Milk post-workout

[Carey]

I've heard that consuming milk or other things such as protein shakes within thirty minutes of finishing a workout can help for recovery and growth, and that after thirty minutes the amount of nutrients absorbed decreases by 50 percent?

true, false?

Thanks so much

[Alex Adkinson]

You want to replenish what your body lost after you work out so you should eat or have some type of drink. Chocolate milk has 4:1 carbs to protein so that is a good one.

[phrisbee]

You want to get low-fat or non--fat chocolate milk post-workout. The milk fat is not great for your recovery that soon after a workout.

[trackgirlie4eva]

You want to replenish what your body lost after you work out so you should eat or have some type of drink. Chocolate mile has 4:1 carbs to protein so that is a good one.


QFE!
Chocolate Milk FTW I usually endulge in a large glass of this after a good hard long run and maybe after a real tough workout tastes great, is better for you then gatorade and has even better benfits then leading sports drinks. Although it has fat, Milk-fat is good fat, along with the protein it entails and some sugar thats needs to be replenished as well, more natural than sports drinks.


Also one of my favorites post hard race/workout is; Banana and PB in a smoothie goood stuff and ice as well.

[thugginrunnin06]

The progression of post-race/workout drinks goes something like this:

Water: rehydrates
|
v
Gatorade: rehydrates and replenishes electrolytes
|
v
Chocolate Milk: 4:1 ratio carbs/protein (not the best for rehydrating though as drinking too much immediately after a workout will probably f up you stomach)
|
v
Accelerade or similar drink: rehydrates, replenishes electrolytes, 4:1 ratio
|
v
Endurox or similar competitor's product: Same as accelerade with more vitamins/minerals, L-Glutamine, etc.

[werner]

The progression of post-race/workout drinks goes something like this:

Water: rehydrates
|
v
Gatorade: rehydrates and replenishes electrolytes
|
v
Chocolate Milk: 4:1 ratio carbs/protein (not the best for rehydrating though as drinking too much immediately after a workout will probably f up you stomach)
|
v
Accelerade or similar drink: rehydrates, replenishes electrolytes, 4:1 ratio
|
v
Endurox or similar competitor's product: Same as accelerade with more vitamins/minerals, L-Glutamine, etc.That's not really a necessary step. In comparison with the amount of electrolytes in your body, you don't actually lose much at all--not nearly enough to make Gatorade a necessary implementation. The reason Gatorade or other sports drinks are helpful is they restore the glucose (energy) levels in your body.

[pasta4breakfast]

Actually the body is pretty good at absorbing the nutrients, no matter what the time. The reason why it is recommended that people eat carbohydrates and protein 30 minutes after training is because insulin sensitivity is highest immediately after exercise (although the effect can last as long as 16 hours, so don't stress if can't eat something right away). In theory this means you will be able to better replete your glycogen stores and promote protein synthesis.

As people have already mentioned, chocolate milk is a good post exercise repletion drink because it has a good ratio of carbohydrate to protein. It is better than plain milk, not only because it has more carbohydrate, but also because it has a higher glycemic index. This means your blood sugar will rise rapidly, promoting insulin secretion, glucose uptake and glycogen repletion.

Other drinks like Gatorade, Accelerade, Endurox, etc. are not necessary after excercise. Milk has much more electrolytes in it per serving than Gatorade. Gatorade is designed for use before and during workouts for hydration and some energy without working the gut too much.

Definitely go for the low or nonfat chocolate milk. The fat in milk is not healthy (it's mostly saturated fat). From a performance stand point it will delay glycogen repletion. This is because fat stays is in the stomach longer than carbohydrate or protein and thus makes the food lower in glycemic index. This slows down the rise in blood glucose and hence insulin.

[thugginrunnin06]

That's not really a necessary step. In comparison with the amount of electrolytes in your body, you don't actually lose much at all--not nearly enough to make Gatorade a necessary implementation. The reason Gatorade or other sports drinks are helpful is they restore the glucose (energy) levels in your body.

good call. for some reason I tend to link the two together in my mind.

[werner]

good call. for some reason I tend to link the two together in my mind.Because that's what Gatorade wants you to do.

[sjm1368]

I love milk post exercise. It's the poor man's recovery drink.

Just wanted to point out that timing is critical, as some have said already. Try for at least within 30minutes post workout. You want to get the body switched from a catabolic to an anabolic state pretty quickly after a workout.

[thugginrunnin06]

The other version of the poor man's recovery drink is 2:1 water:orange juice. For all practical purposes, it's Gatorade.