[Closed] Protein during/after exercise

After a long ride, I find that a chocolate milkshake like a Frijj or a Mars Milk does make quite a difference, in that I don't get the aches and pains that I would if I didn't have one. It'll certainyl tide you over until the next meal time at any rate.

+1 for chocolate milk. I find it makes a big difference to how I feel the next day.

Protein/carb mix before and after. During also if it's a long event/session. Started using the night time protein things before bed too which I feel is beneficial (train quite late in the evenings, definitely helps with sleep and I reckon it helps legs feel better the next day too.)

Read quite a lot about it a few years ago now and started doing it. Use to feel quite hungry during long workouts and it definitely helps with that.

Pint of skimmed milk, i think there is about 15gs of protein in that.

All the supplements people are basically replicating the content of chocolate milk, which is roughly the correct ratio of protiens/carbs and as much as your body can use.

Buy chocololate milk and don't pay for the marketing.

Is chocolate milk better than plain milk and if so, why?

Is chocolate milk better than plain milk and if so, why?

More simple carbs I guess. Yoghurt is meant to be good too before bed.

[i]+1 for chocolate milk. I find it makes a big difference to how I feel the next day.[/i]

I find the same with plain old normal semi skimmed milk. What difference does chocolate make, apart from the price?

Protein is required for repair - 1gram per kg of body weight per day

Carbs are required to replace glycogen to be taken during and withing 30 minutes of completing exercise - avoid carbs bound in fat - in fact, avoid fat!

For me, protein shake after every training session, including recovery rides. Get carbs from real food.

Started using the night time protein things before bed too which I feel is beneficial (train quite late in the evenings, definitely helps with sleep and I reckon it helps legs feel better the next day too.)

+1 although i don't train that late in the evenings. And mines not a night time specific one, but same principal 🙂 Have you tried a non night time one mrblobby before bed to see if there's any diff?

IIRC protein during exercise is meant to slow down muscle damage / protect muscles from damage.

For the cost of a half-decent bag of whey protein and adding a scoop of it to your post-workout milk shake, it might be worth trying. Then again, if the medical risks are too high, it might not be.

The risks aren't high. Try it and see if it works for you. I find it helps my recovery and endurance.

Does anyone have any good links to some actual science for this?

Have you tried a non night time one mrblobby before bed to see if there's any diff?

Use to just do a normal non-night time one, but been trying the night time one. Can't really say I've noticed much difference other than it tastes a lot worse! (Been using the SIS one.) I think it's meant to have extra stuff in like magnesium that is meant to help with sleep, mine's gotten pretty bad so I thought I'd give it a go.

Does anyone have any good links to some actual science for this?

On STW? Never!

You could try a homemade recovery recipe.

Skimmed milk
Hot Chocolate powder
Skimmed milk powder
Banana.

two spoonfuls of each powder and adjust to suit taste afterwards. Milk powder ups the protein, choc powder the carbs and the banana has potassium and other bits and bobs which can help recovery.

Proper recovery shakes will source the carb content from somewhere other than sugar and contain several other ingredients to aid recovery.

The last I had read protein during exercise was debateable whether it had any effect. Probably a couple of years ago.

My view is that if you are doing a really hard workout (not just a ride) then it seems silly not to give your body ample proteins to do some muscle building.

Milk with a couple of scoops of protein powder if I'm at home.
Proper serving of Torq recovery protein if I'm away from home (just mix with water)

If doing an long gentler ride or a recovery ride then a simple glass of milk straight after and normal food within an hour.

Training is about recovery so you can train again. Food, water and sleep in that order works well for me.

I don't bother. Occasionally I'll have a chocolate milk but a can of coke seems to work as well.

The specific recovery drinks are expensive and make me fart. I'm dubious as to the benefits. Maybe if you are elite training very hard but for the rest of us?

Rusty Shackleford - Member
Is chocolate milk better than plain milk and if so, why?

The addition of the chocolate adds sugars (Glucose?) which helps er, something. Absorption speed/quantity absorbed I think.

a couple of pints of beer is pretty good at replacing simple carbs lost in a hard session, OK the alcohol isn't the best, but if your not training for the Olympics, why not 🙂

Frijj milkshake for me, the choclate brownie one. They're a real pain to keep in the fridge though 'cos the bloody kids keep drinking 'em!

Used to use protein shake (maximuscle) but they're just too expensive.

Frijj milkshake for me, the choclate brownie one. They're a real pain to keep in the fridge though 'cos the bloody kids keep drinking 'em!

Do you really need all that sugar, though?

For a non milk drinker, other than (wheat) beer or a supplement, what's the next best thing? Would soya milk work - almost as much protein but nowhere near the carb content?

Milk for me, but it goes off in no time in the car if you drove somewhere to ride. In which case I have a drinks bottle of water and protein powder (from decathlon) measured out in another bottle. Make it up when you get back, tastes dodgy but stops the usual aches and pains 🙂

I use the High5 protein recovery drink mixed with milk, and a protein bar after a race. Feel much better the next day. Try and get it consumed as soon as you can after exercise.

