I understand the benefits. I am all about the recovery process in general. Sleep more? Yay! Don't overtrain? No problem! And I am regretfully familiar with the shaky, plungey feeling of having waited a hair too long to ingest recovery calories. I'd like to avoid that feeling. Oh yes, I would. It's getting from the what/why to the how-to part of the equation where I experience a significant fail. A simple, one-line instruction gets complicated tenfold in this mushy thing I use for a brain. Here's a sample of what my post-workout, train wreck of a thought process is like, "Consume recovery meal immediately. Er? Gels - like AccelGel promote themselves as recovery meals. Protein, small package, easily portable - sounds like a great idea. Until after my workout, that is. I cannot possibly make myself consume (another) gooey gel at that point. I've tried and tried. My stomach and throat become allies in gel resistance. I've read chocolate milk is a near perfect recovery meal - nutritious, delicious, easily accessible. But I'm not a chocolate girl. At all. Plain milk seems weird. Should I drink plain milk? Plain skim milk? Or beef it up by turning it into a recovery shake? How does that work? Thermos in the car? Five bucks at a Smoothie King on the way to work (assuming I had a job or knew of a Smoothie King)? Arrrgggghhhh.
So I'm throwing it out there. I need specifics, people! Even if you never comment - I need you to pony up today. Do you have something (other than gel/gu/shot blocks or chocolate milk) that works for you as a recovery meal? (And if you say shake, please Lord, give me details because the idea appeals but ends up being a complicated, unholy mess in my world!) Do you think it makes a difference whether your recovery nutrition is in the form of solid food or a drink? Do you suck it up and pay big bucks or do you have low tech and cheap solutions? Do you mix things up by having a different solution depending on whether you're racing from the gym to work or heading towards the comfort of your own home? Do you do something different if your workout is in the morning versus at night? Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope. Srsly.*Hour? Or is it a half hour? Even more pressure! I read different articles giving differing time frames with no explanation of why the longer or shorter window. I'm really pushing it to ingest something within an hour. If I've really only got half that amount of time to figure it out - I am so hosed.
Posts
19 comments:
I don't eat a recovery meal after working out. I usually have strawberry milk or accelerade. That's about all I can stomach. Of course, I'm not exactly a role model when it comes to high performance either, so maybe my example is what NOT to do. LOL
here's my strategy, after much research and planning from coaches and friends:
for workouts shorter than 60 mins, nothing really is needed. i like plain skim milk, but will skip that if i'm not working out at home.
60 - 90 mins gets a target brand protein bar, any flavor. These will melt in the car but not in the gym locker i found out. i will usually eat one with water while i'm getting ready for the shower.
If i'm going over 90 minutes or running more than 7 miles, i will break out the Recoverite. It's a powder I mix with 20 oz of water before the run, and consume immediately after with a target protein bar. i'll do long runs on the treadmill sometimes, and will sit in the locker room and eat protein bar and drink recoverite while preparing for the shower.
If you're going over 90 minutes, you want to consume 100 - 200 calories during the run. you want to take in the same amount of calories within a couple of hours after the run too. so for me a 20 mile run will take over 4 hours. so i want to consume 800 calories during the run, and another 800 calories after the run. ideally, it should be a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Recoverite has this ratio exactly. recoverite and protein bar is about 250 calories, and should be enough to get you back home and get a shower. after the shower, get some more food in.
If it's going to be a really long day like a 20 mile run, you want to start fueling the night before, then have the same thing after your shower. Chocolate chip cookies are a fantastic thing for this. Kelley also likes pasta salad tossed with mushrooms and a can of chicken. I like chicken and rice or pasta with a red sauce. or chicken and dumplings. or roast beef with rice.
just be sure there's plenty of carbs and some protein and about 200 calories per hour. i hope that's enough detail. say the word if you need more.
and yesterday Erica Badu gave birth to a little girl, and she named her Twitty Milk. WTF? i like the strangest musicians.
I'm with Lisa. I always do Accelerade. I don't think I could handle anything more than that :-/
dang it. i meant to say 100 - 200 calories PER HOUR during the run if you're going over 90 mins. and for a timeline, i like to get the recovrite/protein bar within 30 mins of finishing, and that buys you another hour and a half or so to get more nutrition.
if you get a headache, feel lethargic, or can't keep up with the kids then you need to eat more. couple of weeks ago, i ran 20 miles then worked (writing code under a deadline) until 11 pm that night, about 6 hours. i had to eat a ton to be non-droopy on the job.
I've been told (by my coach) that the recovery window to get in your nutrition after a workout is 30 minutes. I do it after every.single.workout no matter the duration or intensity.
Within that 30 minutes take in some type of 16 oz recovery drink. Examples are milk, endurox, or other recovery drink. I personally use Recoverite. It's expensive but as Steve In A Speedo sometimes says: "It's like crack to me." I'm out of Recoverite at the moment so I've been using hot chocolate.
When I work out at the gym or away from home (like a long ride or something) I bring a small cooler with a cold bottle of water and my Recoverite. When I'm done with whatever I sit in the locker room, or in my truck, mix it and drink it. Done in less than 5 minutes and moving on with things.
Working out at or near home I do the same thing, subbing hot chocolate in for Recoverite since I need to order more.
