Conducted in Thailand, findings revealed that CoQ10 supplementation increased the resistance exercise volume in both overweight and normal weight individuals, as well as reduced biomarkers of muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
Post-workout supplementation of CoQ10 and sports drinks is known to improve exercise performance and increase recovery rate, but the difference between normal and overweight individuals is lesser-known.
That is, until researchers from Mahidol University, Thailand, published their findings in Sports Medicine and Health Science.
Study design
The researchers recruited men aged 18 to 30 with normal or overweight, based on their body mass index, who were generally healthy for this study.
After their urine samples were collected, participants performed a series of exercises, including resistance exercise and fatiguing exercise, before consuming either of the following: 1) a flavored water with a capsule of 300mg CoQ10, 2) a lemon-flavored Gatorade with an empty capsule, or 3) a flavored water with an empty capsule.
The exercises were then repeated one hour later. Post-exercise measurements were taken for heart rate, blood pressure, urinary potassium and creatinine levels, as well as DOMS.
As this was a crossover study, participants were randomised to receive the three different treatments over three sessions.
The primary outcomes were to investigate the effects of CoQ10 and sports drink supplementation on resistance exercise volume and fatiguing exercise performance in normal and overweight individuals.
The secondary outcomes were cardiovascular responses, such as heart rate, blood pressure, urinary biomarkers including potassium and creatinine and DOMS.
CoQ10 improves exercise performance and recovery
Taking CoQ10 or Gatorade post-exercise was found to significantly increase resistance exercise volume in both the normal and overweight groups, as compared to the placebo.
These results suggested that post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 or a sports drink could effectively increase resistance exercise volume regardless of body mass.
The researchers attributed the findings to CoQ10’s “antioxidant action to attenuate reactive oxygen species production during an acute bout of resistance exercise” and the sports drink’s function of “increasing available fuel sources and the blood glucose concentration.”
On the fatiguing exercise, neither CoQ10 nor sports drink supplementation had a significant effect.
During the recovery phase, post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 also significantly alleviated DOMS in both normal and overweight groups. DOMS is a sensation of pain associated with damaged muscle fibres.
“The antioxidative effect of CoQ10 could oppose oxidative stress and improve antioxidant action, which in turn prevents muscle damage and subsequently reduces DOMS after an acute bout of resistance exercise,” researchers wrote.
CoQ10 reduces muscle damage
Potassium and creatinine are often used as biomarkers of muscle damage.
Post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 was associated with lower urinary potassium levels during recovery in normal and overweight groups, with this effect more pronounced in the overweight group.
In addition, CoQ10 supplementation post-workout showed a significant decrease in urinary creatinine levels in both normal and overweight individuals. This effect, however, was not reported in sports drink supplementation.
Body mass matters for cardiovascular responses
Findings showed that body mass would affect cardiovascular response, regardless of whether CoQ10 or sports drinks were taken.
This is seen from how overweight participants had a higher diastolic blood pressure despite CoQ10 or sports drinks supplementation.
“Overweight individuals in this study demonstrated a slower reduction in post-exercise DBP after exercise than did normal individuals,” the researchers wrote. “This impairment in overweight individuals might involve increased arterial stiffness or endothelial dysfunction, which influences the post-exercise diastolic blood pressure response.”
Post-exercise heart rates were also not significantly different between the normal and overweight groups, in both the CoQ10 group and sports drink groups.
“These findings are beneficial for sport scientists, nutritionists, and exercise physiologists in guiding post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 and sports drinks to improve exercise performance and muscle recovery in normal and overweight individuals,” researchers concluded.
Source: Sports Medicine and Health Science. doi: 10.1016/j.smhs.2025.02.005. “Post-workout supplementation with CoQ10 and sports drink on exercise performance and muscle recovery after exercise in normal and overweight males.” Authors: Thar, P. P. et al.
