Optimize Your Recovery As A Mountain Athlete With The 4Rs of Recovery

Source: Bonilla, Stout, Gleeson, et al. (2025). The 4R’s Framework of Sports Nutrition: An Update with Recommendations to Evaluate Allostatic Load in Athletes. Life (In press).

Recovery is where adaptation happens. Training alone does not create fitness. How you recover between sessions determines how well your body adapts to the stress you apply. Recent research outlines a practical framework for recovery nutrition called the 4Rs, which helps organize how athletes refuel, rebuild, and prepare for the next effort.

1. Rehydrate

Fluid replacement is the first priority after training.

Research suggests replacing roughly 150 percent of the fluid lost during exercise to fully restore hydration. Including electrolytes, especially sodium, improves fluid retention and speeds the rehydration process. Proper hydration supports cardiovascular function, neuromuscular performance, and readiness for your next session.

While the gold standard field test is to weigh yourself pre and post training, account for fluid intake, and calculate net fluid loss, we recognize this is often unrealistic or unsustainable. Even so, doing it once or twice can be an eye-opening exercise that helps athletes understand just how much fluid they actually lose.

Coach Tip: If you are not weighing pre and post session, a simple rule is to drink 16 to 24 oz (500 to 700 ml) per hour of training, then add one full bottle with electrolytes (and your carbs) in the hour after. If urine stays dark or body weight is still down the next morning, hydration is insufficient.

2. Refuel

Carbohydrates are essential for restoring energy stores.

Post exercise intake of approximately ~0.5 – 0.6 grams of carbohydrate per pound (or 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram) of body weight per hour for up to four hours has been shown to effectively replenish muscle glycogen. Adequate carbohydrate intake also supports immune function and overall recovery.

The research continues to show that very low carbohydrate approaches are often mismatched for athletes with repeated or high training demands. 

Coach Tip: A general post-training carbohydrate target is ~0.5 to 0.6 g per lb per hour for the first 2 to 4 hours, which works out to 60 to 90+ g per hour for most athletes. If you are training again within 24 hours, err toward the higher end and prioritize carbs early rather than “clean” food later. 

FYI: If you were to eat one full Pop-Tarts packet (2 pastries), you would be consuming roughly 72 to 76 grams of carbohydrate, which is equivalent to about 1.5 cups of cooked white rice or roughly 4 slices of sourdough bread, depending on slice size. 

Looking for more nutrition guidelines? Check out our blog: Nutrition & Hydration For Mountain Athletes 101 

3. Repair

Protein intake supports muscle repair and adaptation.

Consuming ~0.15 – 0.25 grams of protein per pound (or 0.3 – 0.5 grams of protein per kilogram) of body weight after training helps stimulate muscle protein synthesis (Note = conversion from kg to lb was rounded up because 0.14 – 0.23 g/lb is a hard stat to remember 🙂). Whole food protein sources remain the foundation, with supplements serving as optional support rather than a requirement. 

Some supplements, such as creatine and omega 3 fatty acids, show promise, but foundational nutrition habits matter most.

Coach Tip: If you hit 25 to 40 g of protein per feeding, 4 to 6 times per day, you will land comfortably in the ~0.6 to 0.7 g per lb per day range for most athletes. Whole food sources do the heavy lifting; shakes are simply a convenience when time or appetite is limited. 

In context, a 120 lb athlete is recommended to consume approximately 65 to 70 grams of carbohydrate per hour after demanding training sessions, along with roughly 17 to 28 grams of protein across the session or in the immediate post-training window to support recovery and adaptation.

4. Recuperate

Recovery is not passive. It is an active process.

Sleep quality and duration directly influence hormone regulation, tissue repair, and nervous system recovery. Pre sleep nutrition that digests slowly can support overnight muscle repair. Managing stress and avoiding late day stimulants also play a role in restoring readiness.

Recuperation is where training stress turns into performance gains. 

Coach Tip: If you are in bed for 9 hours, most athletes will net 7.5 to 8+ hours of actual sleep, which is where recovery and hormone regulation meaningfully improve. Late caffeine, alcohol, or heavy stress within the final 3 hours before bed consistently erode this, even if time in bed looks good.

Why This Matters for Mountain Athletes

The 4Rs framework connects nutrition and recovery into a single system. The goal is not just to eat after training, but to support how the body resets, rebuilds, and adapts between sessions.

This is especially important when training frequency is high, recovery windows are short, or sport demands are unpredictable.

At APL, recovery strategies are treated as part of training, not an afterthought. When stress and support are aligned, progress becomes more consistent, durable, and measurable.

The coolest part! If you don’t want to do the math, Bonilla and colleagues made a super handy app to cut out the math and give you answers! 

Discover your personalized 4R’s for optimal recovery: