BY BRIAN LANGE
It Does A Body Good!

People are always asking me; “Brian, what do you recommend for a recovery drink?”

While there a many of them out there, my favorite has always been… chocolate milk.

Just like you may be thinking now, I typically get comments from anything to “Ha Ha,” to “No really, what do you suggest.” I always stand my ground and go with Chocolate Milk.

There are many “sports drinks” that are great for re-hydration and getting electrolytes back into you system, so by no means do I want to punt them away.

But, chocolate milk offers you a great mix of carbohydrates and proteins to help jump start the rebuilding and recovery process.

After a hard exercise bout, be it a practice, game or training session, you body breaks down muscle tissue and depletes its “energy” supplies. Having a good ratio of carbs to protein; typically around 4:1, allows your body the immediate nutrition it needs to start the recovery process.

It also has essential B and D vitamins for energy and bone strength as well as a great source of calcium and potassium.

Studies have also shown that drinking chocolate milk between practices; such as pre-season two a days, decreases fatigue and allows for more energy during each practice sessions. This in turn, affects athletic awareness and performance.

When I was in college, every road game the team took; our bus was filled with Nutrament. Cases of it! Some of you may have heard of it. It is meal replacement or recovery drink. Our football team never went anywhere with out it. Good stuff, but I now tend to go with chocolate milk. Why? You can get chocolate milk anywhere. It tends to have less sugar and who doesn’t like…CHOCOLATE MILK!

There are obviously many different brands and I don’t necessarily promote one over the other, but there are some things to consider. I tend to go with skim milk. Taste just as good, but knocks some of the fat out. Also, some brands have a higher sugar content. No need to go crazy with that. Also, if you are like my daughter.. she cannot drink “milk” since she is lactose intolerant. She can be intolerant about other things too, but that’s a whole other article!

If you have a hard time “stomaching” milk as she does, I suggest soy, almond or silk. All good choices as well.

So who should be drinking chocolate milk?

Anyone!

Allergies and intolerance aside, (which you need to be well aware of), athletes of all ages and abilities can benefit from:
• improved performance
• decrease in recovery time
• improved power
• increase in energy
• decreased fatigue
So next time you are putting together an after game snack for the little ones or filling the fridge for your 300lb lineman, ditch the juice box and soda. Grab a carton of chocolate milk instead. Your body will thank you!

Press on!

Brian is the manager of the Gym Source in Villanova, PA. He writes on fitness and sports specific training and has been working with athletes of all levels for over 25 years.
You can reach him at brianl@gymsource.com or fit4battle@juno.com
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