Recovery Drink: Rockin' Refuel

As many of my long time readers know I am a big proponent of the importance of recovery drinks.  I have tried pretty much everything on the market and have a strong opinion on quite a few recovery drinks available today.  My experience with all of these different recovery drinks has left me rather pessimistic about the vast majority of them.  So when the good people at Shamrock Farms sent me a bottle each of Rockin' Refuel in Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla Flavors it would be fair to say I was skeptical at best.

So what is Rockin' Refuel?  Here is what the Shamrock Farms Fact Sheet states:

Recent scientific findings show that chocolate milk is the original protein drink ideal for post-exercise refueling. In response, Shamrock Farms has developed a first-of-its-kind optimal sports recovery beverage – Rockin’ Refuel™ protein-fortified chocolate milk.

 This low-fat, 100 percent milk provides the same great taste and essential nutrients as milk, plus 20 grams of protein to refuel athletes. With 20 grams of protein and naturally-occurring electrolytes, Rockin’ Refuel™ is an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, riboflavin, phosphorous and Vitamin D.It is formulated without the use of high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. 

 

Okay so what the heck does all that mean above?  

Well, to sum it up Rockin' Refuel is Chocolate Milk with a higher Protein content (20G).  That is it.  Very simple but yet it does what it says. 

 I particularly like that it has a higher calorie count (290-300 calories).  For us Triathletes we burn calories like crazy and we need a recovery drink that helps us to replenish.  Other drinks like Muscle Milk Light only have 100 calories and this just does not give us the fuel we need.  Regular Chocolate Milk is also a pretty darn good recovery drink but it doesn't have the high amount of Whey Protein that the Rockin' Refuel does.  The carb count is about the same.

Now that it has past my rigorous standards of nutritional content the next question is how does it taste?

The day I received the Rockin' Refuel I had a 25 mile bike ride scheduled with my buddy Steve and I figured why not try it out.  Steve and I put in a good effort in the 90+ degree Houston heat and we were ready for post workout nutrition immediately after the ride.  Steve swigged down the vanilla and I slammed the chocolate and Steve's opinion summed up the overall taste of the Rockin' Refuel when he said, "Damn, that was good!"

Yes, it was very good.  It comes in a 12oz container and I probably could have chugged down four of them.  But that would have been excessive for my needs so it was just the one.  The next day after a run I tried the Strawberry and it was very good as well.  I would drink it with meals, it is that tasty!

So far it gets an "A" for nutritional content and an "A+" for taste so the final question is how did my body feel the next day after taking the drink?  

That one is a little tougher to gauge.  See in my experience with Recovery Drinks it usually takes a few days to really feel the effects of them.  I felt fine the next day and had only very minor soreness in my muscles but my normal diet consists of a rather high protein count so it would be impossible for me to isolate if the Rockin' Refuel helped.  So in terms of did my body recover better I will have to score this as an incomplete until I get a chance to use it over a longer period of time.

Overall the Rockin' Refuel gets the Carrots approval as a Recovery Drink - it is all natural, tastes good, and has a good ratio of proteins and carbs.  

And it is cheap at only $1.39 per drink.

If you would like to try some Rockin Refuel CLICK HERE for a site that will show you where it is sold in your state.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff