Author: Geir Gunnar Markusson, Nutritionist MSc., Unbroken

Who hasn’t experienced muscle soreness when returning to the gym after a long break, during the first days of a ski or golf trip, or after a tough workout, especially strength training or long runs?

Muscle soreness occurs when tiny micro-damage forms in muscle fibers as they are placed under load. These micro-tears trigger an inflammatory response that repairs the muscle, and this process is what causes the pain and stiffness we feel. Muscle soreness usually appears 1–2 days after exertion and peaks after 2–3 days.

There is a greater likelihood of soreness after muscle-lengthening movements, such as lowering into a squat, running downhill, or slowly lowering weights or bodyweight. The likelihood also increases with new exercises, unusual load, or very heavy training. Anything that is new, unexpected, or simply “too much” increases the chances of muscle soreness.

Many people have tried all sorts of things to reduce extreme soreness: hot tubs, cold plunges, compression sleeves, light walking, massage, and even painkillers or anti-inflammatory medication (which can sometimes worsen recovery).

The challenge is that most of these solutions address the damage after it has already occurred. It is far more effective to prevent soreness before it appears, because you can’t fix recovery retroactively.

Unbroken, taken around training sessions, can significantly reduce muscle soreness by nourishing the muscles with essential amino acids in free form during exertion.

Research supports this: free-form essential amino acids (EAAs) reduce muscle breakdown and, therefore, the soreness that follows intensive physical activity.

Muscles are built from amino acids. When amino acid supply is strong—delivered at the right time and in the right amount—damage is reduced, and repair becomes far more efficient.

What Do Essential Amino Acids Do?

EAAs (Essential Amino Acids) are required to stimulate the body’s muscle protein synthesis (MPS). The body cannot produce them on its own; they must come from food to rebuild, repair, and renew muscle tissue.

The core of Unbroken’s effectiveness lies in all nine EAAs in free form and di- and tri-peptides, working together to maximize recovery, support muscle building, and reduce soreness.

New Research From ISSN

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recently published a comprehensive review titled “The Effects of Essential Amino Acids on Exercise and Performance.”

The research showed significant increases in muscle protein synthesis (MPS) with free-form EAAs for both healthy individuals and those with reduced muscle function or low mobility due to age or illness.

Key findings include:

• EAAs support continuous muscle protein synthesis (MPS)
• Free-form EAAs are rapidly absorbed and highly efficient
• EAAs taken before or during exercise significantly increase MPS
• Taking EAAs before training can increase amino acid delivery to muscles up to threefold

Unbroken – Advanced Muscle Nutrition Against Soreness

Unbroken contains all nine essential amino acids, approximately 80% in free form. This enables the body to efficiently use EAAs for reduced soreness, improved recovery, increased strength and muscle mass, and overall wellbeing.

Unbroken is also compact muscle nutrition. Just two tablets provide 2.26 grams of free-form amino acids (broken-down protein), an amount that can be functionally comparable to around 20 grams of intact protein from sources such as chicken, beans, or whey.

Because these amino acids are already broken down, the body can absorb and utilize them immediately, without the digestive workload required by whole proteins. This makes two tablets an ideal and practical dose to take around a workout.
 

What makes Unbroken uniquely effective is how easy it is to use before and during exercise. Its extremely low molecular weight means virtually no digestion is required, allowing amino acids to enter circulation and support muscle tissue in real time. This makes Unbroken not only a recovery solution, but a preventative nutritional strategy - supplying muscles with the building blocks they need during physical effort, when damage would otherwise accumulate.

Whether taken pre-workout, during training, or afterward, Unbroken delivers anytime recovery, helping reduce soreness before it develops and keeping muscles performing at their best.

You can’t fix recovery after the fact—use Unbroken around your training to stay ahead of soreness.

Reference:
International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN). Effects of Essential Amino Acids on Exercise and Performance. PubMed ID: 37800468