Revcovery shakes /protein drink

homers_double

After reading quite a bit and a very informative PM I'm going to have a look at some protein/recovery shakes.

I'll probably have one as will MrsHD when she gets back from the gym.

First port of call was wiggle who have this on offer http://www.wiggle.co.uk/high5-protein-recovery-16kg/

Second was Holland and Barrat who stock something along the lines of this http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/p ... m-60035607 which isn't as economical even though it BOGOF.

Has anyone any thoughts or alternatives?

kajjal

From my experience any chocolate milkshake will do the job along with generally eating healthily.

I find a milkshake after a long ride means i don't get minor muscle aches the next day.

imposter2.0

homers double wrote:

Has anyone any thoughts or alternatives?

Simply consuming a normal and varied diet is a pretty good alternative. Full-time pro athletes on an intensive schedule might benefit from this stuff, but ordinary BR members don't really fit into that category. Don't get taken in by the marketing bullsh1t.

homers_double

The good lady is steering this ship so it's mainly for her as she's doing some strength training and is looking to decrease muscle aches. And "it's what everyone else at the gym drinks".

Sometimes it's easier to bite the preverbial and let them get on with it.

photonic69

A glass of milk and a boiled egg will probably give you the same amount of protein and for a fraction of the price.

imposter2.0

homers double wrote:

The good lady is steering this ship so it's mainly for her as she's doing some strength training and is looking to decrease muscle aches. And "it's what everyone else at the gym drinks".

Maybe remind her that 'muscle aches' are an inevitable consequence of exercise.

geode

If you're after whey protien then bulkpowders.co.uk is cheap, they advertise discounts on the homepage and regularly have 30% or 25% off deals. Add fruit, oats and a small amount of peanut butter and blend, you have a recovery shake with sugar, complex carbs, fats and protein for around 70p a shake.

term1te

Low fat cottage cheese is the protein source of the savvy champion. Then spend all the money you've saved not buying into sports nutrition marketing on all the extra bike bits a different marketing firm say you need.

fenix

Yeah just milkshake after big efforts. You don't need the fancy stuff.

ddraver

Just to give the flip side, I do find they help but only after a long or hard ride (I can usually judge if I ve got the balance right by whether or not the drink tastes good or not - that's kinda too late though). The other thing I find them very helpful for is quelling the ravenous hunger you have after a ride where you can very quickly scoff half the fridge somewhat undoing the calorie defecit you ve developed on the ride.

I'd be surprised if they really make much difference after a gym session though, building strength means regrowing bits of muscle which hurts. I'd be looking more towards stretching or foam rolling (or a massage from your good self) if I were her, but you re never going to eliminate it

singleton

I make my own chocolate milk so I know whats in it.
I mix approx 250ML milk, 1 scoop of whey protein powder, 1 teaspoon of drinking chocolate powder & 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder into a blender and give it a good blast. Comes out thick, chocolately and not too sweet - lovely.
Feel free to copy and adapt my recipe.....

buckmulligan

I'm very much an advocate of these kinds of products but you need to think about what you're trying to get out of them. Different products have different purposes and will only elicit a training/recovery benefit if you use them correctly; just because everyone else down the gym is chugging protein shakes and energy gels right-left-and-centre, doesn't mean that any of them have the faintest idea what they're doing!

To cut a very long story short, if you're doing a high-intensity session that is going to burn a lot of muscle glycogen, then replacing that immediately after the workout with a rapidly-absorbed source of carbohydrate and protein will be beneficial. The key points in this are "high-intensity" (i.e. intervals above FTP aka sweating your nuts off) and "immediately after the workout" (i.e. at the gym whilst you're still sitting in your sweaty clothes). You want this to get into your bloodstream whilst the blood flow to your muscles is still high from the workout and your insulin response will be low; this will help to replenish the muscle glycogen you have burnt up and kick-start the recovery process ASAP. To re-iterate, if you're going to take a shower, drive home, mess around for half an hour and then have one, don't even bother because it won't do a thing for your muscle recovery, it'll just expand your waistline; you want it inside 30 mins absolute maximum, preferably 10 mins. I like Science in Sport Rapid Recovery for this, but there are plenty of options out there; regular chocolate milkshake isn't bad in this regard (high GI carbs, some protein albeit slowly digested and absorbed) but in my opinion it's not as effective as a purpose-designed product.

