Recovery drinks are useful for after a long ride or race. If it is a fairly easy training ride, I probably won’t bother – just rely on water and normal food. But, when you’ve really exerted yourself, a recovery drink can be helpful for rehydrating and taking on energy and protein. Many studies have suggested that just after exercise is the best time to take on nutrition. It is at this time, when the body is empty, that the body is most receptive to nutrition. Recovery drinks can play a role in maximising recovery. It might sound obvious to take on water and nutrition after big effort, but if you’re a bit disorganised you can struggle to find the right food and drink. Recovery drinks can make it easier. It uses soy protein, a previously controversial choice although one that is now growing in popularity. Science In Sport, AKA SIS, is fueled by science to be the world’s leading performance nutrition brand, at least according to them. They’re trusted by athletes to deliver proven performance, which includes when it’s time to recover from a grueling effort, which is where SIS Rego Rapid Recovery comes in. Recovery drinks are much more convenient, and they really help people out who might not have the stomach to eat anything too heavy. Step Three: Full Meal

Fructose: Fructose is the other key carbohydrate included here, and it’s one that we’re not particularly fond of. The body doesn’t use fructose well, and it can’t become muscle glycogen like dextrose, our preferred carb. It cannot be absorbed straight into the blood stream (dextrose can) but first has to travel to the liver to be changed into glucose which is then turned into glycogen and stored by the liver to be released whenever the liver thinks it is needed to maintain blood glucose. As such, it does nothing to replace lost glycogen in the muscles, making it a pretty pointless post-workout choice. The former stimulates anabolic hormones that encourage muscle formation, while glutamine aids the body significantly during times of metabolic stress. With a Cycling Weekly subscription you can improve your performance with our expert practical, nutritional and training tips I sometimes get a soya based recovery drink, more for variety than anything. I find the problem with too much whey Protein is that it can make you a bit windy, if you know what I mean.

Doesn’t reveal its BCAA count, though adds 2g of leucine. Ideally, you’d want 5-10 grams of BCAAs post-workout.

It is very easy to mix. Just put some powder in, give a little stir, and it’s ready to go. It tastes very pleasant and is easy on the palate. Often I find recovery drinks hard work, but this is very easy to drink. The taste is fairly neutral and not-sweet, just easy to take down. The nutrition is the most common combination of carb (maltodextrin and fructose) and whey isolate protein. They say whey protein is better protein than beef, so it makes a good recovery drink. Some sports drinks can be acidic. But, High 5 recovery mixed with milk is neutral, which makes it welcoming post hard ride. It is similar to High 5 4:1, but has a higher protein content. It has roughly a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein. It is probably my preferred recovery drink. During training and competition, our bodies can absorb around 60g of carbohydrate per hour, meaning that demand will outstrip the supply of energy The chocolate flavour is arguably the nicest on test. High5 suggest you can consume with water or milk, but we’d advise taking with water as the body can struggle to digest milk after intense exercise and it slows down the absorption of the drink’s ‘goodness’. It also keeps costs down.It contains a blend of carbohydrate (23g), protein (20g) and electrolytes with vitamins and minerals If the session is very hard, then a cool-down (a period of 10-20 minutes of very low intensity riding) has been found to be beneficial for clearing the built-up fatigue metabolites that come from intense or prolonged exercise. This can also be done with both active and passive stretching after a session. Such is the trend towards plant-based products in sports nutrition that SiS has stopped producing whey-based recovery powder. Though it doesn’t shout about being vegan – you have to read the small print on the label – Rego is a soya-based product.

And for them, SIS Rego Rapid Recovery is a great option, along with a convenient way to get rid of some of that spare cash that keeps getting in your way. Stupid piles of money to trip over… Rapid replenishment of your glycogen stores and the provision of protein helps you to get the most from your training and prepare you for your next session I quite like the Torq recovery plus. You make it like hot cocoa; it is particularly appealing in winter after a long cold training ride. In summer a hot drink is less appealing, but I’ve got through quite a few tubs during winter training. A seperate difference is that vegan protein has been found to be less ‘bio-available’, which means that say we consume 20g of soy protein, only 12g will end up being available for the body to use. 20g of whey protein, on the other hand, will provide 18g of protein that can be digested, processed and available to be used for protein synthesis.They are able to dictate exactly what goes into their drink, and they can have complete control overall. This is great news for riders who do not want to be told what to do, and really want to have something that they can enjoy. For Goodness Shakes Recovery Shake was top for taste, satiety, ease of use and also at a competitive price point. The bottles are fully recyclable, which is a nice touch, and I found them great straight after a gym session and they would also be ideal for after a race with a longer drive home. They claim SIS Rego Rapid Recovery will replenish your glycogen stores post-exercise, and it does. It also helps speed recovery, which they say it will, and…well, it’s a simple mixture of protein and sugars meant to replace energy and protein in your system. Seriously, there’s only so much to it, and it does what SIS says it will, so good enough. The drink mixes very well, leaving no clumps at all. And with the guided amount of water the drink was a good consistency similar to a milkshake with a nice natural taste to match. The banana flavour has no artificial taste to it and after drinking we felt like it left us full enough.