Saturday, December 12, 2009

What Recovery Shake Should I Use?

A common question I have gotten from clients and bootcamp goers, is "What recovery shake do you recommend?" At first, I wanted to recommend the shake I use occasionally, but then I realized, this is something I haven't done enough research on. So I found a few articles online, looked up a few research studies, and have come up with the following information for those of you who want advice on your post-workout recovery.

The first website I found was: http://www.truthaboutabs.com/post-workout-meals-shakes.html

Then I found: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Making+Your+Post+Workout+Meal+Count+for+Muscle+Building-a01073955351 which basically has the same idea. You want to eat protein, carbs, and no fats after your workout.

This Article mentions a study proving that eating real Meat after a workout helps promote muscle growth better than eating any other source of protein: http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/1181.html, found it on this website: http://stanford.wellsphere.com/exercise-article/new-theory-on-recovery-from-workouts/77936.

What I recommend, from my own personal school of thought, is to eat recovery FOOD. Instead of a recovery drink, try to get in a simple carb and some protein within 30 minutes of finishing your strength training workout. This will prevent muscle loss and refuel the muscles so that they are less sore than they would've been the next day. An example of a recovery meal that I personally enjoy eating?

1. a bowl of lentil soup and a piece of gluten free bread or some crackers
2. a sandwich with lean meat, or tuna
3. fat-free greek yogurt with granola(mine's gluten free) and dried blueberries
4. gluten-free pasta with meat spaghetti sauce
5. QUINOA or Quinoa Oatmeal (Made from smashed quinoa)


Now that I've read the article about eating meat vs. other protein sources, I will try to include more meat and less plant sources of protein right after I work out.

I still haven't answered which recovery shake I recommend. I suppose if you can't get the real food in your body it is better than nothing, so here are a few I found with ingredient lists I can live with:

1)ProEnergy - although it has Stevia in it (which I'm not a huge fan of)
2)Endurox - the protein shake recommended to me by my fellow personal trainer and friend, Jake
3)I found something called Warrior Milk- but I can't find any reviews on it, nor can I find a complete ingredient list. It seems cool, but I am not 100% sold: http://www.warriormilk.com/

I do want to talk about my own personal experience with Endurox. I tried the following Endurox myself: http://www.accelsport.com/product-info/EnduroxR4-lemon-lime-info.html. The problem I have with Endurox is:

A) It has artificial coloring in it.
B) It doesn't really follow with my nutritional rules of eating WHOLE. Aside from that, in a pinch, it's not bad stuff.

What I did like about Endurox is that it relieved muscle soreness, and also prevented muscle cramping when I drank it DURING a run.

Anyway, that's all I've got for you. If you have any comments, please feel free to share. I'd like to emphasise that I'm a human being and my word is NOT law. I just do the research, and report what I find, and how I feel about it. I encourage you all to do the research yourselves and see what you come up with. If you find any information you feel you need to share with me, please feel free to email me or even call me and let me know!

Enjoy your holiday season!

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