We are well and truly in the age of the carbohydrate, with riders at all levels discovering how much better you can ride when you fuel properly — who woulda thunk it? But fuelling recovery is just as important as the 90g of carbs per hour you sucked down on the trails.
The best option, of course, is proper food, but not everyone has time to whip up a meal after a ride, which is why products like SIS Rego exist. If you’re time-poor and trying to get some nutrition in after a pre-work pedal, while also getting the kids dressed for school and yourself cleaned up for work, a recovery drink can help you feel better on your ride tomorrow and go a long way towards staving off the 3pm sleepies.
We’ve just got our grubby mitts on some of the latest from the folks at Science in Sport. Grab your shaker bottle, and let’s dive in.
Recovery drinks can be a godsend when you need to get nutrition in fast after a ride. SIS Rego Rapid Recovery tastes pretty good and is easy on the gut.
SIS Rego Rapid Recovery
Price | $47.95 AUD 500g
Flavours | Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry
The key to good recovery is getting something into your body quickly, which is where SIS Rego Rapid Recovery shines, delivering 21g of protein, 22g of carbohydrates and 475mg of sodium.
SIS has opted to use soy-based protein, which means it’s alright for vegos and folks who can’t stomach dairy, and it’s also Informed Sport Tested. We’d venture a guess that most folks reading this won’t have WADA knocking on their door at 2am asking for a pee sample, but this label means you can trust it hasn’t been contaminated with something sinister.
SIS has also added 2g of leucine, an essential amino acid (meaning your body cannot make it) used to build and repair muscle when you ingest it through food. That said, the science is still a bit iffy on whether supplementing leucine will speed recovery or build more muscle.
Recovery drinks and drink mixes can be hit or miss on taste, texture, and how they land on your stomach — that last one can vary drastically from person to person. In my experience, SIS Rego is one of the best-tasting options, and it’s available in Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry — that last one is quite a treat. It also contains a bit of xanthan gum thickener, which bulks the drink up a little bit and helps you to feel a bit more satiated after you’ve finished it.
Even if it looks like something Count Dracula would order at a bar, a growing body of research shows sour cherry juice can be highly effective at reducing inflammation and muscle soreness.
SIS Rego Sour Cherry Juice
Price | $4.49 AUD single, $119.95 AUD 30-pack
Flavours | Sour cherry
If you’ve watched the Tour de France, Cape Epic or any other endurance event over the past few years, you’ll have seen riders chugging bottles of blood-red liquid at the end of each stage. This isn’t some shady concoction for vampires; it’s actually cherry juice.
Tart or sour cherry juice is said to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness after a big effort. A growing body of research shows that anthocyanins, the compounds that give cherries their deep red colour, can reduce oxidative stress and protect against micro-tears in muscle fibres, and cherries naturally contain melatonin, which can help you get to sleep.
The 30ml Rego Cherry Juice sachets also contain 17g of carbs, which will help top back up your glycogen stores.
Coming in a single-serving packet, you can slurp it down or mix it with 200ml of water. Taken straight, it’s VERY sour. But the diluted mix is actually quite refreshing, especially after you’ve been eating sugary sweet ride fuel for the last four hours.
It’s worth mentioning the use case for tart cherry juice, as it’s not a one-hit magic fix. According to the science, to see any benefit, you’ll need to start taking it a few days before an event or trip — a bit like a carb load. Some research also shows that, if used chronically, it’s so effective at reducing oxidative stress and inflammation that it can blunt training adaptations over long periods.
So keep this in your arsenal for a multi-day event, like the Cape to Cape, or even if you plan to spend a week in Derby to back up big days on the bike.
SIS Hydro + Electrolyte Drink
Price | $3.79 AUD single, $21.95 AUD 6-pack
Flavours | Lemon, orange and mango, berry
The throughline for all three products is replacing what you’ve lost. Though SIS Hydro+ isn’t necessarily an after-ride product, each packet contains 750mg of chloride, 350mg of sodium, 300mg of potassium, 120mg of calcium and 56mg of magnesium. It also contains some B and C vitamins, said to help prevent fatigue.
Mixed into the recommended 500ml of water, it’s quite salty. It’s still palatable, but a splash more water definitely helps, especially when it’s hot. Packaged in pocket-friendly individual sachets, they come in lemon, orange and mango, and berry flavours.