Post Workout Drink

I have heard this from many people. It's just something with good carb/protein in it and it tastes good and is cold and refreshing. It would be like drinking milk or having a slim fast (which are great post-workout) or a protein drink. I know a few D 1 runners who go through gallons of chocolate milk in their houses per week.

I also work at a running store and one man told me that he put chocolate milk in his fuel belt and froze them the night before a marathon and they we're a perfect thing to use as fuel at about mile 15-20 he said because they were still cold and went down easy. I'd want to try it in a training run first of course, but cool idea!

dring a marathon..wouldnt it brink on some lactive acids in ur stomach

I talked to a nutritionist who said that you get the same benefit drinking chocolate milk after a workout as you would drinking a protein shake/drink. Just don't tell the people at GNC and Max Muscle.

Let me sum this up easy for you when it comes to what to consume as your post workout drink:

Water = marginal benefit

Gatorade (ie 100% carb drink) = OK

Choc Milk (4:1 carb/pro ratio) = Better

Endurox R4/Ultragen etc (4:1 ratio, better protein source, vit c&e, glutamine, etc...) = Best

Now of course you'll hear that choc milk is just as good - don't fool yourself..... If you think Asics, Brooks, Mizuno, etc... are the same as a pair of $9.99 Keds from Wal-Mart, then yes - choc milk is just as good.

Is Gatorade better than water? Yes

Is Choc Milk better than Gatorade for recovery? Yes

Is R4 better than Choc Milk? Absolutely

Nice to see, but old news. If Endurox R4 or Kool-Aid is even marginally better than chocolate milk, then fine--I want to hear about it.

try muscle milk a number of D1 colleges drink that post workouts

Unless you are even slightly lactose intolerant, I would advise against milk after a workout.

I just read through the actual study that everyone cites regarding the benefits of chocolate milk. There are a lot of factors to consider, but I think it should be noted that the effects were measured by looking at how long the subjects could cycle at 70% of max four hours after cycling to exhaustion and not ingesting anything in that time period other than the selected drink immediately after completing the exercise and then again 2 hours into the recovery period.

This hardly mimics any of our practical experiences.

The authors themselves cite the following study:

Williams, M.B., P.B. Raven, D.L. Fogt, and J.L. Ivy. Effects of recovery beverages

on glycogen restoration and endurance exercise performance. J. Strength Cond. Res.

17(1):12-19, 2003.

which showed a 55% performance increase by drinking Endurox relative to Gatorade when the 2nd bout of exercise is done at 85% of max. They suggest that since Endurox has a higher portion of complex carbs, the 4 hr interval may not have been long enough to fully realize the benefits of that drink. Also, the fact that the 2nd session was done at 70% of max allowed fat metabolism to provide a higher portion of energy than the 85% level of the Williams study. Since the milk was not fat-free, that could account for relatively poorer performance of Endurox as well.

The Dairy council paid for the study showing the benefits of Chocolate Milk, which doesn't mean there was bias in the results, but it certainly accounts for the subsequent hype of Chocolate Milk after the fact. The authors themselves only indicate that chocolate milk could be a good after-exercise drink, too.

My own gut says that if you drink any of these substances immediately after exercise and then go home and a balanced diet for your activity needs there probably isn't much difference in performance the next day or even in a 2nd workout 8-12 hours later.

I have touted the benefits of Chocolate milk to my own athletes, but after actually reading the study I am far less likely to do so.

Orange Juice with whey protein is my post-run drink.

Orange Juice has far more electrolytes than gatroade - it has 500 mg of Potassium. What does gatorade have, like 30?

Dairy products cause congestion.

This study is absolutely worthless. From the abstract: Carbohydrate-protein (355 ml; 0.8 g carbohydrate (CHO)·kg–1 body wt and 0.2 g protein·kg–1 body wt) or Sports Beverage (355 ml; 0.3 g CHO·kg–1 body wt) was provided immediately and 2 hours after exercise.

So the conclusion is if you give the athlete well over two and a half times the carbohydrate calories plus protein in a beverage totaling over three times the calories the athlete is better fueled for a subsequent bout of exercise.

Like we needed a study to determine that. But, hey, it makes for great advertising copy and more than a few people have bought into it.

This statement I heartily agree with.

I'm curious why you say this and what you would recommend. It's not anymore a miracle beverage than any of the others, but for those who tolerate dairy, it works as well as anything.

At a recent coaching education clinic we were told that chocolate milk is the best thing to have our athletes drink after workouts. Based on actually reading the study, I don't think that it is significantly better and may not even be better. Hence, I don't plan on continuing to tell my athletes it's the "best" thing to drink.

I am going to continue telling them what I have for the last couple years...drink water throughout a workout and when finished drink/consume carbohydrates within 30 minutes after finishing then go home and eat a healthy dinner.

Thanks for responding, I think that's sound advice.

I personally drink soy milk after long runs (I don't drink it any other time).

You get a bit more protein than reg. milk.

soy may have protein, and it does have enough hormone-like substances to promote feminization of males.

Milk Drinker wrote:

I've heard this a couple of times now and I'm wondering if there's anything to it:

Apparently, chocolate milk drunk right after a workout is somehow beneficial.

Any veracity to this spurious claim?

Yo, there is a lot veratcity to the spurious claim. But like all crackers, youz got a detail wrong, you gotta drink CHOCLATE MOTHER'S MILK. Once you try black, you never, ever go back.

Natty Ice - half a rack

this from the upcoming Rochester Marathon Expo:

Workshop 3: Proper Recovery - What to Do?:

This workshop is brought to you by the American Dairy Association and discusses nutrition remedies to improve post distance running recovery. Here, experts will discuss a variety of options to assist muscle recovery after prolonged running or exercise.

For me, the idea of chocolate milk as a recovery drink is completely preposterous. Milk before during or after exercise always gave me killer cramps. What you want are easily assimilated nutrients, basically, sugar, minerals, amino acids, not nutrients that need adequate enzyme supplies to be properly broken down. Especially when a significant part of the population won't have that enzyme.

This is one of those twisted completely wrong ideas like a rare steak before a prizefight or low carb beer for active lifestyles.