Recovery powders and nutrients

Barrzy257

Can anyone suggest a good recovery shake? Preferably not one which is stupidly expensive, I used to use the Torq stuff as I could get it at a good price but unfortunately that avenue is no longer open. Something similar would be great, so a protein/carb mix, now I know some will say its a waste of money and I can get all the essentials from a correct diet but the shakes make it a much easier process and they work for me.
All recommendations welcome!
Cheers
Barrzy257

Grill

High 5 is good and can be found relatively cheap.

Barrzy257

Have tried some high5 recovery and found it tasted very chemically? I liked the torq stuff as it was very clean tasting, if this makes sense?

danlikesbikes

Have used these guys before & are pretty good for the price. Think they sell through Ebay too with free delivery?

http://www.allsports-online.co.uk/index.php

Grill

Barrzy257 wrote:

Have tried some high5 recovery and found it tasted very chemically? I liked the torq stuff as it was very clean tasting, if this makes sense?

Back when I still used recovery products ( I find them unnecessary these days) the chocolate high5 was good although can't comment on the other flavors. I'd blend it with milk, ice, and a banana. Good stuff.

Barrzy257

Just had a look at the Myprotein RecoveryXS, has decent reviews so may give that a go? Anyone have a discount code, or a refer code?
Or I was considering making my own, with a whey protein or milk protein mixes with maltodextrin and dextrose?

Grill

Just have a glass of milk and a couple of bananas. It will sort you right out.

Camcycle1974

Barrzy257 wrote:

Can anyone suggest a good recovery shake? Preferably not one which is stupidly expensive, I used to use the Torq stuff as I could get it at a good price but unfortunately that avenue is no longer open. Something similar would be great, so a protein/carb mix, now I know some will say its a waste of money and I can get all the essentials from a correct diet but the shakes make it a much easier process and they work for me.
All recommendations welcome!
Cheers
Barrzy257

Clue. It's white and comes from cows.

Grill, you beat me to it. All this guff about recovery drinks is just a means of parting you from you hard earned cash. milk has an ideal blend of carbs/protein for recovery as well as vits/mins. Not sure I would drink it out on a ride but afterwards its perfect. Add fruit/chocolate etc to make it more interesting. I bought into the whole protein powder thing when I trained with weights a lot but soon realised milk was just as good.

pkripper

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Barrzy257 wrote:

Can anyone suggest a good recovery shake? Preferably not one which is stupidly expensive, I used to use the Torq stuff as I could get it at a good price but unfortunately that avenue is no longer open. Something similar would be great, so a protein/carb mix, now I know some will say its a waste of money and I can get all the essentials from a correct diet but the shakes make it a much easier process and they work for me.
All recommendations welcome!
Cheers
Barrzy257

Clue. It's white and comes from cows.

Grill, you beat me to it. All this guff about recovery drinks is just a means of parting you from you hard earned cash. milk has an ideal blend of carbs/protein for recovery as well as vits/mins. Not sure I would drink it out on a ride but afterwards its perfect. Add fruit/chocolate etc to make it more interesting. I bought into the whole protein powder thing when I trained with weights a lot but soon realised milk was just as good.

Not technically correct. Whilst milk is good and has a pretty useful blend (its what I grab if there's nothing else available) its not quite as complete as many of the formulated drinks, but will be better than some.

So the key is really to define what you're trying to recover from to be able to do. Then look at the right formulation for that as its not as straightforward as a one size fits all.

But the reality is that for most of us at the level we ride and or race, a bit of milk and bananas, or even a coke serve a useful purpose. The other thing you most definitely have to consider is the "recovery window" as that's the optimum tome to get yourself fed with the right stuff, and its not necessarily as simple as one shake and its recovery done. There's plenty of online resources for it - once you've figured it out, have a look at infinit in the states and customise to your hearts content if you still want to go down that route..

Camcycle1974

Sorry. What's not technically correct? The fact that milk has a blend of protein/carbs and vits/mins?

At the end of the day you pays your money and takes your choice but humble milk has been proven to be better than many so called recovery drinks at replacing lost nutrients.

Drink some milk, eat some decent food and you will help your body to recover. The rest is just marketing I'm afraid. Up to you if you want to buy into it I suppose.

white91

Milk is useful but not ideal, raw milk is much better. Something like Recovery XS would be ideal and is quite a good price considering

thegreatdivide

If I’ve done a particularly hard training session:

1 x 25g scoop of Myprotien Impact Whey
1 x heaped spoon if Lidl choc powder
Milk

I also like to add a 25g scoop to the next morning’s smoothie too.

zardoz

Ready made Chocolate milk is quite nice and seems to be quite widely recommended and cheap!

