[Closed] most effective and tasty recovery drink?

Hmm, unless you're absolutely destroying yourself on the ride in (and wanting to do the same on the ride home) you shouldn't need one. You'll consume more calories in a recovery drink than you will have burned in the 12.5 miles riding!

pint of whole milk.

flavoured milk has been shown to perform as well as anything.

the science is dodgy at best but the usual thing is protein / carbs mix with water. sweetened flavoured milk fits the bill

The aim is to destroy myself on the ride in...there's a few tasty climbs and I'm doing it on a singlespeed so my legs feel pretty shot when I get in.

Also worth saying I could do with putting on a few pounds weight...

Milk is pretty good but not as good as For Goodness Shakes imo. The vanilla tastes medicinal but the strawberry is most excellent.

I use it more of a meal replacement it stops me destroying the fridge when I get back from a ride and if it's been a tough one and I have to go again the next day For Goodness Shakes makes all the difference.

£2 sachet just add to 500ml of water

For Goodness Shakes...I second that. £1.50 ready made. I also try those dodgy looking ones that come in a can of beans style can. They do nothing.

and you can by them in a lot of local shops and newsagents as milkshakes, at about the same price. sounds ideal.

edit : beaten by Dan . I'll have to "third" it. 🙂

One pint of milk & one raw egg & 3 tea spoons of sugar all whisked together = a banana milk shake flavoured recovery drink. Honest.

The aim is to destroy myself on the ride in...there's a few tasty climbs and I'm doing it on a singlespeed so my legs feel pretty shot when I get in.

Spin home. Sorted.

Also worth saying I could do with putting on a few pounds weight...

No you couldn't. Gaining weight will not enhance your cycling unless it's muscle (and even then that's not much use for XC racing, you want to be lean). Knocking back recovery drinks will be more likely to make you fat.

1/2 beetroot, 1 kiwi, 2 apples (no cores) with skins all in the blender, doesnt taste all that but its highly effective. anything you buy in powder form is going to have an amount of chemicals, goodnesshakes tastes ok but £2 for a milkshake isnt cheap after every ride

Fair point njee20. Guess I just need to MTFU

[i]1/2 beetroot, 1 kiwi, 2 apples (no cores) with skins all in the blender, doesnt taste all that but its highly effective.[/i]

Fair bit of Fructos there, I'm thinking.
Not sure how effective Fructose is at helping you recover.

Sort of what njee said but in my training manual it suggests a smoothie of OJ, a banana and some maltodextrin, VITs and eletrolytes like liver salts (teaspoon) etc - well I have tried banana, OJ, Multivit and liver salts in a drink and its good and very cheap 🙂

Timothy Taylor's Landlord, or a pint of Golden Best, if you've had a particularly difficult workout.

1/2 beetroot, 1 kiwi, 2 apples (no cores) with skins all in the blender

Not much protein there

tastiest ? banana milkshake, 3/4 pint of milk, 1 banana and dollop of icecream, blender.

are there rest days in this plan?

Bombardino ?

sorry, wrong thread - that's skiing

I'm not bemoaning recovery drinks as a whole, they're very useful, particularly if you can't have proper food or whatever. Always knock one back after a race.

However, if you're commuting 25 miles a day (assuming you're doing the same each end of the day?) that's maybe 40 minutes riding. You don't need a recovery drink for that. Really.

What do you weigh incidentally, why do you think you need to gain weight? Bearing in mind you're just lugging that extra mass up all the climbs.

[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/nutrition-you-should-cocoa--26491/ ]Cocoa![/url]
Apparently.

For Goodness Shakes are pretty good if you want something effective and ready-made.

Don't bother with those tins of 'Nurishment' (I think they're called) that were referred to by danjthomas, they're terrible.

As for many previous posters, I make my own recovery drink by blending together : 1/2 litre skimmed milk, 1 lge banana, 30g scoop of whey protein powder* & 2 or 3 tsp of cocoa powder

(protein powder from myprotein.co.uk)

True, it is only 40/45mins riding each way(less on way home) but think because it's the start of the day I end up feeling pretty drained. Maybe need to eat more porridge before heading out.

I weigh about 72kg and am 6ft...I didn't think I was particualrly underweight but after a recent health check was advised to try and up my calorie intake.

Oops. Ignore.

I use and really like Torq Recovery Chocolate Orange. Very tasty but I only use it for rides over 3hrs long, or 2 hr if I've been going really hard.

You don't have to have the full three scoops per drink. For shorter rides you could just use 1 or 2 scoops and this might do the job.

I'm with njee on being pretty skeptical if you'll need it after a sub-1hr ride.

40/45mins riding each way(less on way home) but think because it's the start of the day I end up feeling pretty drained. Maybe need to eat more porridge before heading out

For what it's worth, my commute is around 40 minutes at each end of the day, with the majority of the climbs on the way home.

I tend to treat my commute as some kind of personal time trial which makes it quite an intense workout. I'm on an MTB too, which makes it harder work.

In the morning I just have a mug of strong coffee before getting on the bike, and eat a proper breakfast when I get to work (muesli with added kiwi/banana/protein powder & skimmed milk).

I think a lot depends on eating a decent evening meal the day before (I mean nutritious rather than big).

A 40 minute ride shouldn't need any special food intake provided you eat properly/sensibly throughout the day.

I weigh about 72kg and am 6ft...I didn't think I was particualrly underweight but after a recent health check was advised to try and up my calorie intake.

I'm 73kg and 5'11. A sports physio recently told me that I'm carrying a bit and if I lost another 3.5kg I'd be a much quicker runner.

Get on a diet, fatty!

I run 4 mornings a week and ride a 23mile each-way commute once a week. I have a coffee before I leave the house and muesli with milk when I get to work. Seems to be enough for me.

most effective and tasty recovery drink, got to be Cider 😛

I'm on an MTB too, which makes it harder work.

Not really. If you'd said it was 10 miles then an MTB would be harder, but for a given time an MTB is no harder than a road bike. Lower gearing, so if anything it's easier.

I weigh about 72kg and am 6ft

You don't need to gain weight then. That's a reasonable starting point, don't eat crap, ride more it'll stabilise.

I work in 2 offices, one is about 10 miles each way (ridden twice a week), route depending. I don't eat anything special either end of the day. T'other one is 45 miles (ridden one return trip over 2 days), still don't eat anything special! Bowl of cereal before I go sees me right.

Chocolate or Vanilla Rego for me, made with half milk, half water.

Wouldn't use it after a ride of less than a few hours though.

I was doing something (for about 18 months) very similar until the back end of last year. I found, certainly for the first few months, that I was getting properly knackered towards day three. The key is just to eat the right things, eat when you get to work and not before you set off, a snack at 3pm really helped me too such as some unsalted nuts or a banana. I'm unconvinced about recovery shakes, they cost a fortune and (most) taste like sh!t. The For Goodness Shakes ones don't taste bad but if you're planning to have one every day the cost will soon mount up over a month. I'm sure there are gains to be had from protein shakes, but I think its for people much further down the fitness scale than me

Not really. If you'd said it was 10 miles then an MTB would be harder, but for a given time an MTB is no harder than a road bike. Lower gearing, so if anything it's easier.

😆

Torq strawbs and cream

Protein shake works for me when I'm commuting regularly.

Was getting very achy legs (and a big hunger later in the day 🙁 )

14 mile each way on the mtb. Something around 50 mins to 1.5 hrs depending on trail & daylight conditions

If you're getting leg spasms at night then sis nocte, it's got sweetner though.

I'm on an MTB too, which makes it harder work.

Not really. If you'd said it was 10 miles then an MTB would be harder, but for a given time an MTB is no harder than a road bike. Lower gearing, so if anything it's easier.

It's 11.5 miles (if I go the shortest route)

I meant 'harder' in the sense that riding at the same speed on a roadie-ists bike would require a lot less effort ... as proven by the odd roadie who glides effortlessly past me on occasion

It's probably equally hard, but just for a longer period of time on an MTB as top speed is lower

I don't just bumble along in a nice easy gear either - my average commute speed is 17/18 mph

6' and 85kg, seeing as we're having a weigh-off

I use Zipvit Sport* ZV5 which is a night time recovery drink and is bloody amazing. It's consistently praised by top athletes.

It isn't cheap though and I only use it when I'm really really battered. I like recovery not to forced. Normal food and water is fine and work very well. Protein for repair, simple carbs for energy store restoration, water and a little salt for re-hydration - it's not rocket science and doesn't have to cost a lot.

*I do some work for them.

I'm 73kg and 5'11. A sports physio recently told me that I'm carrying a bit and if I lost another 3.5kg I'd be a much quicker runner.

Bah, I'm about the same build as you and I was pretty chuffed to get to it (post-xmas diet), now you tell me I'm still a fatty 🙁

Still, just started commuting by bike which should help. Nice big 300m climb on the way home, lovely.

Milk is pretty good but not as good as For Goodness Shakes imo

For Goodness Shakes are full of sugar, colouring, and other crap you don't need.

I use Zipvit Sport* ZV5 which is a night time recovery drink

I might give that a try, nocte is rank. Big fan of the zipvit watermelon electrolyte tabs.

Try it with full fat milk rewski

I meant 'harder' in the sense that riding at the same speed on a roadie-ists bike would require a lot less effort ... as proven by the odd roadie who glides effortlessly past me on occasion

But you didn't say that - if your commute takes 40 minutes the bike is irrelevant. 40 minutes on the road bike is as hard (if not harder). I see what you mean though, were you to have a road bike it would probably be less, assuming you rode the same distance. I'm being pedantic.

Although you could ride more slowly if you desired on a mountain bike. Whole different kettle of fish.

Whole milk and Nesquik or Mars Refuel are two for £2, if you want pre-mixed in a handy bottle.

Zipvit Sport* ZV5 works out about £2.10 a serving, cheaper than a pint of ale 😉

Whey protein from myprotein.co.uk is the best quality/value around.

[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/ ]www.bikeradar.com/fitness/[/url] has a few articles on nutrition amongst others
- how to recover hard rides
- why milk is the perfect recovery drink
- home made sports drinks
(links didn't work here)

Bah, I'm about the same build as you and I was pretty chuffed to get to it (post-xmas diet), now you tell me I'm still a fatty

😆 My wife tells me I'm too bony as it is and has vetoed any further weight loss.

She's also told me that she expects a 34min 10k this year. Make your mind up woman.

Just milk is a great recovery drink, cheap and easy to get hold of. You can enhance it by blending milk, a banana and coco powder. It tastes great and is cheap, add cinnamon for a wee kick.
I have used Hi 5 4-1 fuel/ recovery drink, quite expensive so for races only. I have found it to be very good with a marked improvement in performance due to the protein content.
Good luck in finding the right thing that suits you.

Oh yeh +1 for chocolate milk shake, read somewhere that it is the perfect recovery drink!

My wife tells me I'm too bony as it is and has vetoed any further weight loss.

Women seem to get worked up when you weigh less than them 🙄

I've just started drinking about 200ml of chocolate milk (Tesco's own brand) within 15 minutes of finishing rides and do feel better for it plus according to Strava my average speed has increased. Result!

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1/2 beetroot, 1 kiwi, 2 apples (no cores) with skins all in the blender, doesnt taste all that but its highly effective.

Fair bit of Fructos there, I'm thinking.
Not sure how effective Fructose is at helping you recover.

True the mix doesnt have much protein, but to be honest you can get all the protein you need from normal whole foods, what you dont get is the nitrates in beetroot which reduces post muscular fatigue, the pottasium and magnisium from the kiwis which you would loose through sweat and the usoric acid from the apple skins, which protomes muscle growth. I dont do recovery shakes or bars any more as they are so full of the cr@p you dont need..

I guess you can't make your own shake at work hould you want one but at home I do similar to a few other up there. 1/2 pint of milk, banana, protein powder, Camp coffee essence and chocy ovaltine all blended together.

I have read in a couple of places that as you age you do not process protein as well. At 50+ I am trying to keep my protein intake up a bit. Can do 100km road rides on successive days easily enough.

i like 2 parts milk to one part for goodness shakes

Yazoo from the nearest garage on the way home.

I'd be interested to know how many have breakfast pre commute or on arrival at work? I'm currently wolfing down porridge/muesli or the like plus a banana and coffee before heading out and burping it up constantly during the ride, I wonder if I set off earlier and had a bowl of muesli/protein/banana in work.

People can tell me it's pointless as much as they like (the same people that say energy drink during exercise is pointless) and I can sort of see their point as I only ride 2x per week and eat plenty. However - if I use a complex carb energy drink during the ride, and/or recovery drink afterwards, I feel a hell of a lot better the rest of that day and all of the next day. If I use nothing I can feel really ropey and apparently can be moody (thanks dear!) however much I eat before and well after the ride. I also am noticeably more like to get a cold after riding if I don't eat/drink something very soon after returning.

