SubscribeDrinking and eating the right foods and supplements after a hard effort out on the road can lead to faster recovery and less muscle pain. The biggest problem many people have involves trying to figure out what works the best — and what is the easiest to chug down after a workout. The kind folks over at Active.com listed 10 different post-run drinks that help “fuel fast recovery.”
I’d like to single out a single drink idea that many people likely overlook as a post-run recovery drink: chocolate milk.
Why: The drink you loved as a kid has the ideal amount of carbohydrates and protein that tired muscles need for recovery, says Joel Stager, Ph.D., director of the department of kinesiology at Indiana University. According to a study Stager led, drinking chocolate milk postexercise speeds up recovery and increases the time it takes to reach exhaustion during a subsequent exercise session better than sports drinks. And a 2007 British study found that regular milk is better than water or a sports drink at restoring fluid levels following a bout of exercise in the heat. Plus, milk contains bone-strengthening vitamin D and calcium. Sipping Points: Single-serving containers are handy for tossing into a cooler for a postrun treat and for portion control.
Chocolate milk is an excellent way to recover, and can be mixed with whey protein and other recovery drinks. Ted likes mixing chocolate milk with some of his recovery drinks, which helps make the taste a bit more bearable.
The taste of chocolate milk is good, the science behind it has been proven, so what’s your excuse? Got milk? 😉
Of the “road tested” products listed, including Powerade Ion4, Clif Quench, Gatorade Powder Pack, and Accelerade Hydro, I’ve had the most success with the Clif Quench drink. I posted a review of the Clif Quench in late February, which you can read here.
Editor’s Note: I’d just like to thank @Cool_running on Twitter, who originally tweeted a link to the article. 🙂
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