Grill

Milk = cassian protein which is slower burning and promotes protein synthesis (muscle repair)

It does help but it's not essential. I hardly ingest any protein these days (80/10/10 vegan) and recover just fine off bananas. It does go to show that your body will eventually adapt.

pkripper

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Sorry. What's not technically correct? The fact that milk has a blend of protein/carbs and vits/mins?

At the end of the day you pays your money and takes your choice but humble milk has been proven to be better than many so called recovery drinks at replacing lost nutrients.

Drink some milk, eat some decent food and you will help your body to recover. The rest is just marketing I'm afraid. Up to you if you want to buy into it I suppose.

Sorry, I thought my response confirmed exactly why milk is not perfect, but hey-ho, clearly not. Milk is an option, and a pretty good one as it does have a fairly decent blend of a limited number of nutrients, but it does lack some. Which can be sourced elsewhere. And the bonus is that it's readily available almost anywhere. But then conversely you then choose to add stuff to it, which is clearly going to change that 'ideal blend' so that's where it begins to fall down i'm afraid. Equally you can argue that milk does have the 'ideal blend' of sugars, protein, fat etc, but certainly the protein is predominantly casein, which is less effective than whey. And a formulated drink will replace carbs quicker due to the blend of those.

So, some study results make great media, but they don't always give the whole picture.

Which is why I went on to make the point about choosing the right mix for you, which will depend on the exercise undertaken, recovery timeframe required, overall goals, budget etc. And that mix may be milk, but it may not be.

it's equally arguable that coke works as a recovery drink if all you need is to replace carbs after a particular exercise, which would make the milk or any other option overkill. Of course, it would still work to some degree as everything will.

Camcycle1974

If you read your post all you said was that its not as complete as some recovery formulas which may or may not be true depending on composition so no, you didn't make it exactly clear!

Where is your evidence that whey is more effective than casein? Casein is assimilated more slowly than whey which in itself is a good thing and is also less likely to cause stomach upset and bloating etc.

Milk might not be a "perfect" recovery food but I would rather drink milk than something synthesised in a lab.

Whey is just a bi-product from cheese making which supplement companies have found a way of making big bucks off gullible people from.

Milk and a banana followed by a proper meal will replace any missing nutrients. Throw in a multivit for safety if required.

thegreatdivide

Camcycle1974 wrote:

If you read your post all you said was that its not as complete as some recovery formulas which may or may not be true depending on composition so no, you didn't make it exactly clear!

Where is your evidence that whey is more effective than casein? Casein is assimilated more slowly than whey which in itself is a good thing and is also less likely to cause stomach upset and bloating etc.

Milk might not be a "perfect" recovery food but I would rather drink milk than something synthesised in a lab.

Whey is just a bi-product from cheese making which supplement companies have found a way of making big bucks off gullible people from.

Milk and a banana followed by a proper meal will replace any missing nutrients. Throw in a multivit for safety if required.

Will that be a multivit synthesised in a lab and sold to gullible people then?

pkripper

thegreatdivide wrote:

Camcycle1974 wrote:

If you read your post all you said was that its not as complete as some recovery formulas which may or may not be true depending on composition so no, you didn't make it exactly clear!

Where is your evidence that whey is more effective than casein? Casein is assimilated more slowly than whey which in itself is a good thing and is also less likely to cause stomach upset and bloating etc.

Milk might not be a "perfect" recovery food but I would rather drink milk than something synthesised in a lab.

Whey is just a bi-product from cheese making which supplement companies have found a way of making big bucks off gullible people from.

Milk and a banana followed by a proper meal will replace any missing nutrients. Throw in a multivit for safety if required.

Will that be a multivit synthesised in a lab and sold to gullible people then?

And probably the same multivits that some studies show also contain substances that taken in excess can have adverse affects, both short and long term.

Oh, and reading back my post, I don't advocate a one-size-fits all solution precisely because it's not possible. A recovery solution of any kind only really works if you're doing the right thing for the recovery you need.

I'm more than happy using stuff synthesised in a lab if it's proven to work, and the side effects are within a tolerable range. If that wasn't the case, virtually all modern medicines would be inaccessible.

Camcycle1974

thegreatdivide wrote:

Camcycle1974 wrote:

If you read your post all you said was that its not as complete as some recovery formulas which may or may not be true depending on composition so no, you didn't make it exactly clear!

Where is your evidence that whey is more effective than casein? Casein is assimilated more slowly than whey which in itself is a good thing and is also less likely to cause stomach upset and bloating etc.

Milk might not be a "perfect" recovery food but I would rather drink milk than something synthesised in a lab.

