Post ride recovery drink ?

chalky1

Right, firstly i apologise if this has been covered before, secondly for the length of this query

In an attempt to pep me up whilst in the saddle i've opted for some energy add in to my camelback, HIGH5 4:1
This is at the right ratio and is worked out by men & women in white coats and specs ? "Maybe" ?
higher carbs than Protein content to fuel,

SO
In the aftermath of an epic ride and in preperation for the next day ive been looking at a post ride dietry add in ! i have always thought more Protein than carbs however when i received my HIGH 5 4:1 i also got some ZERO Tabs and an interesting sachet of For Goodness Shakes ! it has more carbs than Protein ?
Now i,m sure that this stuff is made by and chemists scientists and dieticians alike and i,m not questioning their reasoning or know how but if thats the case shall i just use the 4:1 carb loaded HIGH 5 for post ride ?

I know all about MILK, and other such wonder foods but i have tried almost everything whilst trying to resist these magic potions !
My riding is suffering at the moment due to sore legs and fatigue,
I,m looking at probably a blast round Dalby on a Thurs, Glentress Fri & Innerleithen Sat
OR
CYB Beast, MBR,Penmacno, In 3 Days

Maybe not massive for some on here but i cant bounce back as fast as i used to !

All help much apreciated !

nozzac

As far as I've been able to glean from the research nutrition has limited effect on muscle soreness but what little it can help is by using the same nutritional guidelines as for most prolonged, intense activity. That is to say - make sure you're loaded up with carbs and have some protein in your system before exercise, drink mostly carbs but with some fast protein during exercise and get a decent amount of carbs + protein after exercise. Exact ratios of little relevance but more carbs and protein unless you're a bodybuilder and even then maybe.

So a decent meal before, the drink you alread have during, followed by a decent meal after. If the meals are likely to be too far either side then an easily digestible mix such as chocolate milk or super-expensive drink or bar can get some in whilst you wait in line at the chippy (carbs, high quality protein and sodium all in a tasy and portable form!).

Given you're male and a mountain biker, you'll obviously feel much more comfortable spending unseemly amounts of money on a supposedly ultra-scientific specialised gel than drinking milk in that pre-meal window.

Anonymous

Milk is good, slim-fast milkshakes are ace too, nick them off your woman

tony620

i think the idea behind the for goodness shakes is to replenish the depleted carb stores and then having the protein to recover and repair. you can use for goodness shakes during exercise and after. so if you are doing a mega ride use it twice and you might be able to feel the benefits

I genrally get home and have plenty of milk and sometimes if i know and feel like i put a hell of alot of effort in i will have a for goodness shake aswell.

angry_bird

Guiness.

chalky1

Ah OK thanks,

Yeeha
Well my mrs is a size 8 and doesent do slimfast, THANK GOD ! The stuff us Vile
As i said i know all about the Milk thing, and i wont be riding any where near home.

Nozza, I,m strictly off Gels, i cant see that £15 it would cost to get me round an all day ride cost effective, "I,m from Yorkshire" arent you suposed to have them about every 20 - 30 minutes ?

:oops:

I try to have a good meal the evening prior and a good bowl of porridge in the morning but when i,m away from home riding Glentress, Inners then up to Dalbetie its usually the Chippie in Peebles that gets hammered, followed by the Italian.
Breakfast is usually chocolate & flap jack ?

I thought the Goodness shakes in powder form would be a good substitute for a crap diet as well as aiding recovery ?
I will try them and revert once i have some experience of the potions,

Thanks.

nozzac

chalky1 wrote:

I thought the Goodness shakes in powder form would be a good substitute for a crap diet as well as aiding recovery ?
I will try them and revert once i have some experience of the potions,

Thanks.

I'm not an expert (I just play one on the internet) so I'm not the last word in nutrition. I just have a strong interest and a little education in the subject. So don't take my word for it, read the literature.

I don't think they are a bad thing but you just have to accept that they mostly just some carbs and some protein in a drinkable form, nothing more. If your diet is missing those nutrients, have a need for more than you already have, or they enable the correct timing for getting them when needed then they would be valuable.

I made up shakes whilst weight-lifting for many years and they can be a useful thing. I needed the protein (although probably not as much as I was taking) and wanted some with every meal and before/after training. So breakfasts were a shake made with whey, casein and powdered oats + some fruit for minerals, vits etc. This worked pretty well. I had my wife on them too because she is a carboholic and doesn't get much protein if left to her own devices. In my case I needed these nutes to build extra muscle and she needed them to balance her diet. Were I not building muscle or were she already eating a balanced diet then they wouldn't be much use.

If they are convenient and fill a need then why not? The sports scientists working in cycling and other more cardio based exercise seem to have eventually caught up with the bodybuilding guys in realising the importance of protein in training rather than just being about carbs as they seemed to be before.

Yeah the gels are pretty pricey and grim too IMO. Having said that you do need fuel to ride for a long time and it's hard to get that just in a drink. I don't like sugary drinks all day because they really damage your teeth - you're soaking your teeth in sugar every few minutes for many hours. At least with gels or bars you give them a rest between doses.

nozzac

chalky1 wrote:

I thought the Goodness shakes in powder form would be a good substitute for a crap diet as well as aiding recovery ?
I will try them and revert once i have some experience of the potions,

Thanks.

I don't think they are a bad thing but you just have to accept that they mostly just some carbs and some protein in a drinkable form, nothing more. If your diet is missing those nutrients or you have a need for more than you already have then they would be very valuable, if not then they are just a handy way of getting them.

I made up shakes whilst weight-lifting for many years and they can be a useful thing. I needed the protein and wanted some with every meal and before/after training. So breakfasts were a shake made with whey, casein and powdered oats + some fruit for minerals, vits etc. This worked pretty well. I had my wife on them too because she is a carboholic and doesn't get much protein if left to her own devices. In my case I needed these nutes to build extra muscle and she needed them to balance her diet. Were I not building muscle or were she already eating a balanced diet then they wouldn't be much use.

If they are convenient and fill a need then why not? Certainly the sports scientists working in cycling and other more cardio based exercise seem to have eventually caught up with the bodybuilding guys in realising the importance of protein in training rather than just being about carbs as they seemed to be before.

Yeah the gels are pretty pricey and grim too. Having said that you do need fuel to ride for a long time and it's hard to get that just in a drink. I don't like sugary drinks all day because they really damage your teeth - you're soaking your teeth in sugar every few minutes for many hours. At least with gels you give them a rest between doses.

If breakfast is just flapjack and chocolate then I would have thought a shake would fit in there, providing the protein that meal is short on.