Recovery Meals

dumb_blondes_rock

I have read on here before that chocolate milk is a great recovery drink.....but what about chocolate soy milk? and when exactly do you need a recovery drink? is it after every workout, after cardio or after weight lifting?

cutiemexiz

From what I know, its suppose to be taken the first 30 minutes after working out for the most effect. I'm not sure if it makes a difference for the two, I just drink it after. I drink chocolate soy milk or I add chocolate powder to plain soy milk and its been helping a lot for me. As long as there is about a 4:1 ration of carbs:protein, you should be fine

Lyadeia

The people that believe in recovery drinks say that you are supposed to have them after weight lifting always and after cardio that you work extremely hard during and burn lots of calories. They also tend to disagree about "when" to have these drinks, but it is usually within an hour or so of working out.

However, this seems to be a grey area in research right now. There's no real conclusive evidence either for or against the whole idea. Some people do it as "CYA" in case research in the future says it's a good thing, but others don't do it and are holding out for the proof. All in all, it's really up to you and whether it fits into your calorie and macro needs.

I would assume that chocolate soy milk would be fine as a recovery drink as it has both carbs and protein in it.

majope

Not a grey area that I can find. Medical News Today sums up some of the research, with citations:

Specifically, the researchers found a chocolate milk advantage for:

Building Muscle - Post-exercise muscle biopsies in eight moderately trained male runners showed that after drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk, the runners had enhanced skeletal muscle protein synthesis - a sign that muscles were better able to repair and rebuild - compared to when they drank a carbohydrate only sports beverage with the same amount of calories. The researchers suggest that "athletes can consider fat-free chocolate milk as an economic nutritional alternative to other sports nutrition beverages to support post-endurance exercise skeletal muscle repair."1

Replenishing Muscle "Fuel" - Replacing muscle fuel (glycogen) after exercise is essential to an athlete's future performance and muscle recovery. Researchers found that drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk with its mix of carbohydrates and protein (compared to a carbohydrate-only sports drink with the same amount of calories) led to greater concentration of glycogen in muscles at 30 and 60 minutes post exercise.2

Maintaining Lean Muscle - Athletes risk muscle breakdown following exercise when the body's demands are at their peak. Researchers found that drinking fat free chocolate milk after exercise helped decrease markers of muscle breakdown compared to drinking a carbohydrate sports drink.3

Subsequent Exercise Performance - Ten trained men and women cyclists rode for an hour and a half, followed by 10 minutes of intervals. They rested for four hours and were provided with one of three drinks immediately and two hours into recovery: lowfat chocolate milk, a carbohydrate drink with the same amount of calories or a control drink. When the cyclists then performed a subsequent 40 kilometer ride, their trial time was significantly shorter after drinking the chocolate milk compared to the carbohydrate drink and the control drink.4

Notes:
1. Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Karfonta KE, Anderson JM, Pasiakos SM, Ferrando AA, Wolfe RR, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk consumption following endurance exercise affects skeletal muscle protein fractional synthetic rate and intracellular signaling. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S48.

2. Karfonta KE, Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Anderson JM, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk enhances glycogen replenishment after endurance exercise in moderately trained males. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S64.

3. Colletto MR, Lunn W, Karfonta K, Anderson J, Rogriguez N. Effects of chocolate milk consumption on leucine kinetics during recovery from endurance exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S126.

4. Ferguson-Stegall L, McCleave E, Doerner PG, Ding Z, Dessard B, Kammer L, Wang B, Liu Y, Ivy J. Effects of chocolate milk supplementation on recovery from cycling exercise and subsequent time trial performance. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S536.

--http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190813.php

Shadowknight137

Caloric surplus = better recover.

ilovedeadlifts

anything works for post workout as long as you have some carbs and protein.

chocolate milk is just one of the more convenient things to use. and its not always easy to eat after a hard workout, but drinking a glass of milk isn't hard.

Lyadeia

Not a grey area that I can find. Medical News Today sums up some of the research, with citations:

Specifically, the researchers found a chocolate milk advantage for:

Building Muscle - Post-exercise muscle biopsies in eight moderately trained male runners showed that after drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk, the runners had enhanced skeletal muscle protein synthesis - a sign that muscles were better able to repair and rebuild - compared to when they drank a carbohydrate only sports beverage with the same amount of calories. The researchers suggest that "athletes can consider fat-free chocolate milk as an economic nutritional alternative to other sports nutrition beverages to support post-endurance exercise skeletal muscle repair."1

Replenishing Muscle "Fuel" - Replacing muscle fuel (glycogen) after exercise is essential to an athlete's future performance and muscle recovery. Researchers found that drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk with its mix of carbohydrates and protein (compared to a carbohydrate-only sports drink with the same amount of calories) led to greater concentration of glycogen in muscles at 30 and 60 minutes post exercise.2