Do you really need all that sugar, though?

Probably yes, terrible at getting enough calories on the bike. Just in from a 90 miler and I only ate about 450, ruined by the end.

For a non milk drinker, other than (wheat) beer or a supplement, what's the next best thing? Would soya milk work - almost as much protein but nowhere near the carb content?

I always make my own smoothie to take with me so i can get some carbs and protien in post run or ride, havent drunk protien shakes for years and dont miss them. The smoothie will give you the carbs and protien your body needs until you eat a proper meal within the two hour mark.

6 organic bananas
4 organic dates
handful of blueberries
a pear or handful of grapes
300ml of coconut milk
two teaspoons of organic sugar
and a shot of vanilla flavoring

This is my tried and tested recovery drink, and hasnt failed me yet, if you can find a plant based organic protien powder then you can always put a teaspoon in the smoothie if you wish, but most of them are junk with all kinds of chemicals inside

Heehee. Don't do bananas either...

I used SIS rego for a while which definitely stopped the aches, but I'm using Barretts whey protein with 400ml of milk now, which is cheaper and works just as well.

Colournoise,

I make a vegan recovery shake based on pea protein - it has bananas, but you'd just replace with anything that gives similar carbs.

0.5l Soya/nut/etc drink
2 medium 'nanas
3 scoops pea protein
5 scoops dextrose
Cocoa & salt to taste.

Gives around 40g of protein, 110g carbs, 600kcals(ish)
Measures based on my bodyweight of 68kg

colournoise - Member
For a non milk drinker, other than (wheat) beer or a supplement, what's the next best thing? Would soya milk work - almost as much protein but nowhere near the carb content?

Alpro do a chocolate milk where the protein carb mix is about the same as semi skimmed, chocolate milk or magic bean infused recovery products.

After trying many different recovery/protein drinks over the years I have given up.
I don't feel any better or worse for having or not having any recovery products
I eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water and train hard. Try to cool down correctly after exercise and stretch and roll regularly.
Yes I'm a bit stiff and sore the next day, why wouldn't I be. If I feel like a rest day every so often I have one, If I feel strong then I'll train harder. That's it simple as that.
I don't believe in supplements and believe you can get all you need from a good variety of fresh fruit and veg, meat etc...

I use chocolate milk because it's cheap, it seems to work for me and i like the taste. I don't care about sports science, not least because as soon as someone appears to prove something, someone else proves the contrary and the end result, oddly enough, always seems to mean you need to buy expensive supplements.

I also favour pork and pickle pies as fuel on longer rides and mix water with pineapple juice in my water bottles.

I would try stuff and see if it works for you. If it does great, if not, tick it off the list. Just don't try anything for the first time at a race or other event.

Thanks all, I will give it a go - many workouts are short runs those so I wonder if it matters after that.

Shame no one oosted any science, though I get that there may be little that's impartial (and I'll have a look myself).

The generally accepted rationale behind the post-exercise chocolate milk/protein-based recovery shake thing is that there's a short, 30-minute, glycogen window after hard exercise where your body replenishes the glycogen stored in muscles and liver more rapidly - miss it and it takes longer to replace the depleted stores.

The reason for the protein element is that some research apparently shows that carbohydrate mixed with some protein - chocolate milk etc is about the optimum ratio - is absorbed more rapidly than carbohydrate alone. Viz, it's there to speed up the absorption of the carbohydrate.

Given that muscle/glycogen supplies get hammered by anaerobic stuff, it seems logical that it's more important after intense sessions than less brutal ones. That's the supposed science anyway. And it seems to work for me in real life, though I'm hardly an elite athlete.

The protein during exercise thing I'm less aware of. Like I said above, I'd try it out in training and see how your body reacts.

Probably yes, terrible at getting enough calories on the bike. Just in from a 90 miler and I only ate about 450, ruined by the end.

Could that not be because your body is use to getting it's sugar, ergo energy, from your blood sugar? If you ate less sugar your body would get use to looking to your body fat for it's energy reserves, where a lot more calories are stored.

I read an article in trail running magazine last year that said you can only store around 2-3000 calories in your glycogen, whereas even the skinniest of racing snakes can store 50-60,000 calories in their body fat.

I am sure I have misunderstood something, so forgive the layman's interpretation and feel free to ignore if so.

I've never tested it scientifically but I've heard the choc milkshake thing from many different sources over the last 10 years. Choc milk + a proper stretch down seem to work ok for me - especially a foam roller session.
Cheapest way to make choc milk (Friij is £1 a bottle) is cadbury choc powder - 1.5-2 rounded dessertspoons + 1.2 pint of milk in the blender. Job done

Sort of [url= http://www.jissn.com/content/4/1/8 ]sciency article in the JISSN[/url] about protein intake and exercise.

You can by two 1-litre cartons of chocolate milk for £2.00 in Tesco - less hassle.

