Weight-Loss How important, REALLY, are 'recovery drinks'?

[iamfire1]

Morning,

In many different forums/etc., I hear people (okay, read people) rhapsodizing about 'recovery drinks' after weight lifting...preferably name-brand.

Looking at it logically, I suppose I just don't get it. Wouldn't it be just as effective to add protein powder to 16 ounces of water and chug it down after weight lifting? For that matter, why wouldn't the body first use the fuel stores it already has to repair the muscles you've just stressed...why the need for protein intake *right after* working out? Doesn't digestion take some time for the protein to get where it's needed? If that's truly important, heck, why not just chomp on some lean chicken?

Thanks in advance for ideas,

Barbara

 

[lanadefemme]

I don't think recovery drinks are necessary. I think that the guideline is to get at least 25g of protein in after a strenuous workout. At least that's what I've been told by professionals.

 

[Steve]

Morning,

In many different forums/etc., I hear people (okay, read people) rhapsodizing about 'recovery drinks' after weight lifting...preferably name-brand.

Any little 'trick' that comes out is usually rhapsodized about by the masses in this industry.

Looking at it logically, I suppose I just don't get it. Wouldn't it be just as effective to add protein powder to 16 ounces of water and chug it down after weight lifting?

It's not just the protein.

It's should be the carbs too for the insulin response.

For that matter, why wouldn't the body first use the fuel stores it already has to repair the muscles you've just stressed...

It does. And that's why pre-workout nutrition is just as, if not more important that post.

why the need for protein intake *right after* working out?

Definitely not a need.

If you've got your pre-WO nutrition dialed in, there really isn't a *need* at all.

Doesn't digestion take some time for the protein to get where it's needed?

That's why you should pair it with a carb.

The true purpose of the post-WO shake should be to provide the body with a maximal degree of macronutrients for recovery, taking advantage of the body's heightened insulin sensitivity & bias toward partitioning substrates into the lean tissue instead of the adipose tissue.