If endurance athletes eat a specific amount of carbs right after a workout—especially a mix of glucose and fructose—they’ll probably refill their muscle energy faster, especially if they’re not eating a lot of carbs overall and need to recover quickly for their next session.

After a tough leg workout, drinking a sugary sports drink instead of water helps your muscles refill their energy stores faster, so you recover better after six hours.

If Japanese male endurance athletes don't eat enough carbs after tough exercise—like less than 7 grams per kilo of body weight—their muscles refill energy slower in the first half-day, especially between 4 to 12 hours after.

If Japanese male endurance athletes eat only 5 grams of carbs per kilo of body weight after tough exercise, their muscles don’t fully refill their energy stores in 24 hours. But if they eat 7 or 10 grams per kilo, their muscles do recover completely in that time.

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.

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