I'm currently trying to put on weight following cancer treatment and I've gone back to drinking full cream milk, I'd forgotten how good it is and it seems to be working (the three tablespoons of extra thick double cream I have on my Frosties helps too).

cottage cheese before bed...low fat high protein which is slowly digested through the night. body builders love this shit.

tinned sardines / mackerel on toast.

milk and milk powder

Use to just do a normal non-night time one, but been trying the night time one. Can't really say I've noticed much difference other than it tastes a lot worse! (Been using the SIS one.)

Yeah i've heard they taste rubbish. I tried torq recovery plus for about 4 /5 months this summer (racing pretty much weekly), it has to be the worst sports drink i've ever tried (it works however)

The way the protein thing was put to me is that all the studies about the protein consumed with carbs are done on endurance athletes but a 2 hour road race (or similar) isn't endurance so the protein is the most important to consume within 15mins of stopping exercise. Carbs from real food.

Also, some chocolate milks aren't exactly great - yazoo for example, has cellulose in it! 😯

And to whoever was asking about non dairy versions. I'm off dairy atm, but can tolerate some types of whey so worth trying a few. Otherwise hemp protein with a shot of cherry juice is my usual post exercise option. However, hemp tastes rank - its gritty and looks like swamp water. Mix it coconut water or a little fruit juice with water to make it taste nicer. Other non dairy ones would be rice or pea protein. I've looked into both in the past but settled on hemp.

Andypaul99 - That's a damn good smoothie, but that 300ml of coconut milk contains an awful amount of fat
Try replacing it with low fat soy milk 😀

There is scientific data related to protein use. Yes its good before and also after. But many people dojt know that using it in combination with carbs is useful. Tests show that itcan help althletes perform for longer whe combined wuth carbs than carbs alone. It is also helps recovery to happen faster than wuth carbs alone.

Andypaul99 - That's a damn good smoothie, but that 300ml of coconut milk contains an awful amount of fat
Try replacing it with low fat soy milk

Thanks, and thats a good point. However, l do try to avoid Soy as there is ongoing research that suggests that soy products may have adverse health affects, and most beans are genetically modified also.

The fat content isnt too much of a problem for an active person, you could of course just swap it for water but i love the taste of coconut milk and it also has a good PH for the body, almond milk is another alternative 🙂

Sort of sciency article in the JISSN about protein intake and exercise.

Thats a good article, the body only needs 1.2g of protein per KG of bodyweight per day, any exccess is stored as fat.
Unless you are trying to gain mass on your body (im not sure why a cyclist or runner would want this) you will get enough protein from your food, and if you are worried just eat a handful of almonds in addition to your meals, but powder? No way

The only people that should take protein supplements are body builders (most could'nt care less what they put down their necks), Vegan athletes on some days, and possibly multi stage endurance athletes, but even that is debatable being they have chefs and nutritionists to ensure the meals have the right amount of protein anyway. 🙂

The supplement market is worth £50 billion worldwide, there's alot of money for marketing and influence there me thinks!

if you are worried just eat a handful of almonds in addition to your meals, but powder? No way

almonds have a load of fat and thus calories as well though. Why not protein powder to help you meet your daily protein requirements if you're struggling to get enough with meat? Some days I find it hard to eat that much protein so a protein shake is a quick and easy way of getting 20g of lean protein.

Some days I find it hard to eat that much protein so a protein shake is a quick and easy way of getting 20g of lean protein.

Almonds are rich in mono-unsaturated fats, which has a positive effect on cholestrol, the fibre contained in the nuts also blocks some of the fat being absorbed by the body.

Why are you finding it hard to get enough protein? Its tricky without knowing what you are eating on a daily basis, but even two slices of bread contain nearly 10g.

If you absolutely must have a protein shake then why not make your own?
There are loads of tips on the internet, like this for example :
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Homemade-Protein-Shake-Without-Protein-Powder

Some science stuff for protein intake. I have copied this from else where.

The purpose of this is not to try to pinpoint what an "optimal" protein intake is, I'm not sure we'll ever have a concrete answer to that question anyway. Absent any evidence that high protein intake is harmful, there's really no good reason to take a mimilist approach to protein intake.

The current RDA for protein intake is .8g/kg of bodyweight. The real kicker here is that they claim that there is no benefit to eating more than that. I simply want to arm people with research that disputes this.

So, here we go:

1.4-2g of protein per kg of bodyweight is beneficial for individuals engaged in intense exercise:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20048505
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19278045
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17908291
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18500966

2-3g/kg is beneficial for athletes:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14971434

Older subjects lost lean mass getting the RDA protein recommendations (.8g/kg):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11382798

Double the RDA outperformed the RDA for individuals in a calorie deficit:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/495538
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16046715

Triple the RDA outperformed the RDA for individuals in a calorie deficit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19927027

Subjects with a 1.5g/kg protein intake lost fat and gained lean mass:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10838463

Of people that don't exercise, high protien intake causes less lean-mass loss:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17299116

Andypaul99

almond milk is another alternative

I quite often go for a banana smoothie - couple of bananas, 10 ice cubes and 200ml of yoghurt. Add a little vanilla extract and/or maple syrup or honey to make it a bit more tasty and a pinch of salt.

Stops me hitting the thing I crave most after a long ride - salty crisps or chips!