Road Bike Racing - Recovery drinks

What if anything are you guys using as a recovery drink?
Does anyone see any real difference from when they do use a drink or when they don't?

endurox if i'm especially lazy/hungry when i get done with a ride. otherwise, it's just regular food.

endurox if i'm especially lazy/hungry when i get done with a ride. otherwise, it's just regular food.

+1 on Endurox. Of the 3 flavors I've tried, lemon-lime is the least offensive, orange is a close second and the fruit punch tastes like day old shrimp shells.

I've used:
Endurox - nearly undrinkable taste regardless of flavor
Cytomax whatever their recovery drink is - disgusting taste regardless of flavor
ultragen by 1st endurance - cappucino flavor is very tasty, but is very expensive and hard to find
milk - tastes good, is significantly less expensive, and sold everywhere.

I've noticed no difference in recovery, and now just drink milk or chocolate milk as a recovery drink along with a pb&j on wheat.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/07/0726_globalbrands/image/1_coke.jpg

Just started trying out the chocolate milk thing. I like it. A bottle of reduced fat chocolate milk is 350-400 cals (I know I said reduced fat might be sub-optimal...but I'd forgotten just how much fat was in whole milk).

Of the cals, it breaks down to something like: 10g fat, 54g carb, 16g protein. Pretty good.

My understanding is a big part of recovery has to do with protein. I assume if coke is your recovery drink your eating something with it for the protein part?

My understanding is a big part of recovery has to do with protein. I assume if coke is your recovery drink your eating something with it for the protein part?

yep.

btw - guess what i drink when i'm riding?

hint: H2O

hint: H2O

Jack and Coke with a splash of H20?

Recoverite seems to work for me. I like it. Don't mind the taste. Going to start taking whey before bed to help the HGH while I sleep. Could be hooey, but we'll see if my brain decides it works.

I got a liking to Champion Nutrition protein shake mixes (you have to have a wand type mixer though) for before or after long rides. Before because it keeps my appetite down for about 2-3 hours minimum. After because it just feels like I'm doing something to recover.

I'll also chow down on pre-prepared food that I've stored and just need to heat up, usually pasta and some meat heavy sauce, i.e. 1 whole package of Italian sausage with a jar of sauce. Pound of Barilla and I'm all set. If I'm really tired I prefer food to shakes.

I usually carry 1 water, 1 electrolyte (Enervit or Gatorade) when I ride. The water is to wash down the Enervit gel or crack packs. If I feel really depleted, peanuts from some general store. I don't really drink recovery/protein stuff on the road but I tried it before. Somehow I don't need it now.

*edit* forgot about difference in recovery - I can ride pretty hard on consecutive days if I simply eat a lot of carbs and protein, whether in shake form or in real food. 4 hours on one day, 6+ on the next, that's okay. For racing, haven't tried it so I don't know.

cdr

My understanding is a big part of recovery has to do with protein. I assume if coke is your recovery drink your eating something with it for the protein part?

Carbs are king, protein is extra. Obviously Coke is not ideal, but coke and water makes for a pleasant last bottle IMO.

Accelerade, and by extension, Endurox is gross - and it can't be explained by the protein; as a little whey added to other drinks tastes fine.

I use Hammer Recoverite after very hard workouts and it is nearly tasteless. Reduced taste makes these things easier to drink when you really need them.

+1 on Endurox. Of the 3 flavors I've tried, lemon-lime is the least offensive, orange is a close second and the fruit punch tastes like day old shrimp shells.

It's not so much the taste as it is the smell that makes me want to:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j203/TeteDeCourse/puking.gif

But I have some and will stomach it on occasion.

Today it was 4 pints of Sam Winter Lager, but I'm usually OK w/ a Clif bar followed by lean meat, pasta and an occasional milk based protein drink.

A glass off choco soy milk

Endurox cause its free.

Chocolate milk when I don't do endurox.

Haven't noticed a difference between the two.

Point is: get a goodly amount of carbs and a lil protein very quickly after your ride. Don't matter much in what form it comes.

100% whey protein in a tall glass of orange juice, within the first 30 min. of the end of the workout. Great for BCAAs!

Difference if I don't? Definitely! The other day, after a hard workout, had to rush off to an appointment and skipped the whey drink. Paid for it the next day with very sluggish legs.

Cheers! - RJ

100% whey protein in a tall glass of orange juice,

Whey is a No No for me. Sends my stomach into the red zone.

Jack and Coke with a splash of H20?

i never touch bourbon

Coke immediately off the bike as your body is craving carbs so it will accept simple sugars. Glycogen Synthase production is at a peak so you get quick replenishment but without an insulin spike.

Then a carb/protien shake for the same reason and to top up the BCAA pool and avoid the body taking it from muscle mass within the 1st hour (usually about 45min).

