Recovery Drinks ----- help, please

[swim-mom]

I have a couple of friends who are marathon runners and are telling me to start doing a Recovery drink?????

TO be honest, I have only ever used chocolate milk after 4 miles or Carniation Instant Breakfast -- depends on what I want to drink.

Is anyone familiar with WHEY PROTEIN and using that as a recovery drink?

My friends are reccomending the Whey Protein, but honestly I have no clue.

Help.............

 

[FireDancer]

I have read in many many places that chocolate milk is pretty much the ideal recovery drink. After long runs I usually make a smoothie out of frozen fruit, 100% fruit juice, and whey protein but I don't have any of the commercial recovery drinks.

 

[swim-mom]

Thanks Frank - God, I had no idea there was even commercial drinks. I did know about one of the sports drinks lines just came out with one.

But is WHEY protein the best for recovery? I dont understand..............

 

[jmasgat]

One particular piece of info that I have seen is that you want to try to have a ratio of 4g/1g Carbs/protein--supposedly helps with muscle recovery. So a nice glass of chocolate milk generally fits that bill. So do other solid foods--Clif bars are one thing I sometimes have, or a PB/banana/toast sandwich. With a little nutritional info, you can put together your own recovery food.

I know whey protein is used in things like Muscle Milk (blech!) and other drinks. I think you just need to find something that works for you--and is tasty!

Maura

 

[APrunner]

Go with chocolate milk. Easy, convenient, has what you need, and not too costly.

 

[FireDancer]

Thanks Frank - God, I had no idea there was even commercial drinks. I did know about one of the sports drinks lines just came out with one.

But is WHEY protein the best for recovery? I dont understand..............

I only have two types of protein powder, whey and casein. Since casein is a slow digesting protein I go with the whey after a long run because I want to absorb it fast. I always add protein powder to smoothies.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Chocolate milk does it for me.

 

[Kirsty-Leigh]

I have a question... Does it have to be chocolate milk? And if so why? I am allergic to chocolate (long story but it has to do with the caffeine content in cocoa), so I was wondering if just plain milk would do the trick, or strawberry? I too never know what to have after a long run.

Kirsty

 

[bunnyfoo]

Like Frank, I make fruit smoothies in the summer with whey protein. I usually use a cup of mixed fruit - mangoes, blueberries, bananas, a container of yogurt, protein powder and a little bit of milk and water.

In the winter, I find the smoothies too cold so I heat up chocolate milk and throw some protein powder in.

Kristie - I think plain milk would be fine. The chocolate just adds extra sugar to give you a little more energy. Can you add in vanilla or strawberry Quik syrup? I'm sure it would be just as good

 

[APrunner]

I have a question... Does it have to be chocolate milk? And if so why? I am allergic to chocolate (long story but it has to do with the caffeine content in cocoa), so I was wondering if just plain milk would do the trick, or strawberry? I too never know what to have after a long run.

Kirsty

Does not have to be chocolate. Milk provides some of the recommended protein. The chocolate provides more of the carbs. I would think strawberry would be fine.

 

[Duanerice]

I usually use Chocolate milk - fat free actually. Sometimes I use Slim Fast but they changed the mixture and it is no longer a 4x1 ratio.

I am too lazy to make a smoothy. Besides, i usually drink this in my car as I don't do my long runs from my house. i just pack a cooler.

There are a bunch of good recovery drinks out there but so far this has worked fine for me. Most importantly it is cheap

enjoy,
Duane

 

[Padstack]

Chocolate milk is a good recovery drink.

Mine is a 8 oz. of OJ, 5 grams Creatine, 5 grams Glutamine & 1 tablespoon vanilla Whey Protein. Tastes like a creamsicle.

 

[crewmatt]

I'm a huge fan of chocolate milk. Altho at the DC Triathlon there was this Pom Smoothie Bar (with their new recovery drink - some sort of Pom Smoothie). It was 95 degrees at the finish so anything blended with ice was right up my alley. It was awesome. I actually wasnt sore at all later that day.

The main thing to remember with recovery is that you're just trying to give your body a chance to recover. You generally want to do it within say an hour of finishing the workout, altho half an hour would probably be better.

 

[APrunner]

It was 95 degrees at the finish so anything blended with ice was right up my alley. .

Hard to beat a margarita. Help kill the pain too.

 

[MaryJ]

I have always used chocolate milk too, but have recently become lactose intolerant. Would chocolate soy milk work just as well?

 

[cewait]

Reaserch points to a 4:1 Carbrotein ratio. Needs to be into the system within 10-15 minutes of stopping the workout to get the protein into the muscle within the hour. The carb is there to create an insulin spike which then transports the protein directly into the bloodstream and is taken into the muscle. Wait too long and the window of opportunity closes and the protein must follow the normal digestive process.... ie. stomach, liver, etc. The research indicates that if you wait too long that some of the muscle creation resulting from the workout will be caniballized and used to nurish the muscle at the cellurlar level - negating some of the work.

As indicated above Choc milk is a great non-scientific sub for a recovery drink. There are several sprot specific drinks that bring other amino acids into the body and soften some of the delayed onset muscle soreness. Solid food is also an option but frakly I have a hard time looking at a grilled chicken salad post hard run.

Kirsty - the chocolate is there for the sugar only. You can sweeten the drink other ways to get the carbo loading. OR look at Ensure/Slimfast (read the label of slimfast to make sure it has the correct ratio) as another substitute.

 

[DiRTyBuNNy]

Count me in for Chocolate Milk but I usually go for the low fat variety if I have the choice.

--DB

 

[pyrxtc]

well I buy my DH Joint Juice. he swears by it after he has been running. I also just bought him a case of powder to mix with water for when he is not at home and it will be easy to take to Disney with us.

 

[DisneyRunnerGirl]

Ditto on sticking with chocolate milk. I have a REALLY sensitive tummy and most of the "commercial" products for endurance racing can't be tolerated.

I can do G2 and love it at anytime. Lord bless the folks at Gatorade who decided to do powder packets of this one - we take tons of it on every vacation, running or not. It is a great way for the whole family to hydrate in the parks.

I also use packets of honey during long runs instead of GUI, Shot blocks, etc. Hit on this after reading LOTS on race nutrition. It seems that everything I read talked about all of the commercial products but always made a a point of talking about stuff most of us have in the kitchen already or have easy access to.

Don't think you HAVE to use the things made specifically for runners - the important thing is to experiment to find what works best for YOU!