Why Are Recovery Drinks Good For You
Although the list of advantages of exercising is extensive, it also drains your body of crucial fuels and nutrients. Consuming a beverage that is formulated with the correct types of nutrients at the appropriate timings after your workout could make a huge difference in your fitness results and overall health. Always seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional for guidance before making adjustments to your exercise or diet routine.
Timing
Recovery drinks are a great way to replenish fluids and energy lost during exercise and help prepare you for the next exercise. The first two hours after exercising, your liver produces glycogen, which is the short-term store form for glucose at one-and-a-half times the normal rate. This is the ideal time to consume a high-carbohydrate recovery drink. Consuming carbohydrates right after exercise will also trigger your pancreas and cause it to produce insulin, which instructs your cells to take in glucose. During the next four hours glycogen production is still elevated but gradually slows.
Drinking out of a clear bottle will help you mix your ingredients properly so you will be able to digest it easier.
Fatigue
If you train twice per daily, drinking a sugar-based recovery drink will ensure sufficient energy to sustain you during the second session. It will also assist you to keep yourself from injuries and move faster toward your fitness goals. With time and regular training, your glycogen storage capacity increases by up to 20 percent. This means you’ll have more endurance and better performance in your sport of choice. Make sure you consume 1.5 grams of carbohydrate for each kilogram of body weight during the first 30 minutes after exercise and every two hours during the first four hours and up to six hours, according to the nutritionist Sari Edelstein co-author of “Life Cycle Nutrition: An Evidence-Based Approach.”
Aerobic Capacity
Your recovery drink is able to satisfy both your glucose requirements and your chocolate cravings. The University of Texas at Austin Department of Kinesiology and Health Education Low-fat chocolate milk is a great post-workout recovery drink to increase lean muscle mass and less fat. Chocolate milk is rich in protein, which makes it a better energy drink compared to carbohydrates alone. It is also able to boost your strength, speed and endurance — a measure of your body’s capacity to utilize oxygen by up to two times.
Body Composition
A study in the Juni 2012 issue of “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” discovered the consumption of a recovery drink with carbohydrates, protein and ribose — which is one of the building blocks of ATP which is a vital energy-carrying protein — can improve body composition in endurance athletes. The participants, all males who were in their 20s to mid-twenties consumed the drink after exercising five days per week for eight weeks. The results showed a reduction in percent of body fat within the initial up to three weeks. Body weight, aerobic capacity and endurance didn’t change much with the help of the recovery drink in this study.