisol in your system, produced from that intense workout you just completed. As cortisol will put you into a catabolic state, moving you further away from muscle building, this is an important factor not to overlook. Few BCAA products contain this complex, so it’s one that sets PharmaFreak apart.

This product is in tablet form, so is also a great option to help limit the number of artificial sweeteners and dyes you take in, which are almost always found in other BCAA products.  Amino Freak focuses on one thing only and that is helping you get stronger, larger, and leaner.

Evogen GlycoJect

Finally, the last post workout product you’ll want to pick up is Evogen’s GlyocJect. If you are looking to build lean muscle mass, the most important time to get carbohydrates into your body is immediately post workout. At this point, your muscles are depleted and will be crying for fuel to help boost the recovery process, assisting with new lean muscle mass building.

Fail to provide that necessary energy and you fail to grow – it’s that simple. While most post workout carb products will spike blood glucose very quickly and then cause you to crash shortly after, putting you at risk for fat gain, this product helps spike blood glucose quickly, but at the same time, helps you avoid that unwanted crash.

This helps you stay leaner, all while recovering just as quickly as you otherwise would with dextrose or a similar product.

Using this product will help extend the pump you get from your workout sessions as they fill back up with muscle glycogen, preparing you for the next time you hit the gym. Even better, when you do go in for your next workout, you’ll find your body is better prepared and ready to tackle any hard workout coming your way.

So there you have some of the best products available at GNC. Give these post-workout options a try and watch your results start to soar.

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Author: Rob Miller

Rob Miller founded SupplementCritique.com over 7 years ago, and has been the chief editor ever since. He has a diploma in Advanced Dietary Supplements Advisor, and worked at GNC for 3 years. He KNOWS supplements, both inside and out. Rob currently resides in Jupiter, FL, with his wife of 4 years.  Learn more about him in his Bio here. Follow him on Twitter , Facebook, LinkedIn, or find him on Google +. View all posts by Rob Miller