If you follow me regularly on Instagram (@ericmlogan), you probably know that I love a tall, cold one after a good workout in the gym or after a long run. A tall, ice-cold bottle of chocolate milk that is. It’s cheap, good for muscle recovery, helps replenish carb stores, hydrating and most importantly, it’s tasty. Besides, who can resist chocolate milk?
When I first started my fitness journey, I researched and tried different types of post-workout beverages: sports drinks, powders, etc. I soon discovered that many athletes drink low-fat chocolate milk post workout because it helps restore muscles quickly to their peak potential and helps replenish what your body has lost during strenuous exercise including fluids, important nutrients and electrolytes (calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium) lost in sweat.
Why is chocolate milk a good post-exercise recovery drink? According to the website builtwithchocolatemilk.com, more than 20 studies support the benefits of recovering with the high-quality protein and nutrients in low-fat chocolate milk. It contains the perfect ratio of carbohydrate to protein (between 3:1 to 4:1) to accelerate recover after intense exercise, Chocolate milk also helps replace fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise and contains key nutrients for health such as calcium and vitamin D. The goal is to try to get at least 8 ounces within 30-45 minutes of a hard workout or run because this is the window of time when the muscles are most receptive to sugar and protein in order to rebuild as well as minimizing your recovery time. More importantly, it is relatively inexpensive when compared to the engineered sports beverages on the market today.
At the end of the day, there is no need to spend a lot of money on fancy post-workout drinks that you have to mix up and might not taste so great. Just keep it simple and consider drinking a bottle of chocolate milk instead.
Source for this post: Built with Chocolate Milk