Chocolate milk, the best drink after exercise
"The advantages for the study participants were better body composition in the form of more muscle and less fat, improved times while working out and overall better physical shape than peers who consumed sports beverages that just contained carbohydrates," he said.
Ivy and his team compared the recovery benefits of drinking low-fat chocolate milk after exercise to the effects of a carbohydrate beverage with the same ingredients and calories as typical sports drinks as well as to a calorie-free beverage.
They asked 10 trained cyclists to ride a bike for 90 minutes at moderate intensity, then for 10 minutes of high intensity intervals.
The scientists found the athletes had significantly more power and rode faster (reduced their ride time by an average of six minutes) when they consumed low-fat chocolate milk rather than a carbohydrate sports drink or calorie-free beverage.
The team also tested 32 amateur male and female cyclists, putting them through five intense spinning sessions a week followed by one of the three beverages.
So if the target is weight loss, aerobic exercise has to go beyond half an hour to mobilise the fat. I have friends who conscientiously do the weekend walk
found to burn only about 237 calories per class and to boost the heart rate to only 62 per cent of the maximum that constitutes a light aerobic workout.