If you're doing high-force workouts (e.g. weight training) that cause high muscle fatigue but don't necessarily burn a lot of muscle glycogen then obviously you want to cut down the carbs and up the protein. The same principle applies, you want a rapidly absorbed source of protein that's going to get to your muscles quickly to kick-start recovery ASAP. Whey protein is widely regarded as the best for this purpose in that it has everything you need in there to build and repair muscle effectively and it is rapidly digested and absorbed. Again, you want to consume it immediately after your workout whilst your blood-flow to those muscles is high. These can also be used to supplement your diet outside of workout time if you feel as though your protein intake is low; obviously "low" is a relative term here, how much protein you want will depend on the type, intensity and volume of your training. There are literally hundreds of options here, ranging from cheap to extortionate; the most basic thing to look for is the amount of protein per serving, because a lot will be bulked out with cheap carbs.

Ultimately, if you're training less than 6-8 hours a week, you should probably be getting all of your nutrition from your regular diet and these products will likely offer you very little benefit. When you're in the 5th week of your 6 week build block and trying to hit your 3rd consecutive double-workout day is when these products can really help out. If you don't know what you're doing I'd recommend spending your cash on a decent book on nutrition first (such as Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald or The Feed Zone by Allen Lim and Biju Thomas) and read it before deciding what to do next. Compared to a tub of whey protein, it'll be cheaper, last longer and improve your understanding of what role nutrition plays in your training.

olake92

You can chuck a spoonful of nutella in with some milk and whey protein isolate, blend in a food processor/blender and you have a delicious chocolate milkshake. Put a banana in for some extra goodness and a different taste if you fancy, maybe some oats if you don't mind the extra calories (mine hits 700kcal ish).

Personally, I use Myprotein impact whey isolate. That's usually up there in terms of £/100g and from a reputable company (although I use their batch tested stuff that costs considerably more).

EDIT: wtf. I didn't add that hyperlink. Is that automatic now?

aberdeenal

For Goodness Shakes Vanilla ready made drink - works for me :-)

steve55

Agree with others saying keep this simple:
Milk + milkshake powder + a scoop of whey protein = all you need.
The milk contains the stuff your body really needs, I add the Nesquik for taste and only bother with the whey protein if it's been intense or long.
I use a cheap protein shake mixer to mix and then down in one!

keef66

Glass of milk or hot chocolate for me after a ride, depending on whether I'm hot or cold. But the thing I find best for reducing muscle aches in the following days is a soak in a nice hot bath.

dork_knight

Here's a good option to try (I would ditch the oil);
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/thrive-sports-drink/

Some info to backup the above option;
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/post-workout-recovery/

I might give this one a go as I usually base mine around a plant based milk.

stu-bim

Milk with chocolate syrup, a tiny price, easy and simple
Only after a long cardio session though
Similar nutritional value and no hassle

And 'real food' as quick as possible. Something cooked that you can tell what it was before it was cooked

I have tried them all and lately I have seen better results from up'ing my protein and lowering my carbs in my diet. Gotten a lot stronger and leaned out too.

Most gym weight sessions do not burn a lot of calories so no need to replace a lot.
I tend to try and get increased protein in general to try and relieve muscle pain
THe 30 min window was invented by the supplement companies

charlie_potatoes

A high5 recovery drink works out at 80p a go if bought at Wiggle price. I get the impression that some people on here think that recovery drinks are expensive?
It is sweet FA compared to the £££'s I spend on everything else cycling related.

imposter2.0

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

A high5 recovery drink works out at 80p a go if bought at Wiggle price. I get the impression that some people on here think that recovery drinks are expensive?
It is sweet FA compared to the £££'s I spend on everything else cycling related.

Nobody has said they are expensive. But lots of people have said they are not necessary, which is a bit different.

charlie_potatoes

Imposter wrote:

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

A high5 recovery drink works out at 80p a go if bought at Wiggle price. I get the impression that some people on here think that recovery drinks are expensive?
It is sweet FA compared to the £££'s I spend on everything else cycling related.

Nobody has said they are expensive. But lots of people have said they are not necessary, which is a bit different.