Then a regular meal within the 2nd hour (basically as soon as I can stomach it).

This has worked for me for years. I notice a difference in wattage/HR if I don't use a recovery drink especially if I am doing several hard days in a row.

Usually high GI real foods for me. Only turn to recovery drinks when the thought of solid food is too much, and then it's usually something of my own making, with whey protein, or milk mixed with chocolate syrup.

Pre-formulated recovery drinks are too expensive unless you're getting them at discount.

Are you lactose intolerant? Maybe try whey isolate?

I eat carbs, then mix two scoops of whey with one scoop of glutamine in water.

... you get quick replenishment but without an insulin spike...

Most everything I've heard and read on recovery and insulin say that insulin spikes immediately post-workout are good... here's one:

"If an athlete can generate high levels of insulin (an ‘insulin spike’) after exercise, this drives glucose into muscle to regenerate his glycogen stores rapidly..." ...from this link (http://suau.co.uk/files/Recovery_Protocol.pdf).

...unless I'm not understanding you right, B.D.

Cheers! - RJ

chocolate milk because 1 i'm poor and 2 every study i've read says it works just the same

A glass off choco soy milk

+1 silk chocolate soy milk....itsgoooood! and a spoonful of jif peanut butter....

Most everything I've heard and read on recovery and insulin say that insulin spikes immediately post-workout are good... here's one:

"If an athlete can generate high levels of insulin (an ‘insulin spike’) after exercise, this drives glucose into muscle to regenerate his glycogen stores rapidly..." ...from this link (http://suau.co.uk/files/Recovery_Protocol.pdf).

...unless I'm not understanding you right, B.D.

Cheers! - RJ

Ok. Not clear on my part. What I should have said is without the normal results of an insulin spike.

Insulin is a hormone that triggers a response. Glycogen Synthase is an enzyme that transports glycogen into the cells. Normally, when you have an insulin spike (which would normally happen when drinking something rife with simple sugars like coke) this particular enzyme activity ceases and another enzyme (can't recall exact one) takes over and carries the glycogen instead and it gets stored as fat. (The same thing happens when you go to sleep. Different enzymes are used and sugars get stored in different places.)

This reaction doesn't occur when your body REALLY wants glycogen. It will accept the simple sugars.

I'm not a doctor but this was what I have been taught and have been using for years. Please correct me if I am wrong but be specific. I'm certainly not above learning!:D

Low Fat Chocolate milk from Trader Joes. I also like boiled potatoes on longer rides, when I get tired of gels and cliff bars.

Usually chocolate milk after longer rides. I'm going to try recoverite and see if I notice a difference.

What if anything are you guys using as a recovery drink?
Does anyone see any real difference from when they do use a drink or when they don't?

I sip on a 32 ounce Dr. Pepper or Coke (for 30-45 minutes... I don't just gulp it down) and I'll drink a "Naked" protein juice smoothie or a Nestles Quik chocolate milk somewhere inside that time as well. I prefer the non fat Nestles Quik if I can find it. I shoot for 75-90 grams of carbs within the first hour. The sooner I start drinking, it seems that the better I feel and quicker I recover. I then try to eat a small to medium sized meal within an hour and a half after that or so. My real recovery secret is the Advocare "Nighttime Recovery" pills I take before bed. I ran out of them for about two weeks and could really feel a difference without them, especially after high intensity, hard rides (hill intervals, sprints etc). Works for me. :D

+1 endurox, I'm noticeably less sore after rides since I started drinking endurox post rides

orange flavored endurox most of the time

but you're gonna love this: the thing i've found to be the best recovery aid for me is a really good ale and a bowl of edamame, 1 hour after a ride. don't ask me why; i can't explain it. but the day after that, the legs are great and i feel like superman. well, i feel like the way superman would feel if he was 53. so i guess i feel like a really old superman. so you can call me 'old superman'

Recovery Smoothie - works every time

8oz OJ
5oz Strawberries
2 Bananas
12g Whey Protein
4g L-Glutamine

or if away from home, a can of V8 and a 250 calorie can of Ensure does the trick as well

chocolate milk because 1 i'm poor and 2 every study i've read says it works just the same



What do you pay for your milk? Endurox, etc are $1.25/approx per serving.

I'm trying to get through my tub of Recoverite so I can get back to using Endurox.

Endurox. I like the orange flavor.

Low-fat choc milk is the bomb! But I only drink it after a race, otherwise I just eat a regular meal with carbs and protien.

Your respective dairy boards are seeing a real boon based on what, 1 study that I've read? Has anyone seen any more? By this I mean separate studies not the same study rehashed.

