It’s summer. In Florida. Perfect time to train for an Ironman, right? NOT. Summer has only just begun, and temperatures are in the high 80s and 100% humidity. Joy!
Many triathletes will tout Coke as the best post-ride beverage (or a beer; that works too). Now don’t get me wrong, I do love a Coke after a tough ride, and it’s definitely given me that extra boost I’ve needed to keep going in both of my half irons.
However, Coke doesn’t have any real nutritional value to help my muscles recover. One of the key components in recovery drinks is protein. And how much protein is in Coke? Nada. I’m not helping my muscles recover by drinking this stuff! So, I’ve started incorporating Osmo Acute Recovery into my post-workout routine.
Osmo has some pretty nifty videos about the science behind all their products, and you can check out the one about Acute Recovery here:
In short, Acute Recovery has the nutrients a women’s body needs to maximize recovery after workouts. It’s combo of protein, carbs and a wee bit of caffeine will help your body repair muscles and restore your glycogen levels.
I’m on my second or third tub of it, and I really dig it. The flavor for the women’s line is “Honey & Spice” and they recommend you mix it with water or rice milk. I first enjoyed it with rice milk, and was immediately reminded of horchata. So if you are a fan of the cinnamon-y sweet Latin American drink, you should like it (unless of course you are a horchata purist!). The flavor is pretty light, so it can easily be mixed with just about anything you’d normally put into a smoothie. I like it with some peanut butter and banana blended with some ice and milk too!
It is recommended that you drink Osmo Acute Recovery within 30 minutes of completing your exercise, as that is the “golden window” to get your body what it needs to maximize recovery. When my friends and I ride, we drive a good 40 minutes to get to our starting spot. Now, I’m sure 10 minutes won’t make that big of a difference, but I do want to reap all the benefits of the hard work I’m putting in to my training. So, I wanted a way to have my Osmo on my drive home.
I had recently tried Osmo Acute Recovery with Zico chocolate coconut water and OMG was it good! So, I took an individual bottle and stuck it in the freezer the night before a ride. I measured out how much mix I would need and put it in the bottom of a shaker cup. The next day, I used the frozen coconut water as an ice pack for the drinks I was taking to my ride and for the ones for after, and left it in the cooler while we went riding (note- I have a soft-sided cooler, not a hard-sided cooler). I had obviously packed my shaker cup as well.
When I got back to the car, the coconut water had started to melt and was quite slushy- perfect for after a hot ride! I poured what I could into the shaker bottle, topped it with some water and shook it up. HOLY COW. Chocolatey, coconuty, cinnamony slush. So refreshing after being in the heat of the sun! And, I was helping my body recover by drinking it shortly after I got off the bike. Score! I would highly recommend doing this (or something similar with your favorite recovery drink) after your next ride!
So, to recap:
Step 1: Freeze the Zico chocolate water overnight.
Step 2: Measure the Osmo Recovery in a shaker bottle
Step 3:Take the frozen Zico with you to your ride, and leave it in a cooler while you’re gone.
Step 4: Post ride, pour the Zico into the shaker cup, shake, and enjoy!!
yes, I know the pictures don’t exactly line up with the steps above, but a picture of Zico in a cooler isn’t all that exciting.
Happy training! (and recovering!)
321delish 