Pritchett’s 2009 article compared between chocolate milk and carbohydrate replacement beverage as recovery aid after intermittent intense exercise for trained cyclists. A key point of this study was that no control group was used. This is because both recovery beverages were considered competent for performance enhancement.
Two trials were conducted. The first was an intermittent exercise protocol, utilized to deplete the subjects’ muscle glycogen stores. This was followed by a recovery period of nearly an entire day. The second trial was an endurance performance trial, which measured the time to exhaustion.
The study resulted in the following findings. First, there was no significant difference in performance measured by time to exhaustion
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This is because of the carbohydrate aspect. Chocolate milk does provide substantial amount of carbohydrates, both from the milk itself and the added carbs found in chocolate milk. The key appears to be in the carbohydrate-to-protein ratio. There is three times as much carbs in milk than protein. While this is a problem for strength athletes who need a lot more protein, it is optimum for endurance athletes. The overwhelming carb amount enhances glycogen replenishment. In addition, the type of protein provided aids in endurance performance, as slow-absorbing casein provides for amino acids to remain in the blood stream for many hours later, reducing muscle breakdown. Chocolate milk drinkers have also whosn to have twice the maximal oxygen uptake after 4 ½ weeks of cycling, which included high-volume exercise for five days a week (Ferguson, et. al., 2011). Therefore, I would recommend chocolate milk for endurance athletes.
I would also recommend chocolate milk for power athletes. A study in 2011 found that , after biking for 90 minutes at moderate intensity, then for 10 minutes of high intensity intervals, 10 trained cyclists had substantially more power and rode faster after consuming low-fat chocolate milk rather than a carb sports drink (Ferguson, et. al.,