Maintaining Lean Muscle - Athletes risk muscle breakdown following exercise when the body's demands are at their peak. Researchers found that drinking fat free chocolate milk after exercise helped decrease markers of muscle breakdown compared to drinking a carbohydrate sports drink.3

Subsequent Exercise Performance - Ten trained men and women cyclists rode for an hour and a half, followed by 10 minutes of intervals. They rested for four hours and were provided with one of three drinks immediately and two hours into recovery: lowfat chocolate milk, a carbohydrate drink with the same amount of calories or a control drink. When the cyclists then performed a subsequent 40 kilometer ride, their trial time was significantly shorter after drinking the chocolate milk compared to the carbohydrate drink and the control drink.4

Notes:
1. Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Karfonta KE, Anderson JM, Pasiakos SM, Ferrando AA, Wolfe RR, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk consumption following endurance exercise affects skeletal muscle protein fractional synthetic rate and intracellular signaling. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S48.

2. Karfonta KE, Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Anderson JM, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk enhances glycogen replenishment after endurance exercise in moderately trained males. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S64.

3. Colletto MR, Lunn W, Karfonta K, Anderson J, Rogriguez N. Effects of chocolate milk consumption on leucine kinetics during recovery from endurance exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S126.

4. Ferguson-Stegall L, McCleave E, Doerner PG, Ding Z, Dessard B, Kammer L, Wang B, Liu Y, Ivy J. Effects of chocolate milk supplementation on recovery from cycling exercise and subsequent time trial performance. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S536.

--http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190813.php

For every article saying one thing, there's another saying something else. Surely you already know this, or are you of the mindset that one research study proves everything once and for all?

majope

Not a grey area that I can find. Medical News Today sums up some of the research, with citations:

Specifically, the researchers found a chocolate milk advantage for:

Building Muscle - Post-exercise muscle biopsies in eight moderately trained male runners showed that after drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk, the runners had enhanced skeletal muscle protein synthesis - a sign that muscles were better able to repair and rebuild - compared to when they drank a carbohydrate only sports beverage with the same amount of calories. The researchers suggest that "athletes can consider fat-free chocolate milk as an economic nutritional alternative to other sports nutrition beverages to support post-endurance exercise skeletal muscle repair."1

Replenishing Muscle "Fuel" - Replacing muscle fuel (glycogen) after exercise is essential to an athlete's future performance and muscle recovery. Researchers found that drinking 16 ounces of fat free chocolate milk with its mix of carbohydrates and protein (compared to a carbohydrate-only sports drink with the same amount of calories) led to greater concentration of glycogen in muscles at 30 and 60 minutes post exercise.2

Maintaining Lean Muscle - Athletes risk muscle breakdown following exercise when the body's demands are at their peak. Researchers found that drinking fat free chocolate milk after exercise helped decrease markers of muscle breakdown compared to drinking a carbohydrate sports drink.3

Subsequent Exercise Performance - Ten trained men and women cyclists rode for an hour and a half, followed by 10 minutes of intervals. They rested for four hours and were provided with one of three drinks immediately and two hours into recovery: lowfat chocolate milk, a carbohydrate drink with the same amount of calories or a control drink. When the cyclists then performed a subsequent 40 kilometer ride, their trial time was significantly shorter after drinking the chocolate milk compared to the carbohydrate drink and the control drink.4

Notes:
1. Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Karfonta KE, Anderson JM, Pasiakos SM, Ferrando AA, Wolfe RR, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk consumption following endurance exercise affects skeletal muscle protein fractional synthetic rate and intracellular signaling. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S48.

2. Karfonta KE, Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Anderson JM, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk enhances glycogen replenishment after endurance exercise in moderately trained males. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S64.

3. Colletto MR, Lunn W, Karfonta K, Anderson J, Rogriguez N. Effects of chocolate milk consumption on leucine kinetics during recovery from endurance exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S126.

4. Ferguson-Stegall L, McCleave E, Doerner PG, Ding Z, Dessard B, Kammer L, Wang B, Liu Y, Ivy J. Effects of chocolate milk supplementation on recovery from cycling exercise and subsequent time trial performance. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S536.

--http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190813.php

For every article saying one thing, there's another saying something else. Surely you already know this, or are you of the mindset that one research study proves everything once and for all?

Huh? If you know of research that refutes the four studies cited above, by all means provide the citations and I'll be happy to take a look. Not every scholarly paper is contradicted by another, though, so no, I don't "know" that, because it's not true. Even when it happens, it doesn't take the obligation away from us to weigh the conflicting studies and judge for ourselves which makes a stronger case.

If you need to see more on chocolate milk, I found multiple other studies that provide more support--it was just easier to link one article that summed up a number of papers, especially since it had the citations if people wanted to track them down and read them for themselves. I can dig up the other studies for you if you like.