Not since “Body For Life” has there been a diet and exercise program as popular as P90X. If you have watched the P90X videos you've probably heard about the recovery drink. After I had previously wrote a Shakeology review I became interested in the P90X results and recovery formula, which is one of the P90X supplements sold on the Beachbody website. Is it better than other health and fitness shakes? I write these words as someone who has no vested interest in Beachbody, P90X or any P90X supplements or products so that you have the facts you need to make a decision that is right for you.
Basically the P90X recovery drink is a meal replacement
shake in the sense that it is to be used after exercise as a more convenient alternative to eating food. Because it's a liquid, in theory, the nutrients might be absorbed quicker, fostering faster replenishment of muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate reserves) and superior muscle protein repair. This, so the logic goes, theory might help people recover faster after exercise.
P90X Recovery Drink Ingredients
2 scoops (60 grams/about 2 oz) has 220 calories
| Total fat | 2 g 3% DV |
| Saturated fat | 0.5 g 2.5 DV |
| Cholesterol | 30 mg 10% DV |
| Sodium | 150 mg 6% DV |
| Potassium | 147 mg 4% DV |
| Total carbohydrate | 39 g 13% DV |
| Dietary fiber | <1 g 3% DV |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Vitamin A | 60% |
| Vitamin C | 750% |
| Vitamin E | 500% |
| Thiamine | 30% |
| Riboflavin | 30% |
| Niacin | 30% |
| Vitamin B6 | 30% |
| Vitamin B 12 | 30% |
| Calcium | 5% |
| Phosphorous | 7% |
| Magnesium | 60% |
| L Arginine | 700 mg |
| L Glutamine | 500 mg |
| Creatine (creatine monohydrate) | 500 mg |
The calories, fat and saturated fat are similar to other fitness and recovery drinks.
Most of the vitamins and minerals in the P90X Recovery Drink are found in other fitness shakes so I want to focus on just a few of the more interesting ingredients.
Protein. The recovery shake only has 10 grams of protein. That's not much considering the recovery drink is being marketed to people who strength train. Even Ensure has more protein than the P90X drink.
To stimulate muscle protein synthesis – which is needed for muscle recovery – various studies find that anywhere from 20-60 grams of protein may be required after exercise. Using 10 grams might als0 work, but I suspect not as well – especially for those engaged in intense strength training.
Vitamin C. Why is there so much vitamin C in the P90X drink? The label says there is 750% of the RDA for vitamin C. I can only think of 3 reasons why so much vitamin C would be in a health drink:
1. vitamin C is an antioxidant
2. to help immunity which might be weakened by too much exercise
3. to decrease muscle soreness
While vitamin C is an antioxidant, such things work best when they are used in conjunction with other antioxidants. As for helping immunity, vitamin C might do this but there is no good proof of it in healthy people.
Can vitamin C reduce muscle soreness? This is a big claim that made by Beachbody when they market this product. There is some questionable research on this topic but most research finds vitamin C doesn't help DOMS. I see no good scientific proof that the P90X drink reduces muscle soreness (DOMS).
On what research does Beachbody base their claim that their recovery drink reduces muscle soreness?
The recovery drink also contains 500% of the RDA for vitamin E. Again I have to ask the question why? Vitamin E is an antioxidant but where is the proof that 500 % of the RDA does anything special? Also, what type of Vitamin E does it contain? It's probably alpha tocopherol since that's the most plentiful in the body but the other types help us also.
Notice that the P90X drink nutrition label does not tell us the actual amounts of vitamins and minerals. Rather we are only told the percentage of RDA of each nutrient. That's odd; Every nutrition label I've ever seen gave both the amount AND the percent of RDA.
Arginine
Why does the P90X recovery drink contain arginine? If you ask most fitness people they'll tell you arginine improves blood flow. This is supposed to help muscle recovery and repair and is the reason that arginine is the principle ingredient in those nitric oxide supplements you may have heard of.
While this logic kind of makes sense, here are some facts about arginine that nobody wants you to know:
- Arginine is a non-essential amino acid. Our bodies make this stuff.
- Nonessential amino acids do not help build muscle like essential amino acids do
Arginine plus the supplement HMB (which the P90X recovery drink doesn't have), might help reduce muscle loss in people who have HIV and AIDS.
But, as for healthy people who workout…the combo doesn't work.
Force factor has arginine also. Check out that review for more insights.
Also when we are speaking about increasing muscle mass in those with HIV and AIDS, 14 grams of arginine was used successfully in research. The P90X recovery drink only has a piddly 700 mg (less than 1 gram).
Here is the big reason why you dont need arginine. The research on arginine supplements stems mostly from its use in 2 groups of people:
1. Men who have erection problems
2. People who have heart disease
Nitric oxide is related to how Viagra works. See my review on erection supplements for more info.
