How Long Does It Take To Replenish Glycogen After Hard Exercise?
TL;DR: With enough carbohydrate and smart timing, muscle glycogen is largely restored within about 24 hours. Liver glycogen can rebound faster, often within 6 to 12 hours when you eat aggressively post workout. The fastest strategy in the first few hours is about 1.0 to 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per hour for 4 to 6 hours. Delays in eating slow everything down. Adding protein helps most when carbohydrate intake is below optimal.
Glycogen basics
Muscle glycogen powers hard efforts and can drop 40 to 80 percent during long or intense training. Liver glycogen stabilizes blood glucose and is often drained by fasted morning workouts and long sessions. If you feel heavy legs, fading pace, brain fog, or a black hole in your stomach, you have likely under fueled. The fix is simple: get carbohydrates in early and in enough total grams.
The recovery timeline
0 to 4 hours: the rapid phase
Your muscles are primed to soak up glucose. Hitting about 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg/hour of carbohydrate now maximizes glycogen resynthesis. Waiting even 2 hours cuts the rate noticeably. Liquids or solids both work. Higher glycemic choices are fine here.
4 to 24 hours: the slow phase
Total daily carbohydrate becomes the driver. If you need to be ready again tomorrow, aim for about 7 to 10 g/kg/day. If training load is moderate, about 5 to 7 g/kg/day is often enough. In this window, muscle glycogen commonly returns to baseline by about 24 hours when carbohydrate is adequate.
Liver vs muscle: different clocks
Liver glycogen responds quickly to carbohydrate and can return toward baseline within 6 to 12 hours when you feed aggressively. Muscle refills more slowly and typically needs the full day when targets are met.
How much carbohydrate restores glycogen fastest?
| Window | Target intake | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 4 hours | 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg/hour | Insulin sensitivity and glycogen synthase activity are elevated. Delays reduce the storage rate. |
| 4 to 6 hours | Keep feeding each hour if the first window was missed or intake was low. | You can partly make up for a slow start with steady intake. |
| Remainder of day | 5 to 10 g/kg/day depending on training load | Total grams over 24 hours finish the job and set up tomorrow. |
What speeds up or slows down refueling
- Faster: Immediate carbohydrate after exercise. Frequent small doses if your gut is touchy. Hitting the hourly and daily gram targets.
- Protein plus carbohydrate: Helps when carbohydrate is below optimal. When carbs are already at 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg/hour, protein does not increase glycogen storage but still supports muscle repair.
- Slower: Waiting 2 hours or more to eat. Undereating carbs the rest of the day. Back to back hard sessions without enough carbs between them.
Practical refuel playbook
Right after you finish
- First hit: about 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg carbs within 30 to 60 minutes.
- Add about 0.3 g/kg protein if you will not reach the full hourly carb target or you want to support repair.
Hours 1 to 6
- Keep feeding about 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg/hour. Examples: recovery drink, rice or potatoes, fruit, cereal, bagels, juice.
- Hydrate to tolerance. If you sweat heavily, include sodium and potassium.
Remainder of the day
- Accrue about 7 to 10 g/kg/day if you train again soon. About 5 to 7 g/kg/day is fine for moderate loads.
- Include 20 to 40 grams of protein at meals. Sleep well.
Tools that make refueling easier
- Recharge Carb + Protein Recovery for a fast first hit when chewing feels like a chore.
- GlycoFuel to stack clean carbs in the first 4 to 6 hours.
- Quench Hydration to replace fluid and electrolytes while you refill glycogen.
Special scenarios
- Two a days and stage races: Treat the first 0 to 6 hours like a mission. Keep carbohydrate flowing at about 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg/hour. Consider sipping carbs during session two as well.
- Low appetite or sensitive gut: Use liquids, smoothies, white rice, soft breads, juice, and lower fiber carb choices in the first hours. The total grams are what restore glycogen.
- Very low carb diets: Expect slower restoration and reduced high intensity performance until stores are rebuilt. Not ideal between close sessions.
Start carbs early. Hit enough total grams. That is the entire glycogen story without the hype.
Bottom line
- Liver can rebound in about 6 to 12 hours when you refuel aggressively.
- Muscle commonly needs about 24 hours when carbohydrate targets are met.
- The fastest route is simple: start immediatelyhit enough total carbs across the day.
References
- Kerksick CM, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: nutrient timing. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:33. Guidance on 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg/hour in early recovery and protein utility when carbs are suboptimal.
- Ivy JL, Katz AL, Cutler CL, Sherman WM, Coyle EF. Muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise: effect of time of carbohydrate ingestion. J Appl Physiol. 1988;64(4):1480 to 1485. Delaying intake reduces storage rate.
- Murray B, Rosenbloom C. Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes. Nutrients. 2018;10(3):298. Review of glycogen depletion and restoration rates and daily intake targets.
- Jentjens RL, Jeukendrup AE. Determinants of post exercise glycogen synthesis during short term recovery. Sports Med. 2003;33(2):117 to 144. Classic review of rates and limiting factors.
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and ACSM: Nutrition and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543 to 568. Daily carbohydrate guidelines by training load.
- Burke LM. Fueling strategies to optimize performance: training and competing. Sports Med. 2015;45(Suppl 1):S29 to S38. Practical carbohydrate targets for heavy training and competition.
- Alghannam AF, et al. Restoration of muscle glycogen and functional capacity. Nutrients. 2018;10(6):773. Evidence for high carbohydrate intakes in recovery.
- Margolis LM, Pasiakos SM. Optimizing recovery nutrition: carbohydrate and protein co ingestion. Sports Med. 2020;50(Suppl 1):S53 to S67. Protein helps when carbs are below optimal.