The key with recovery drinks is that I believe they are worth the money BUT you need to find one that you can and WILL drink! They all have a combo of protein and carbs. I latched onto Recoverite early in my tri career and have felt no need to try anything else because I like it.
As for a real "meal" post workout, Liz says to use a window of time equal to the duration of the workout itself and consume a well rounded meal containing a higher carbohydrate source and protein. By higher carb source she means to stay away from processed carbs. :-)
So after a 90 minute ride eat a real meal within 90 minutes of finishing. For short workouts of less than an hour you may not need to do this depending on what your body tells you.
I'm notorious for not getting a recovery meal 1) in the alloted amount of time and 2) probably not the right items to eat. I'm just not hungry and can't stomach the thought of food. I'm very good at taking my Sharkies and water every 2-3 miles religiously, so after a long run (and a shower) I usually eat a bowl of high fiber natural oatmeal. For some reason it does the trick. That is not to say that I'm not wiped for the rest of the day. I should probably take some of these folk's advice.
I agree with Stef (woot!) A good recovery drink is an Accelerade within the 30 minute window. If you are not planning a meal in that 30 minute window, then a bar with the right mix of protein to carbs is a good idea. Just my 2 cents :-)
So, I gather beer and pretzels is outdated??? Oh, wrong type of happy hour. Need to read these things first! My bad.
Izaac and I usually do recoverite or endurox, etc immediately after the training. Like Stef, we bring water to add to the premeasured powder in a seperate bottle, shake and chug (unlike Stef, its usually not cold water from a cooler)
I hate gels and I am not much better with the recovery drinks but I can still manage to get them down right away.
Beyond that, I suck at getting real food in. Usually I'm too busy napping ;-)
I use Ultragen for workouts over 90 minutes or double workout days after the second workout. I can take the powder with me and mix it in 12 oz. of water.
As much as I like to eat I often do not eat real food within that 30 min window so I need the recovery drink.
Down side it is expensive ($49.95) for 15 servings. Although I seem to get about 18-20 servings. I don't use rounded scoops like it recommends. I am CHEAP This is another reason I don't use it for every workout.
I am really sorry to hear about John's job. It is getting really ugly out there. I will keep you guys in my thoughts and send out positive job vibes for his interviews!
Certainly alot of great advice.
My choices to "Optimize in 45" as they say at our club:
1- chocolate milk
2- recoverite
3- strawberry/ banana smoothie with protein
Cereal! I love it after a long run. I like the Kashi stuff but really like anything that isn't filled with sugar.
I could (and have) live on cereal though. Great stuff.
Oh and don't forget beer. It's a wonderful post-workout food. Hey I'm serious! It is! Just be sure to chase it with some water
I do my own smoothies.. 1 scoop protein, frozen berries and some milk/water. Its the best.
Fo hour workouts, not a big deal. Maybe a cup of coffee with a bunch of milk in it. Ummmm.
For longer workouts, say 90 minutes or more, I always try to have something in my car.
My easiest recovery food is a banana. I know it has no protein, but it is highly portable and very easy for me to get down. I can leave it in my car for hours, no problem.
Another thing I do is fill a water bottle with ice cubes and cliff recovery drink (I like the fruit flavor). Bring another water bottle (with water). The ice melts, but usually there is still enough to make the drink cold when I add water. I don't like lukewarm recovery drinks at all and I like to consume something directly after a workout.
I don't like to take in a ton of calories, because real food is much more satisfying to me, but I do try and take in something. And yeah, I really do think I feel better the next day when I watch my recovery nutrition.
I drink chocolate milk or Endurox within one hour..
RYC: Thanks so much for the kind words yesterday. I really appreciate it. :) It's comforting to have people "out there" that listen every now and then even when its not their life.
Also, I think you should definitely put the "today I love" on your blog! For the reasons you mentioned, that's why I do it! It reminds me to find something everyday, however small, to be thankful for. We all need to be reminded!
Have a super day!
Well, looking at all the other comments, I really don't have much to add. You've probably already gathered that it depends on the person (what they can handle or like, how fit they are, what their coach says) and the workout (type of activity, duration, level of difficulty). In other words, it's yet another one of those things that you have to experiment with and figure out for yourself. Personally, I have never consumed a gel for recovery purposes (that just doesn't sound appealing to me). I would be more likely to consume an energy bar or snack (banana, bagel, trail mix, etc) if I felt like I needed one. I'm not into shakes or smoothies.
After my workouts I like to drink an Apex Chocolate shake. They are already mixed and I just leave it in my car (when is winter) and drink it as soon as I get out of the gym. I know you don't like chocolate but they do have strawberry and vanilla. They have 20g of protein. They are tasty and not watered down at all. Rich could be the word to describe them.
If I don't drink my shake, as soon as I get home (within 15 minutes) I make myself the following:
3 egg whites, scrambled with 1 diced tomato, 1 cup of spinach, 1/2 cup of fresh mushrooms, about 1 tbl of chopped onions. I like spicy stuff so I chop a serrano in there to give it a nice kick. I eat the eggs with 2 pieces of bread--I am bad and eat only white bread, lol. I drink either juice or milk with it, or just plain water.
My nutritionist (who specializes in triathletes) says the PERFECT recovery drink is: chocolate milk! ta-da! make sure you have it in the car before you work out! see, isn't that much easier to remember than all that other stuff?? and yummy too!
Post a Comment