If this is so – and it is – why is arginine in a recovery drink that's marketed to healthy people? Does that make sense? It doesn't to me.
Now let's shed light on glutamine. The P90X recovery drink contains 500 mg of glutamine. There is indeed research on glutamine – but not on who you think…
Glutamine is also a non essential amino acid – so you and I make it.
Glutamine is often said to help people recover from intense stress. Truth be told, glutamine does appear to do this. Glutamine has been shown to help recovery in:
- people who have HIV/AIDS
- people who have cancer
- people who have undergone surgery
Much of the glutamine research also use intravenous glutamine – not glutamine supplements. IV glutamine is not the same as an orally taken glutamine supplement.
But what about weight lifters and bodybuilders? They need glutamine right? Bodybuilding magazines want you to think so but I can't find any published peer reviewed evidence that glutamine supplements help recovery healthy people or bodybuilders or weight lifters. Research, so far, finds that glutamine supplements do NOT help weight lifters.
Glutamine supplements might improve immune systems in hard core aerobic athletes (think Lance Armstrong). But the amount is much more than is in the P90X recovery drink.
The amount of glutamine used in strength training research has been 3 grams a day -which is more than the 1/2 gram that's in the P90X recovery drink. Taking 3 grams doesn't work either – so why does Beachbody think 500 mg will work?
For more insights read my glutamine review.
So, if the glutamine research is mostly on sick people and to a lesser extent on elite, aerobic athletes, why is glutamine in a recovery drink marketed to healthy people who probably are not running the Iron Man Triathlon?
Creatine
When it comes to muscle building supplements creatine is king of the mountain – and that's why it's in the P90X recovery drink. The recovery drink only has 1/2 gram of creatine per serving. That's not as much as a bodybuilder might take (3 – 5 grams is the traditional “maintenance” dose). Still, it's possible that muscle creatine levels would be depleted after exercise so the addition of creatine does make some sense.
Remember that that creatine will cause you to gain weight. It's not muscle – its water. Water weight retention is the most consistent side effect of creatine supplements.
The recovery drink uses creatine monohydrate and that's good. Creatine monohydrate is the type that has been used in 99% of creatine studies over the last 30 years.
People often wonder if creatine causes injuries or if creatine is safe for kids. Read my reviews on these topics for more insights. Also check out my review on cycling creatine as well.
So do you need the P90X recovery formula? When I checked, the recovery drink cost about $50 a month. That's a lot to pay for what is basically a creatine supplement with a little carbs and protein tossed in.
What do you think?
David, thanks for your well thought out words. I’ve seen the research on chocolate milk and it does look good. Chocolate milk also appears to lengthen the time it takes to totally exhaust oneself during exercise – more so than products like Endurox.
I add the fruit to my smoothie because I want the natural antioxidants and fiber but you are right that there are definitely cheaper alternatives to the P90X drink.
Enjoy that chocolate milk David 🙂
Hey Joe, loved the review. Very in depth and thorough.
I would like to point out if I may, as mentioned by another commenter, that many studies have shown the ideal carb:protein ratio is 4:1, which is what the p90x recovery drink has.
Now I am not saying that is the only way we can get to that ratio, but simply drinking a bunch of milk/protein powder/fruits and berries after a workout is a less than ideal way. It has also been shown in many studies that good ol’ chocolate milk hits that ratio of 4 carbs to 1 protein. It is for this reason that I use chocolate milk as a recovery drink, and simply add my own creatine.
The sugars in the chocolate milk also cause a nice little insulin spike to slam that creatine into the muscles. A 3 month supply of creatine monohydrate can easily be found for less than 20 bucks, and a jug of chocolate syrup can be had for a whopping 2 dollars.
Most people already have milk in their fridge, so BOOM great alternative for a recovery drink that doesn’t need to break the bank, and still tastes great (who doesn’t like chocolate milk???) 🙂 I would definitely recommend that over a motley crue of protein powder, berries, and what have you for a recovery drink.
This way the muscles get the carbs/protein they need in the proper ratios, as well as they become nicely saturated with creatine. If you do your workouts in the morning as I do, the creatine saturation will help your muscles absorb even more of the carbs and proteins you take in throughout the rest of the day very nicely.
In any case, thanks again for the review, just finished my workout so I’m off to grab a glass of chocolate milk 🙂
How much chocolate milk do you drink post workout and how much creatine do you put into it? Thanks!
David, if your asking about the 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein then low fat chocolate milk already has that ratio. As for creatine and carbs don’t worry about this. As long as you add a few carbs to the creatine, insulin will be released and this will increase creatine absorption.
