Reasonable Doubt
The Bad Science of Exercise Recovery
How I fell for the fitness industry’s expensive pills and pointless powders
During my freshman year of college, I started going to the gym — and going hard. Three times a week, I would head to the weight room in the rec center’s basement to squat, deadlift, and bench press. It was satisfying to watch the weights slowly increase. I was building muscle, and it felt great to make progress.
But the exercise came with soreness and sometimes pain. It was rewarding but often unpleasant, and I began to experiment with what food to eat and which supplements to take to speed up my recovery. I bought whey protein powder to take before going to the gym and casein protein powder to take before bed. I took pre-workout supplements and purchased protein bars to make sure I got the right ratio of carbohydrates and protein within an hour of exercising. My meals were rigidly planned.
Eventually, I was going to the gym every day, occasionally multiple times. Managing my routine became an expensive, stressful, time-intensive drag on my day. The more I exercised, the more unsustainable financially and physically it became. I enjoyed it less and less. It took years for me to deprogram myself.
