Recovery Drink When Sprints Are Early in Workout Program. Stop and Take Drink Immediately After Spr

Title basically tells the tale. Sometimes I do my HIIT (bike sprints) early in my workout since my legs are nice and fresh, and then I'll just cruise for an 1 to 1.5 hours at an aerobic pace.

I know it's important to get the recovery drink (protein, carbs, etc) as soon as possible post workout. Is the 1 or 1.5 hour of relatively easy biking after my HIIT ruining the time window to take that recovery drink? Or is it ok to drink the shake after the entire ride, since my legs are doing some work on the "easy" ride, albeit NOTHING compared to how I crank em and burn em in my HIIT sprints?

To clarify, the 15 min of HIIT is burning to my legs and gets me breathing super hard. The next 1 hour + of riding at an aerobic pace is not even comparable to the level of intensity the HIIT delivers.

Thanks,
James

 

Hi,
A protein drink after exercise can help with muscle pain and recovery
Ingestion of a single post-exercise protein mixture increases the rate of force and power restoration at 48 hours, suggesting potential for protein to enhance performance in high-intensity exercises and during the delayed-onset muscle soreness period. (Etheridge T et al, A single protein meal increases recovery of muscle function following an acute eccentric exercise bout. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008 Jun;33(3):483-8).
Cheers Russell