Perfect Muscle Milk

For most of the last 15 yrs, after hard rides, my legs, especially the two quad heads at my knees, really hurt, ached and burned a little, despite massage and Advil and nutrition, this would last for 2-3 days, sometimes bad enough to keep me awake at night. 

I found a cure for that last summer when riding some 150+ mile weeks, and I found it because I remember one of the riders I used to ride with in Sacramento told me it helped him a LOT. I should have listened to him then, but when it comes to getting smart, better late than never. The solution is Muscle Milk. 

32oz Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, & Batman

 I also tried WallyWorld's Equate stuff, but it doesn't have the same effect as MM, and I suspect that's because Equate has fewer carbs, which in MM are probably fast carbs, used to arrest catabolic muscle destruction. No, Hammer Nutrition, there's no such thing as "canniballistic" muscle destruction. Catabolic is the flip-side of Anabolic, which means to break down, and build up, respectively. Catabolic muscle destruction can only be arrested by ingesting carbs very high on the glycemic index, which will create an insulin spike in your blood. There's more to the process, but this is the short story of that process.)

From a very short Google Safari...

Catabolic reactions break down larger molecules, such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins from ingested food, into their constituent smaller parts. ... Anabolic reactions, or biosynthetic reactions, synthesize larger molecules from smaller constituent parts, using ATP as the energy source for these reactions.

 

... and this... 

 

The Anabolic Phase: The 45-Minute Optimal Window

The anabolic phase is a critical phase occurring within 45 minutes post-exercise. It is during this time that muscle cells are particularly sensitive to insulin, making it necessary to ingest the proper nutrients in order to make gains in muscle endurance and strength. If the proper nutrients are ingested 2 - 4 hours post-exercise they will not have the same effect. It is also during this time in which the anabolic hormones begin working to repair the muscle and decrease its inflammation.

 Immediate ingestion of carbohydrate is important because insulin sensitivity causes the muscle cell membranes to be more permeable to glucose within 45 minutes post-exercise. This results in faster rates of glycogen storage and provides the body with enough glucose to initiate the recovery process (Burke et al., 2003). Muscle glycogen stores are replenished the fastest within the first hour after exercise. Consuming carbohydrate within an hour after exercise also helps to increase protein synthesis (Gibala, 2000).

 Quoted from here, because there's just so much nonsense about the need for protein after hard exercise and it's patently FALSE. Carbs, carbs high on the Mendosa Glycemic Index, and only those carbs, prevent catabolic muscle destruction, NOT protein. If you think your body breaking down muscle tissue to create glucose is idiotic and contra-intuitive, imagine your tribe just ran a large game animal to ground (how humans on 2 legs did it - with greater biomechanical efficiency on 2 legs) and now the tigers are threatening. Best run into that cave and hide, because those other tribes that had bigger muscles but no energy left to run? Yeah, they aren't around anymore!

 

While Muscle Milk is a minor miracle, mixing it with milk (they RX water, but ick!) makes a lumpy mess at the top of whatever giant tumbler you mix it in. You can also use an infuser/mixer stick, but that just makes even more mess. I was stirring with a knife to keep the mess to a minimum, and so I could scrape the knife on the edge of the glass, but I still ended up with lumps of dry powder in the back of my throat when I tried to drink it. Just FYI, I cover the ball +1" with Organic Grass-Fed milk (lots of Omega-3 fatty acids in anything grass-fed) and top up with skim milk. YMMV. 

45oz, for those really L-O-N-G rides!

Well, I found the perfect cure for Muscle Milk's goopy lumps. It's called a Blender Bottle, and Walmart sells that too. It's so ingenious I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. Think Cocktail Shaker meets Shake-Weight. The wire ball works like the BB in the bottom of a can of spray paint and blends Muscle Milk perfectly with zero mess left on anything. Beyond that, you get a wonderful (chocolate in my case) milk shake that's delicious and smooth - a nice reward after a hard ride. I'd still stick with left over Gatorade and a baked potato for immediate recovery, hot from the microwave, or freeze-dried from an Odahoan Baby Reds pouch, but after 30-40 minutes sit back and enjoy your MM milkshake!

440 very fast carbs, some from maltodextrin

System of Up

Being an engineer by nature and training, I have a systematic approach to problem-solving, including those that limit my cycling goals, which lately have been range and mileage. When I bought my new tubeless wheels the goal was to reduce flats to the point I could ride without obsessing about everything on the road that might give me a flat, and get home reliabally.

It took a few tries to get the tires right, but the GP5000 TLs were a home-run. I can now ride without much caring where or when or how bad the surface because they are the toughest tires I have ever ridden, roll VERY well, and as a huge bonus, have a nice plush ride.

Starting last summer I realized the tires and wheels were reliable enough to start doing longer rides, which was very liberating, as we have some great, remote places to ride here, but nowhere you'd want to sit and wait for a friend to pick you up from if $hit happened.

Persists for 4-5 hrs

That worked so well I started hitting a new barrier to long miles - saddle sores. The solution to that problem has mostly been scrupulous hygiene. I always wash my bum now with anti-bacterial soap, and sometimes with Hibiclens, before I put on my bib tights. I've also largely abandoned the Voler brand bib shorts I've ridden for most of the last decade, searching for something that protects me better. (the subject of bib-shorts needs its own post, and I'll do that when I have more experience with my new PI Pro bib-shorts)

I've also boosted my heart support by taking CoQ-10, and spiking my Gatorade with Emergen-C. This combo also helps with cramping and adds a little fuel, so muscle support on the bike is pretty good now, but muscle recovery was becoming a problem with more miles and longer rides.

A couple of weeks ago I realized my cardio and general fatigue were no longer issues with recovery, but my legs just weren't recovering from 50 mile rides every-other day, so I scratched my head and started looking for a solution. That solution turned out to be Muscle Milk. The rice has a little protein in it too (GU does not), but I can actually feel my muscles soak this stuff up in a weaker version of how my calf muscle felt healing up from a bad tear, knitting itself together. It's also pretty great it tastes like of like ice-cream!

Ice-Cream that makes you muscles smile

After setting a new distance record since moving to SoCal 5 years ago on Monday - 73 miles, I rode 52 yesterday, so in 3 days I've ridden 125 miles. I'm in my 60s now, so I'm pretty proud of that, and hope to break my May Is Bike Month distance record from 2012, which I will do on my next ride.

I haven't tried any other protein powder, so perhaps there are even better supplements, but MM is making a huge improvement in muscle recovery for me at the moment, and I wanted to spread the word. If you're new to cycling just know, cycling requires much more protein than weight training.

I did the latter for 20 years before taking up cycling again seriously, and was shocked that cycling required 2-3X as much protein as weight training - mostly on long rides lasting more than 2 hours. A good rule of thumb is 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body weight. Most professional cycling coaches seem to have adopted this metric now.

I don't know where the next bottle-neck will appear, but right now I am very happy with where I am, which BTW, is atop the Leader Board at my local bike club!