Whey is just a bi-product from cheese making which supplement companies have found a way of making big bucks off gullible people from.

Milk and a banana followed by a proper meal will replace any missing nutrients. Throw in a multivit for safety if required.

Will that be a multivit synthesised in a lab and sold to gullible people then?

Not to me, no, but I get your point. Take no vits or anything in the way of supplements and I seem to do ok.

Rod11

Grill wrote:

Just have a glass of milk and a couple of bananas. It will sort you right out.

Exactly. Whilst yes, you could go out and by any number of recovery drinks, all of which will probably have similar effects, you could just drink milk. Some of the top women in the GB rowing team stopped using recovery drinks and just drank milk instead after training, and I wouldn't argue with them.

Camcycle1974

Guys, all I am trying to say is that a wholistic approach to post ride recovery is an option. Everything the body needs can be synthesised from food or from the environment and there is no need for expensive supplements.

If people choose to take supplements then more power to them.

keef66

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Guys, all I am trying to say is that a wholistic approach to post ride recovery is an option. Everything the body needs can be synthesised from food or from the environment and there is no need for expensive supplements.

If people choose to take supplements then more powder to them.

fixed a typo for you there...

pkripper

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Guys, all I am trying to say is that a wholistic approach to post ride recovery is an option. Everything the body needs can be synthesised from food or from the environment and there is no need for expensive supplements.

If people choose to take supplements then more power to them.

I can't disagree with you there - it is most definitely an option and not a bad one.

But, what I can also add is that the use of the right supplements / foodstuffs at the right times can allow for recovery that can be above and beyond what can be achieved by a purely holistic approach. It all depends what your individual goals are and whether you're suitably aware of your individual needs.

And the wrong ones can definitely make you go faster!

MartinB2444

Tuna sandwich and a glass of squash for me thanks. Most of the nutritional advice I read is long on theory and short on evidence especially decent outcome measures.

Camcycle1974

pkripper wrote:

Camcycle1974 wrote:

Guys, all I am trying to say is that a wholistic approach to post ride recovery is an option. Everything the body needs can be synthesised from food or from the environment and there is no need for expensive supplements.

If people choose to take supplements then more power to them.

I can't disagree with you there - it is most definitely an option and not a bad one.

But, what I can also add is that the use of the right supplements / foodstuffs at the right times can allow for recovery that can be above and beyond what can be achieved by a purely holistic approach. It all depends what your individual goals are and whether you're suitably aware of your individual needs.

And the wrong ones can definitely make you go faster!

Agreed, especially the last bit! I just wonder that for the vast majority of us the latest wonder supplement has more of a plaebo effect than anything else? Sure, nutrition can be planned down to the nth degree but that is more applicable for pros who have nutritionists working closely with them. For your average Joe (myself very much included) is the benefit worth the often very considerable cost?

white91

Everyone seems obsessed with cost, Recovery XS is around £1.20 per serving! A Mars milkshake is more than that.

Supplements are designed to supplement good diet and training, not replace them.

It also happens to be very easy to mix a shake.

Stewpot407

Why would you use Mars Milkshakes when Simi-skimmed milk and a couple of scoops of chocolate Nesquik probably cost around 50p a shot. That's what I use, not because of the cost but because its readily available from pretty much everywhere, even the little corner shop. Can't remember where I read about it but it works a treat for me.

I tend to make up a bottle before I work out and then zapp it in the microwave for 30 secs when I need it. That brings it up to body temp so it doesn't hit the stomach so much.

Cheers

Stew

white91

I only used Mars for a cost example. If it works for you then great, however I find what I use works for me. I buy in bulk so I don't even have to visit a corner shop.

BTW just be aware of the high sugar content in skimmed milk, not so much of an issue if you are active

Grill

No reason to be scared of sugar. It's necessary before, during, and after a ride.

Kingsmill1

I'm no expert but a few months ago when I was doing back to back 28 mile on day and the 30 the next I found on the third day I was as stiff as a board, I'm no pro cyclist just enjoy keeping fit on the bike I had a trial offer of a high 5 summer fruits recovery drink which I decided to try the after a 2 hour ride on the bike about 30 miles the following day I was quite suprised my legs were not like boards and thought something had worked I realise sometimes u can have the placebo effect but after trying this now for longer rides I'm pretty content is does something. I have t tried just milk or a mixing chocolate a d bananas but would think through my limited knowledge bananas are usually quickly release energy foods and maybe not suitable for recovery..

ianbar

i have been trying for goodness shakes for a couple of weeks, it seems pretty good to me. before that and if i havnt been out too long i go with the milk and nesquick option.