Chocolate Milk is a Life Saver!

Going into my senior year of college I thought I knew a lot about healthy diets since I'd been running competitively since the seventh grade. Well, we got a new coach for crew that year, Derek, and I learned I didn't know everything. 

If you've never rowed before I'll be the one to tell you that it makes every single part of your body hurt. Fingers, toes, back, legs and anything else you can think of...ouch. We were instructed to drink a minimum of 100oz of water a day, but who doesn't know how important staying hydrated is? Once our winter training, erg season, kicked off we not only hated practice but our bodies hated us. That's when we got the secret. Chocolate milk and yogurt within 30-minutes of a hard workout. I know, call me crazy, but it works. Something about the sugars and proteins help your muscles start to heal so they don't feel so bad later, and the chocolate makes you feel better right away. It's amazing how great it works. I drink chocolate milk after most of my runs these days. If I lift I go for more protein and either drink a protein shake or a green smoothie.

Who knew one of the best "kids drinks" would end up being the best after work out treat.