Post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 and sports drink on exercise performance and muscle recovery after exercise in normal and overweight males

Post-workout supplementation has been used in athletes and recreational exercisers; however, responses between normal and overweight individuals on exercise performance and muscle recovery are less known.

Normal and overweight young adult males (21 subjects/group) participated in resistance and fatiguing exercises before receiving post-workout supplements: placebo, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), or sports drink in a crossover design. Resistance exercises included upper body exercise (bench press, upright row, and standing shoulder press) and lower body exercise (dead lift, back squat, and front squat) at 75% of one-repetition maximum (1 RM). Fatiguing exercise was performed on a cycle ergometer with 3 ​min of all-out effort at 3.5% of body mass. Participants consumed post-workout supplements within 10 ​min of exercise completion and repeated-bout exercise was performed 1 ​h later, followed by cardiovascular responses, urinary biomarkers, and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) assessments.

There were effects of overweight on resistance exercise volume, critical power, fatigue index, and post-exercise diastolic blood pressure (DBP). However, no differences in urinary biomarkers of muscle damage (potassium and creatinine) or DOMS between normal and overweight individuals. After supplementation, CoQ10 and sports drink increased resistance exercise volume regardless of body mass and increased critical power in the normal group. Additionally, CoQ10 supplementation was associated with a reduction in urinary biomarkers and DOMS in both groups.

These findings are beneficial for sport scientists, nutritionists, and exercise physiologists in guiding post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 and sports drink to improve exercise performance and muscle recovery in normal and overweight individuals.