Milk is about the last thing I want after a ride or a race. (In all honesty I've never tried it so I could really be missing something (smiley face)). To the best of my knowledge humans lack the enzyme needed to fully digest cow's milk. Personally, it makes me phlegmy as all get out (another smiley face). I especially don't get chocolate milk. The oxalates in the chocolate bind to to calcium making it bio-unavailable. Calcium is something athletes burn through and something that needs replacing after an intense work-out.

Recovery drinks aren't just about carbs and BCAAs. You need a whole host of vitamins, minerals, electrolytes etc, in balance and in the right form to maximize the result. Otherwise why bother at all?

I'd be really interested if anyone has a link to more info on milk. The stuff I spout I've known for years but that doesn't mean that new information hasn't altered, updated or disproven it in some way.

I just listened to a podcast from enduranceandnutrition.com (http://www.enduranceandnutrition.com/) where they talked about milk and choco milk being as good as the recovery drinks out there. After hard training rides/races I usually drink 1% milk with a scoop of whey protien. Works for me, although sometimes when it's hot I don't feel like drinikng the milk. I may try some accelerade soon, just for something different.

I just listened to a podcast from enduranceandnutrition.com (http://www.enduranceandnutrition.com/) where they talked about milk and choco milk being as good as the recovery drinks out there. After hard training rides/races I usually drink 1% milk with a scoop of whey protien. Works for me, although sometimes when it's hot I don't feel like drinikng the milk. I may try some accelerade soon, just for something different.

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

Sure, I'm not saying milk is better, I drink it and it seems to do it's trick. But you can find studies to prove pretty much any point you want.

Best thing is to try a few different things and go with what works for you.

I purchased a small tub of Powerbar Recovery drink in Orange. Taste is not bad and the price was right.

I'm trying to get through my tub of Recoverite so I can get back to using Endurox.

Send it to me. I love Recoverite. Works better for me than anything else I have used.

Send it to me. I love Recoverite. Works better for me than anything else I have used.

It works, so I'll keep using it until this tub is gone. It's the taste I can't get used to. Like crunchy, warm, spoiled milk.

When do you guys use recovery drinks? After a very hard 30 minute trainer session or only after a multi hour ride or........? What are your generalizations on this?

this is what i use:

25g whey protein (optimum Nutrition)
50-75g of Carb from maltodextrin powder.

I will take 1 or 2 Endurolye capsules as well. I sip this while stretching, changing, icing, etc.

I typically suplement this with a high carb, low fiber meal within 30 minutes of finishing a ride (i get the boiling water going ASAP). Pasta has really been great as of late, but clean cereals with skim milk work or cream of wheat or rice or white potatoes...

I use that same drink mix on the bike too... usually 2:1 or 3:1 carb pro, as I often have other fuel that's just carb, like gels, fruits or pretzels, this brings me to a 4:1 or 5:1 ratio... does the protein help?? I dont know. It doesent seem to hurt at all...

-----Anyone else use whey protein while on the bike? percieved results??

-L

What do you pay for your milk? Endurox, etc are $1.25/approx per serving.
milk by me is like 3.50 a gallon for skim from a semi local dairy "farm?" and chocolate syrup is like 1.50. Way more then 4 servings in there.

this is what i use:

25g whey protein (optimum Nutrition)
50-75g of Carb from maltodextrin powder.

I will take 1 or 2 Endurolye capsules as well. I sip this while stretching, changing, icing, etc.

I typically suplement this with a high carb, low fiber meal within 30 minutes of finishing a ride (i get the boiling water going ASAP). Pasta has really been great as of late, but clean cereals with skim milk work or cream of wheat or rice or white potatoes...

I use that same drink mix on the bike too... usually 2:1 or 3:1 carb pro, as I often have other fuel that's just carb, like gels, fruits or pretzels, this brings me to a 4:1 or 5:1 ratio... does the protein help?? I dont know. It doesent seem to hurt at all...

-----Anyone else use whey protein while on the bike? percieved results??

-L

I use soy protein, not Whey when on the bike. I read something somewhere (Hammer Nutrition probably) that said Soy was the better protein while exercising.

During rides of 1.5 or more hours, I use the following 300 calorie mix per bottle:

50g Maltodextrin (Glycoblast)
20g Honey
6g Soy protein

When do you guys use recovery drinks? After a very hard 30 minute trainer session or only after a multi hour ride or........? What are your generalizations on this?

After an extremely hard effort of 1/2 hour or more, after extremely long distance events, or when I have more than one medium to heavy effort in a day.

milk by me is like 3.50 a gallon for skim from a semi local dairy "farm?" and chocolate syrup is like 1.50. Way more then 4 servings in there.

6.4 servings based on 20oz

I make my own with 1 part motor oil and 2 parts mineral spirits...


wait wrong thread

i never touch bourbon

Wow, you're missing out.