After a long workout, men and women refill their muscle energy stores at the same rate when they both drink the same recovery drink — even though women burn more fat during the workout.

Even when eating almost no carbs after a race, athletes who’ve been on a high-fat, low-carb diet for months can still rebuild their muscle sugar stores just as well as those eating lots of carbs.

For male endurance athletes who are dehydrated after long workouts, drinking a little or a lot of fluid with carbs doesn’t make a difference in how fast their muscles refill energy stores in the first 4 hours after exercise.

A drink with sugar, a little protein, and a tiny bit of fat after a workout helps muscles recover energy, but not quite as well as a drink with just sugar.

After a long workout, drinking a sugary sports drink helps your muscles refill their energy stores much faster than not eating anything at all.

After a short, super-hard workout, your muscles refill their energy stores way faster than after a long, slow one—even if you eat the same amount of carbs.