Apologies if this is buried somewhere in the forum already! My question centre’s on the best type of transport mechanism for recovery drinks to hit the 30min - 120min window for glycogen replacement?
I’m totally onboard with the recommendations mentioned here around increased carb consumption during training and am seeing the performance benefits.
More recently I’ve been playing around with my recovery drinks, going for a 4:1 ratio of carbs and protein as well as 2:1 maltodextrin and fructose. I prefer (personal taste) almond milk to water however most commercial drinks explicitly state the use of water over milk for faster absorption.
Have you searched for any research into the difference in absorption rates? My guess would be that they aren’t significant (guess based on no science - I haven’t done any research) and that commercial drinks will overstate the benefits of their products to drive sales.
I reckon as long as you are getting 4:1 then the base doesn’t matter as much (especially if the better taste means you are more likely to drink it)
I’ve switch from have a pint of milk with my morning shake to water with a splash almond milk. The splash of almond milk just adds that little bit of creaminess that it wouldn’t have if it was just water.
I’ve definitely notice some weight loss which is not surprising as i’m saving over 1000 calories a week.
I use skim milk because I like it. Almond milk will work just fine. Post-workout beverage composition and post-workout glycogen repletion rates matter much less than the details of intra-workout beverages.
The only time where you absolutely need to maximize carb absorption rates post-workout is if you have a second workout in the next 6 hours or so.
Even in that case, the difference between almond milk, skim milk, or water, is going to be minimal/negligible.