A few posters mentioning price and how much cheaper milk, nesquick, eggs etc. are which is why I am left with that impression.
I am aware of the difference between necessary and expensive.

ravenvrider

I use high 5 recovery or sis rego whichever has the best deal on at the time...I prefer rego as I find high 5 foams up a bit when shaken but both are good and quick to mix, I literally get off the bike mix immediately and drink after every intense interval or hill session.

I don't use it after normal rides but find it really useful after hard sessions where it's quicker and easier than making a meal and I can't be bothered making home made stuff.

Each to their own.

neeb

I use the high5 recovery stuff, not because you can't get the same benefit from other things but just because it's quick and simple and doesn't need thinking about, and I don't want to be faffing around with mixing things together just after a ride. If I liked milk (hate the stuff) I might just drink chocolate milk, although even with that you have to remember to buy it regularly and keep it stocked in the fridge. The high5 just sits on the shelf in a big tub and takes a minute to make up when you need it.

neeb

ravenvrider wrote:

I find high 5 foams up a bit when shaken but both are good and quick to mix,

That'll be the vanilla flavour - the chocolate foams a lot less, I think maybe because it's based on glucose rather than maltodextrin (the two are nutritionally almost identical but glucose tastes sweeter).

ravenvrider

Summer fruit or whatever they call it....I have to almost roll it around the shaker to mix just to lessen the foam...if I actually shake it I find the foam level unpleasant...

g00se

As had been said, consume carbs and protein within 20 minutes of a hard cardio workout. About 50g carbs, 20g protein. More than that and it's junk calories going in. A lot of the protein powders will recommend double that amount of protein.

Also, for the muscles to use this to repair, you also need various Amino acids at the same time. Lucene, I think, is the main one. Meat protein is a good natural source for this. If you're veggie/vegan, you may need a protein supplement.

silverbugle

I work on something that will provide roughly 4:1 carbohydrate to protein mix. If I am home I usually do it with toast and honey or jam washed down with a cup of green tea, but use a milk based drink if I am not at home. For goodness shakes are good, but if you look at the carb/protein mix for ready mix own brand milk shake of any flavour it is the same. The sports nutrition recovery drinks allow to replicate this with a water based drink, but as some of the other posters here have said already, unless you think you need to eke out that last 0.1% of performance the average recreational cyclist or someone just going to the gym to bet a bit fitter or stronger doesn't need it.

I don't do it for short work outs, and I would class a visit to the gym as a short work out. Scroll down to the bottom of this article, which support chocolate milk but also talks about why a recovery drink of any type after a short session is more likely to make your fatter than fitter.

http://www.nutritionaction.com/daily/ex ... xercising/

Crapaud

I'm a bit of a skeptic about using supplements, preferring to eat naturally, but I realised that I'd been holding back at spin classes and upper body/core strength classes to avoid muscle soreness. If I put in a really serious effort I would be a near cripple for days - on one occasion nearly a week.

I got some whey protein samples from ye olde protein shoppe up the road to try, then gave it some welly. Although there was still some soreness the next day, I was good to go the day after. After 6 weeks of using it, the results are noticeable.

Had a quick look at Anita Bean's book Food for Fitness, which I've been using to tailor my diet, and you can get the same results through eating the correct foods. The main point of protein shakes seems to be convenience, but, IME, they do work at kicking off the recovery process when trying to build muscle.

meanredspider

g00se wrote:

As had been said, consume carbs and protein within 20 minutes of a hard cardio workout.

I don't understand why you need protein within 20 minutes.

It's very clear why you need carbs: your insulin level spikes for 20-40 minutes after exercise and will preferentially restore glycogen in muscles during that time.

The body will take and use protein when it can get it and only needs what it can use at any moment else you will excrete it as urea.

g00se

During and after exercise, muscle protein synthesis decreases and muscle protein degradation increases. To switch this around and rebuild, you need carbs, protein and amino acids. You're consuming carbs to restock glycogen, so add protein and amino acids at the same time to rebuild muscles too.

Looking for some references, I found something that also said there is an even greater benefit for rebuilding by consuming carbs and amino acids before exercise, but not really any difference for protein.

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/2/533S.short

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/94/3/809.full

http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/292/1/E71.short

meanredspider

My point is though that there's no "magic window" for protein like there is for carbs. There's obviously no harm in taking on protein then but there's a real benefit in taking on carbs.