FWIW I generally use 50g / 500ml SIS rego after anything much over an hour, but I do get a gripey stomach sometimes and other people I know get the same. I see they do an "easily absorved" version for more money now, I have just swapped to Torq to see if it is any better.

Yazoo for me, when I take one... Not expensive, easily available (in different size bottles too), doesn't need to be kept cold, and it's lovely. A win on multiple fronts.

Big choco milk fan here. The "science" says a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein, within 30mins of finishing a workout. Chocolate milk fits this pretty well as it is whey protein (in milk) and simple sugars.

Definitely more important the more intense the workout is as said above. Then again if you are starving an hour after getting to work then its probably an indication you should eat/drink/take something after the ride.

Rego with water. Only after very very hard rides when I think I might suffer that night.

Mordue Workie Ticket, or Radgie Gadgie, if it's been a particularly hard workout.

nourishment

Henry Westons Vintage Cider

BLISS

and a pint of water might help after that

half a pint of milk or a can of coke or a nice cup of tea. 12.5 miles is a warm up...

[img] [/img]or [img] [/img]

Nesquik and skimmed milk for me after ahard ride.

"I use and really like Torq Recovery Chocolate Orange"
Blimey, its good stuff but i had to gag it down in one. Pricey as well.

I'm surprised only one recommendation for myprotein. works for me and also stops me for commando raiding the fridge.

Or instead of all the [b]extremely[/b] processed food, from above, you could have an apple.

I've tried Rego and Torq. I prefer the taste of Torq, but the effectiveness seemed similar.

As njee says, you shouldn't need it for your commute. I would recommend that you just take Wednesday off riding to recover instead.

If that doesn't grab you, try drinking an energy drink during the ride. Not loads of it - as has been pointed out, you're not burning a truckload of calories. But, I've found that dilute energy drink makes "Friday legs" a bit less of an issue.

If it's just your legs that feel done in and you have a shower at work try 30 seconds of cold water on them. It sounds mental but it does seem to work.

I agree with Aidan on using an energy drink during instead. I tend to use a weak Torq mix on longer commutes, does help, more so than necking a recovery drink containing more calories than you just burned!

I'm sure I saw something on the BBC recently where they looked at basic food & drink & put it up against sports equivalents.

I think they had one show which covered sports recovery drinks vs natural drinks & milk came out a clear winner.

publically available - chocolate milk or milk
at home: banana, milk, honey and oats. good mix of sugar, carbs, protein, nothing unhealthy at all and damn tasty

MyProtein Total Protein has 46 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of carbs in a 60 gram serving. There are a couple of different types of protein in it so it will release gradually over the day and take the edge off your appetite.

I agree with Njee. He knows his onions, or in this case recovery drinks.

For what's it's worth for my 35 miles a day I don't eat anything special. Only extra thing is a bowl of Bran Flakes & banana at 11am.

i usually have a choc milk, asda or tesco cheap ones or yazoo, if i dont have any i'll go for milk
after a hard race or ride on sunday though i usually feel really lathargic the next day. its really anoying as i always eat/drink something within 15 mins and use an energy drink or gels on the ride.

Wifey works for a health food company and she has done quite a bit of research on this as they can order 'off the peg' mixtures of carbs/proteins etc from the manufacturers. She has a client in America who used to be an elite cyclist (Came over here for the Milk Race) but is now in his 60's and still races at a very high level. He is an obsessive roady and does a lot of lab testing on his VO2 levels and what have you.
He has been corresponding with her recently about beetroot capsules and he gets an increase of 3% in oxygen up take to the blood, which gives him a 1 min improvement in a 10 mile t/t.
Shame, can't stand beetroot myself 🙂

recoverite - made by Hammer Nutrition. A miracle in powder formula, seriously good...take within 30 minutes of finishing and again within 2 hrs if unable to eat.

It has really changed my experience considering the temp here in the jungles of malaysia and the terrain covered...

Look it up, not sure if available in the UK.

cheers
shiny

He has been corresponding with her recently about beetroot capsules and he gets an increase of 3% in oxygen up take to the blood, which gives him a 1 min improvement in a 10 mile t/t.

Forgive my cynicism, but really? That's an absolutely colossal improvement, if elite athletes were getting that sort of gain they'd all be popping beetroot!