This wont exactly increase your recovery time, but it will help you get the most out of your sleep, and increase the speed of your workout results (I plucked this off of trickstutorials.com I highly recommend that everyone stops by the nutrition section, it's very helpful)
1) Take a ZMA supplement on an empty stomach (so intake this 1-2 hours after your last meal). ZMA has been shown to aid sleep and increase hormone levels during sleep.
2) After the ZMA has been totally digested (30-60 minutes later) eat something with complex and fibrous starchy carbohydrates such as oatmeal or a mix of fibrous green vegetables. The point is to consume a slow burning carbohydrate source here.
3) Consume 20-60 grams of casein protein. One of the the best sources of casein protein is cottage cheese. Caseinate based proteins are generally slow digesting and release aminos over a long period of time.
4) Intake 1 tablespoon of flax oil, 500-1000 mg of vitamin C, and 5-10 grams of glutamine.
5) Go to sleep for 8-10 hours.
This combination will digest slowly in your stomach giving you a steady supply of muscle building nutrients as the GH is released. The vitamin C and Glutamine will aid in tissue repair and help the body strengthen the immune system. This stack essentially doubles up the benefits as sleep already does both of these.
What about cost/safety concerns? ZMA is nothing more than a combination of the minerals zinc and magnesium. Athletes need more than the standard person, so this will benefit you if you are deficient in either of these two minerals. Most people don't realize if they are deficient or not; Moreover, ZMA is cheap and easy on your wallet. Flax oil is high in omega 3,6, and 9 acids which have a whole slew of benefits. You can buy flax oil in the gel capsules if you wish, this is a cheaper alternative to buying it in liquid form. Glutamine is one of the conditionally essential amino acids. If you can't afford glutamine or are apt to not using it at all don't worry, casein protein is rich in glutamine; You can skip using glutamine and get small amounts from your caseinate protein source.
Now you ask me have I tried this? Hell yah I have! As of writing this article I've been doing this for 3 months and it's been awesome! For myself I have been intaking half recommended dosage of ZMA (Zinc : 15 mg / Magnesium : 225 mg); As for the meal, I've been eating a bowl of oatmeal and 1/3 of a container of cottage cheese. Then I take 1 gram of vitamin C, 10 grams glutamine peptides, 3 grams of flax seed oil, and 1 gram of vitamin E. Ever since it's been easier to fall asleep cause I've got something on my stomach and I'll wake up sometimes feeling like I just walked out of the gym as my muscles feel fuller.
