The benefits of post workout drinks have been known for many years. The ingestion of a carbohydrate/protein mixture within thirty minutes of working out has been shown time and again to increase the body’s ability to recover from exercise. The problem is that supplement companies have taken this knowledge ran with it. They have pretty much flooded the market with their version of recovery nutrition. So, a very common question I get, as a personal trainer, is “What kind of recovery supplement should I take?” People are usually shocked when I tell them to save their money and go get some chocolate milk! Think about it, what’s present in most post workout shakes? I’ll tell you: High glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates and fast absorbing protein. Hmmmm kind of sounds like chocolate milk to me! The only difference being the milk protein (casein) is a slower absorbing protein, but that has not been proven to be significant. The most important thing you get from the drink is the carbs anyway.
To further prove my point, I would like to show you this. The study was performed on cyclists and compared chocolate milk to a carb replacement drink (I’m assuming it’s something like Gatorade or Powerade) and a fluid replacement drink (pedialyte?). Here’s another article in which the author compared chocolate milk to Biotest’s Surge Recovery Drink. For recovery and price, chocolate milk won on both occasions. The only area where Surge was superior was convenience. Most people don’t like carrying milk around in their gym bag.
Here’s another way to look at it: These two didn’t have Biotest or Waxy Maize and they seemed to do just fine!
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