Can you recommend a post-workout drink for recovery?

"I am doing cycle interval and dumbbell training to gain fitness/strength and lose a bit of fat, and
am not sure if I would be better off with a whey protien or something else. I believe that a post
workout drink is very important so maybe something along those lines? I had initially thought
that just taking some whey protein in the morning would be good.

Could you please recommend me a supplement or explain which ones would benefit me?"

Josh
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Gary responds:
There are two supplements that you can add to your regime:

1-2 scoops of whey protein to a smoothie once or twice a day. This could even become part of your healthy breakfast and later after a good workout. Here is the recipe for my Super Smoothie. You can get whey delivered from here. Whey taken in small amounts over the day aid recovery from exercise, assists fat loss and helps build lean tissue including muscle.

The other item you can add is Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack which contains many of the items mentioned in my Super Smoothie page, so you do not have to purchase these individually. Because this is ready mixed, you do not have to go to all the trouble of figuring out how much of each to take relative to the others. Take about one scoop per day and then one more before and after significant workouts. This works beautifully with the whey Super Smoothie.

There are a couple of other items that can be added such as vitamin D, Coenzyme Q-1-0 and Lifestream Astazan (All highly recommended for hard working athletes!).

There is not much more that you need to take; unless you have specific health issues such as anaemia, allergies and the like. Please ensure you have a really nutrient dense diet of fresh whole foods. Email me with details if you have specific health issues.

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Should I carry a hydration pack for the Coast to Coast and Motu Challenge?

I am going to have to wear a back pack for the Coast to Coast and Motu Challenge for the running sections and having never worn one running before when is a good time to start training with one on and how is the best way to go about it?

My preference would be to run without one but the runs are longer than 2hrs so I do need to hydrate and feed myself plus carry compulsory gear.
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Gary responds:
Running lightweight as possible is critical when doing long multisports endurances runs - any run for that matter. Even the weight of a heavy watch adds up as the run goes on and on and on....

My rough calculations are that the raising and lowering of body weight and any extra gear with each stride is equivalent to 60 meters height for every kilometer run (this does not apply to cycling on the flat or kayaking). Note: This is a rough calculation!

So, if you are carrying 2 liters of water in your back pack you are expending much precious energy additional to the effort of transporting your body weight over that mountain pass. Think of the effort wasted lifting a 2kg weight one meter in height 60 times for every kilometer you run - let alone 20 or 40 kilometers. Whew!

When running past or alongside mountain streams you have the option of drinking the water as you go. This is my own preference. Plan ahead before the run so you know approximately where the best water stops are. You can replenish as you go. So far, in 30 years of drinking water from New Zealand mountain streams, I have never caught a tummy bug. Of course, this advice does not apply to most lowland waterways in New Zealand which are terribly polluted by cattle and dairy farming.

If you there are not suitable sources of water along the way then you will have to accept the cost of the extra weight and carry water in, so make sure the running pack you purchase has the option of a bladder. In both of these races, there is water along the way. At the worst, you may have to carry some water if the gap between natural drink stops is too long. By the way, don't rely on the race organsers to tell you if drinking the water is safe or not - of course they will not tell you it is safe because there is the issue of liability if you end up with a tummy ache! If in doubt, search out and canvas the opinions of trampers and hunters who know the region well.

I recommend that you experiment with Balance Ultimate Recovery which is superior to standard sports drinks. Carry this in several sachets in your pack. When you come to a flowing steam, fill your wide mouth drink bottle with fresh clean water then add the sachet, seal, shake up and down the hatch, drinking only as much as is comfortable! This can all be done in half a minute if you are slick. Power walk for about 5 minutes before resuming running to allow the drink to settle and polish off the remainder of the drink over the next hour or so before your next top-up stop. These stops are also opportunities to eat a little in the way of solids if the run is particularly long.

You will lose little time with your drink stops and power walk sessions. In fact, this regime should work in your favour over a lengthy multi-stage event because you will have more consistent energy levels, better hydration and less likely to suffer abdominal upsets from trying to guzzle water while running.

As with all advice of this kind, please practice, practice and practice well before the race. So, purchase a good quality running pack and start practicing now!

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Can the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack replace my regular sports drink?

Just wanted to ask a question about the Recovery Stack product.
"L" uses an electrolyte replacement drink during/after some of his longer rides. Should he continue with this now that he has Recovery Stack to take after training? Also, what is the ideal time frame to take the RS drink after an event or training ride? (ie how soon after finishing exercise?)

Photo: Alama Moller (9yrs), cycling around Savii, Samoa
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Gary responds:
Balance Recovery Stack can replace the sports drink for all his training. Water is fine during the rides. This is for two reasons:

Tooth Decay
Sipping on sugary drink for hours on end while breathing heavily causes bacterial blooms in the mouth. Other than bad breath, thousands of dollars of damage can be done to teeth and gums. It is better to sip water and stop here and there for a feed of solids which can be just about anything. Dried fruit, a sandwich or a ripe banana. These solids can be washed down with a few swills of plain water.