What do you think is a good baseline serving size of the chocolate milk? Im thinking 2 cups Chocolate Milk with 4 strawberries and 5g of creatine monohydrate. What do you think. Also just to clarify I didn’t write the original post on may 18 2011, my name just happens to also be David. 🙂
Hey david, if we say a cup is 8 oz, then I’d stick with 1 cup and 3 grams of creatine (some research notes only 3 grams are needed).
Hi Lisa
I dont blame you I thought the P90x drink was expensive also. Technically a tuna fish sandwich would work just as well. If you want a drink you could make one yourself. Toss in an orange, some blue berries strawberries, and a scoop of chocolate protein powder into a blender and drink that. you could even add a scoop of oatmeal to make it more nutritious.
If you dont want to do that there are other ready-made shakes in health food stores too.
Hope that helps Lisa
Is there anything you suggest for females doing P90X for a recovery drink and or protein bar? I’m not really looking to fork out $50+ extra a month on drinks times two cause my husband and I are both doing the program. And thanks for your great breakdown on the drink 😉
Andrew thanks for taking time to comment and I am glad that you are enjoying the P90x recovery drink. Let me see if I can put my thought processes into a better light.
Arginine and glutamine. As a pharmacy student you are aware that the research on these amino acids is mostly on sick people (or also in the case of glutamine, highly conditioning aerobic athletes).
Arginine and glutamine are “trendy” supplements. I feel the they were added to the P90x recovery drink because people expected to see them – not because they do anything.
I have not seen a study of arginine or glutamine (or their combination) in healthy adults performing strength training exercise showing that they improve fitness. This is why I discredit them.
Why hasn’t the supplement industry performed any human trials of arginine and glutamine? Most of the big name companies have the money to do this.
I agree that carbs do indeed help build muscle (thanks for saying that by the way) and that people who work out often eat enough protein. But if this was the reason for including maltodextrin and dextrose (good sources of carbs), and not a lot of protein in P90x then why not just include a drink that had only this the carbs and a little protein and not all those other ingredients.
Bodybuilders tend to eat very well (better than the ave person) as such are probably not missing any nutrients.
I would agree that a multi vitamin is probably a good idea but I’d chose a cheaper alternative. no study has ever shown that giving extra vitamin or minerals, makes people bigger stronger or faster.
I’m aware that high levels of vitamins are not as well absorbed as lower amounts but that does not mean they don’t do anything.
I point your attention to a study in the journal of nutrition where 1500 men (30-70) who received 250 mg of vitamin C had more lower urinary track symptoms (increased urges to urinate). Here is the study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21178086
Would the P90X recovery drink also increase acidify the urine and urgency to urinate? I don’t know because this drink has not been tested.
Personally I also worry about the potential pro-oxidant effects of high dose antioxidant supplements. This why I would caution you against your use of GNCs Mega Men Sport.
I agree that people can find healthier ways to spend their money. But I can make a much better recovery drink in my Vita Mix than the P90X drink, and do for less.
As a student in pharmacy school, I have learned a ton about a lot of what you discussed in your review. I think you wrote a pretty in depth review that helps people avoid having to do a lot of research on their own. A lot of what you have found is fairly accurate, but there are a couple things to be aware of. For the anti-oxidants, C and E, they provide you with 750% and 500% RDA because not all of that is absorbed through the gut (the main problem with anything consumed orally).
By providing you with an excess of the RDA, you are ensuring that you do get the necessary amounts of vitamin C and E. Along with that, it doesn’t really hurt you to take excess amounts of vitamins C and E because they are both water-soluble vitamins which are easily excreted by the body. However, very large amounts of vitamin C can cause stomach upset so you must watch out for that. Discrediting Arginine and Glutamine because they are non-essential amino acids is not necessarily true.
Just because the body produces these does not mean it produces enough of these amino acids. Think vitamin D, for example, which is produced by the body when exposed to the sun – UV light. While most of the time 10 minutes of exposure to the sun every day provides enough vitamin D, sometimes this is not sufficient so vitamin D must be supplemented. The problem with most supplements is that they are not regulated by the FDA, therefore you will not find many studies on these supplements with relation to efficacy so you must rely on the manufacturers “studies” and your own personal knowledge.
One thing that should be noted, however, is your point that the P90X drink “lacks” protein. Many studies show that a 4:1 ratio blend of carbohydrates:protein is optimal post-workout. While protein is important for rebuilding muscle, carbohydrates are even more essential because they provide the energy (glucose) necessary for your muscles to rebuild themselves. Most people already know that not all carbs are created equally and the P90X drink utilizes maltodextrin and dextrose for sources of carbohydrates, which are the BEST sugars for efficient breakdown and absorption. On top of this, most people who are trying to build muscle, especially those following the P90X diet, are already consuming lots of protein in their diets. I could go on about a lot of the various ingredients in the drink, but overall I think it is a very good drink.
