Any runner is always looking, or should be looking for ways to improve recovery time so that you can train again! As soon as you finish your training session you are preparing your body for the next one and what you eat, especially within those first 30 minutes makes a huge difference.
Carbohydrates are essential to help restore glycogen. Research has shown that waiting anything longer than 2 hours to eat and 50% less glycogen is stored in the muscles.
Protein and Carbohydrates together, within 30 minutes of exercise doubles in insulin response which results in more glycogen stored. The optimal ratio lies between 3:1 and 4:1 (carbohydrates to protein), more than this and the protein effects become negative.
Protein is also important to to help rebuild muscle tissue that gets damaged by intense exercise, by providing the necessary amino acids.
The reason a sports drink is better than solid food is that it is easier to digest, so can be taken very quickly after exercise, provides your body with water to aid post exercise hydration, and the ratio of protein to carbs can be controlled easier.
Rego fulfils these requirements and more by offering your body 31grams of Carbohydrate and 13grams of protein (per 50g serving).
To make it up, add between 50 and 100 grams of powder to 450 - 500ml of water. A few friends of mine have mixed it with milk before, for an even more intense recovery drink but I find it too much. I have found that 50g is a perfect amount for runners. 100 grams offers a more intense shake, so go for this if you have done a very long run or intense session and feel you need more refuelling. The SiS bottles are perfect for mixing the product in and it isn't too thick that you need to use a shaker.
Having tasted all 4 flavours (Vanilla, Chocolate, Banana and Strawberry) of the Rego Rapid Recovery, Each one is delicious and certainly tastes of what is is supposed to! It is certainly not too sweet and has some flavour to it. You can always reduce or add the amount of water you are using, depending on whether you find the flavour too much or too little.
It is available in a number of forms. The sachets are great and make carrying the product very easy, however, as you can imagine, this is the most expensive way of purchasing the product. Buying it in bulk is sensible and although you loose some portability, you can just put as much product as you need into a bottle before you head out to train.
REGO Rapid Recovery is my choice of drink to have after sessions and I whilst I can't say for certain that this is the case, I feel as though my recovery is a lot shorter and less painful when taking the recovery drinks.