Fat metabolism
When training to imnprove peak athletic performance, the purpose of each ride has to be known before you embark on it. Is the purpose of the ride to increase leg power, stamina or skill as examples?

If it is to increase stamina, then I question the practice of infusing the blood with loads of sugar diring the ride. The ability to use fat stores in the body while preserving far less abundant carbohydrate stores is a key factor of several in determining stamina. The better practice is to tank up over the previous day and hours and then to ride steady on only water. The idea is to ride until fatigue begins to set in and then continue another half hour or so then call it quits. Go home and tank up. As one repeats this the distance one can ride before hitting the "wall" should extend steadily outwards. As the months pass the time one can ride steady should be substantial. All that may be needed is a good supply of water and the occasional feed of solids.

Using Balance Recovery stack
You can have two drinks per day regardless of training. These can be had as a breakfast drink and after school. I love having this drink with a scoop of Loadup Berry Brights or Loadup Fruitful Greens. This provides with a wide range of the nutrients that your body needs for recovery and building a strong and resilient body.

Have a drink of Balance Recovery about 30 minutes before exercise and another within the hour of completion. An alternative, or additional to this, you can have a whey protein Super Smoothie.

When to use the sports drink
So you are now a highly tuned racing machine - an efficient fat burning machine that can go for hours and hours. You are now ready to use your carbo drinks during intense races - if you really feel you need these any more (you might if a race is longer than about 2 hours). If less than a couple of hours, water should be fine. If you are going to use sports drinks and gels, you must still practice with them just to be sure your stomach can handle them.

I do not like the sports gels at all. I think they are gimmicks. The contents are usually GM corn syrup with a few added bits and pieces, costing a couple of cents and sold for dollars. There have been far too many cases of stomach upset and even diarrhoea from these, so I can not endorse them. If you just take these gels, please drink lots of water to dilute them and swill the mouth because the gel sticks to your teeth and gums.

Some dietary advice
As a general rule, stay away from the highly refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta and instant noodles. Give favour to high nutrient foods like nuts, fruit, fresh meats, vegetables and full cream dairy foods. Avoid fat reduced foods.

what about caffeine and ephidrine?
Please stay away from caffeine and ephidrine prodicts which the cycling world is awash with. This includes various herbal energy boosters that your Personal Trainer in the gym might offer you. These have no place in a healthy athlete's life. You will perform better without them and your career will be longer than others.

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I need more information about the Super Smoothie for hiking

In Walking NZ Issue 130/2008 your article talks about smoothies during hikes etc. I would like to know more please. My husband and a friend are about to begin the Te Araroa Trail from Cape Reinga. They are in their early 60's and have been training for about 6 months walking 2/3 hours every day in varying terrain.

Question: What are the dry ingredients mixed with and in what proportions. I presume you have a container that it's all put into, shaken and then consumed. I read that smoothies must be used within 20 minutes before they start to lose their goodness. 

Regards Jessie

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Gary:

Jessie This is a quick reply between clients. Here is the recipe for the Super Smoothie which happens to be the most downloaded page on my site: http://blog.garymoller.com/2008/08/super-smoothie-recipe-updated.html 

I have used it with success during hikes, keeping the dry ingredients in a sealed plastic bag and mixing it up with water in a decanter as we go. Of course there are no berries or bananas, oil etc in this one. I use infant formula (minus the melamine!) as the nutritious filler. Works well. 

As of a few months ago, we now have a new option that I am very favourable to. This is the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack which is a bit like a fruit juice that contains all of the ingredients that I recommend as extras to the Smoothie - plus a lot more. 

Use the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack when on the road and in the bush and use the Super Smoothie when at home base where you have refrigeration, a blender and all the healthy ingredients, like berries and home made yoghurt. Use the Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack during long hikes, bike rides and runs, either making it up as you go or pre-mixed in your water bottle. 

The Super Smoothie is best consumed right away before the ingredients oxidise.

Nutrition for hard working athletes - Balance Ultimate Recovery Stack

Balance have designed a new recovery formulation that mimicks some of my Super Smoothie contents.

The Balance Ultimate Recovery contains all the "additional extras" that I suggest for the athlete seeking the extra edge in sports nutrition and performance.  Better than my recipe, the Ultimate Recovery formula has all the ingredients in the right concentrations, so you don't have to waste a lot of time scratching your head over how much of this and that to put in.

While it is perfect for use while on the road and even during events like a multi stage bike race, I still recommend my Super Smoothie as your nutrition recovery mainstay when at home with a blender, and natural ingredients like dark berries at hand.

As far as I can tell from the labelling there are no artificial sweeteners which has been an issue for me in the past with sport drinks and supplements.

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