Compared to other drinks, the P90X drink tastes very good and dissolves very easily. While the P90X drink mix is a little more expensive than some other supplements, I have found that using 2 scoops post-workout is only necessary for very strenuous workouts when I am completely exhausted afterwards. Using 1 or 1.5 scoops after workouts that aren’t as intense seems to work fine for me. Using a reduced number of scoops I can usually make one tub of P90X drink last almost 2 months. This is my second time doing P90X and I have noticed that when using this supplement that I have significantly decreased recovery periods.
For those willing to fork out the extra cash, I would recommend the P90X recovery drink over a lot of other products. We all spend a little extra cash to get that fancier TV or the fully loaded car, so why not spend a little extra when it comes to your health and fitness? I also saw one of your comments regarding additional supplements (multivitamins). I think it is important for everyone, not just body builders, to take an additional multivitamin to ensure you are getting all of those little micronutrients that you may not think about when eating normal food. These supplements also provide additional anti-oxidants which are key for preventing muscle soreness. With this, however, you do NOT need to go purchase the P90X vitamin supplements because you can get a fairly equivalent multivitamin for much cheaper (I use GNC’s Mega Men Sport).
“Many studies show that a 4:1 ratio blend of carbohydrates:protein is optimal post-workout.” You mean the studies put on by the supplement manufacturer? The 4:1 ratio is the biggest scam on consumers, it’s not the “optimal” ratio.
Hi Phil, its interesting that research does not show that more vitamins or minerals make people bigger, stronger, faster. People who exercise do tend to eat better an as such already have more nutrients in their diets. Eat well, have some carbs and protein ASAP after your workout and don’t worry about extra vitamin supplements with P90X.
I appreciate the article and it was very insightful. Do you have any recommendations for vitamins or other supplements while doing extreme workouts like P90X?
Sasa, you could do this. it would make up for the protein you are not getting with the P90x recovery drink. OR, you just take another protein drink after your workout. The P90X recovery drink is more expensive so this will save you money. Another option is to just eat some food that has protein and carbs after your workout-turkey sandwich for example. this will be an even cheaper way to get the nutrients you need after working out.
Hi, I’m wondering if you take the recovery drink WITH a protein bar, will that be a good way to get everything you need after a workout and help muscle building??
Thanks
Daniel, you can make your own. Just toss in some fruit in a blender with some protein powder.
if you want something more convenient, I like ABB protein shakes.
whats a good over the counter supplement other than p90x thank you
Thanks Alan I appreciate the feedback 🙂
Thanks man! Loved how you explain all this in detail. Although, P90X work out DOES work; we all must understand they are in for the business so this is just a very small way to make some extra cash from us, consumers… still, P90X R O C K S ! ! !
Thanks Tammy. Much appreciated!!
Hey Joe I just wanted to let you know that i love reading your reviews, especially on products that are most popular. It also helps alleviate any unnecessary money spent on “trying” products…all i gotta do is read your review and I’ve got my answers! Thank you so much for your dedication. 🙂
Hi Joel,
After your workout, toss into a blender the following
Milk (or water or OJ if you like)
1-2 scoops of your fav protein powder
frozen blueberries
frozen strawberries
That’s basically it! You can tweak this to your liking by adding other stuff but the idea is the same – to get you the protein and carbs you need to refuel your body and muscles.
Carbs help your body absorb and use the amino acids in the protein, so that’s why they are needed.
Depending on the type of protein powder you use, 1-2 scoops will give you about 20-40 grams of protein -much more than is in the P90x recovery drink -and for a lot less.
The fruit gives you lots of natural antioxidants and a variety of antioxidants – not just vitamin C and E.
Drink this within 30 minutes after exercise to get the most punch out of it!
If I wanted to make a recovery drink @ home, what’s a good receipt?
Great review as always. I agree with you-from learning from you and other trainings-how non-essential Arginine, Glutamine; Creatine are in contrast to how much they’re hyped by EVERYONE in the market. But the convenience and taste, especially the taste, is a driving factor for a great many people…including me.
Now, I haven’t quite experienced lessened musclesoreness. But I have been using the product along with doing P90X and definitely gained and maintained some very impressive muscle mass. Would have achieved that without the Recovery Formula? Probably :~) But using it still “works” for me.
Thank you for taking the time to do the research and sharing it with us. You should create your own recovery drink or supplement. These companies are either not capable of coming up with something that will work OR they think we’re uneducated and won’t find out their products are worthless. Thanks to you, we know the truth.