Looking for a Recovery Drink? Try Chocolate Milk!

Almost any runner will tell you that one of the biggest perks of being a runner is you can eat just about anything you want. If you’ve ever run a half marathon, marathon, or any other kind of endurance event like trail runs or ultra marathons then you’re familiar with the loads of sweet, sugary and fatty foods that await you at the finish line. The gluttony that takes place just beyond the finish line is validation and vindication for weeks or months of training leading up to the event.

As if the culinary delights of being a runner weren’t sweet enough already, things just got a little sweeter. Several studies have shown that one of the best recovery fuels after a long distance run turns out to be chocolate milk. Yup, that stuff you use to drink by the carton back in elementary school.

What makes chocolate milk the best recovery drink for runners?

As a runner you’re probably aware of the fact that you’re primary energy source is muscle glycogen, the complex sugar molecules that you burn for energy. You can only store a certain amount of glycogen in your muscles which would explain why runners carbo load leading up to a race and consume relatively high amounts of fluid and solid form carbohydrates during a race or long training run. In sum, carbohydrates in the form of muscle glycogen is the fuel that keeps you moving. And since carbs are your primary fuel source it makes a lot of sense that you replenish spent carbohydrate supplies immediately following a long run.

Furthermore the studies show that consistent consumption of chocolate milk after sustained exercise dramatically lower the levels of creatine kinase (an indicator of muscle damage). This is largely due to the ample amount of protein found in chocolate milk, which helps repair damaged muscle and build new, lean muscle.

Chocolate milk is also loaded with Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium, all of which are spent and need replacement after high intensity exercise. Not to mention that milk is mostly composed of water and every runner knows they need to rehydrate immediately following a run.

Let’s also not forget the two best parts about using chocolate milk as a recovery drink after long runs: (1) it’s a lot cheaper than the lab engineered recovery drinks that you can find at stores like GNC, and (2) chocolate milk tastes infinitely better than most other recovery drinks.

If you were to purchase a jug of carbohydrate replacement fuels like Gu Brew or Cytomax then you would be spending approximately $25 per jug. Assuming you went through 1 jug per month you can expect to spend $250 – $300 per year on recovery drinks. By contrast if you decided to buy chocolate milk you would likely go through 2-3 gallons per month. At an average cost of $4 per gallon that’s $8 – $12 per month. Annualized you would be spending approximately $100 – $140 per year. You can comfortably cut your costs in half at the end of the year if you do that. And with the extra $100 – $200 you’ve saved you can go ahead and splurge on an extra pair or two of running shoes!

Incorporating chocolate milk into your running routine

As an ultra marathoner I can attest to the benefits of drinking chocolate milk. I typically do double long runs on my weekends (i.e. I’ll run 20 miles on Saturday and 10 more on Sunday). What I found after I began drinking chocolate milk is my recovery time accelerated and I felt much stronger during the Sunday run. The general rule of thumb that I now follow is this: if I run for more than 45 minutes at a time I drink at least 12 ounces of 2% chocolate milk. And if I run for greater than 2 hours I drink at least a quarter gallon of 2% chocolate milk. Again, the important thing is that you drink chocolate milk IMMEDIATELY after your run.

And when the mileage gets REALLY high I compliment the quarter gallon of chocolate milk with a 15 minute ice bath. For example, I recently went on a 31 mile run (ouch!). My recovery recipe involved me drinking a quarter gallon of chocolate milk WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SITTING IN AN ICE BATH. Following the ice bath I allowed my legs to thaw and then dropped into a slow, deep stretch for about 15 minutes. I was then able to wake up the following morning and run 12 more miles (at high altitude with over 2,000 feet of climbing on top of that) with relative ease. By no means is this me saying I’m an amazing runner. From trial and error with other recovery drinks it’s become clear to me that chocolate milk will be my recovery drink of choice for perpetuity. I attribute my recent ability to run successive long runs to the recovery effects of chocolate milk.

So, for those of you with a sweet tooth and a love for distance running I recommend you do one simple thing. Every Friday afternoon on your way home from work stop by the local grocery store and buy half a gallon of 2% chocolate milk (2% because it has less fat than whole milk and gives you a better ratio of fat:protein:carbohydrates). Incorporate that into your post-run routine and prepare to be amazed.