Chocolate milk is a potential recovery drink as it offers the perfect combination of carbohydrates and protein with relatively low fat. The carbohydrates in chocolate milk aid in glycogen store replenishment while the protein assists in protein synthesis, aka building muscle.

Katie Ledecky: On a hard day, I'll have two swim practices and a weight session. I swim twice a day, four times a week and once a day, twice a week and then I have Sundays off. I swim nine to ten times a week and then three weight sessions per week.

Research shows that downing chocolate milk after workouts can help replenish exhausted muscles and significantly aid exercise recovery. When it's time to choose a refueling beverage after a long, tough workout, there's a slew of sports drinks out there.

Fairlife Chocolate 2% Ultra-Filtered Milk is our top pick because it has nearly equal carbohydrates and protein, contains key micronutrients, and is lactose-free.

Low-fat chocolate milk consists of a 4:1 carbohydrate:protein ratio (similar to many commercial recovery beverages) and provides fluids and sodium to aid in post-workout recovery.

2-4 hours On a normal day, we will spend (an estimated) 2-4 hours in the water working on technique, endurance, and race strategy. This amount of time is what is normally looked at as how much time we put into the sport, but as we've seen so far, it is just the beginning.

The Day-to-Day 14 might have varied quite a bit; but some of these runners have put in as much as 15-18 hours a week of just running time. This doesn't include the time spent in the weight room or doing daily drills or strength exercises or yoga. That's a lot of calorie burning.

Even if you're a weightlifter, chocolate milk as a post-workout drink has been shown to help people grow stronger. Multiple studies showed that drinking milk led to greater increases in muscle hypertrophy and lean muscle mass than drinking a standard sports rehydration beverage.

Dark chocolate is a rich source of magnesium, which helps reduce muscle cramps, and when consumed in a post-workout meal will aid in recovery as it calms and relaxes the muscles in the body.

Experts say that ideally you will want to consume between 15g and 25g of protein after a workout, which equals between 500ml and 750ml of chocolate milk.

Best Things to Drink After a Workout for Recovery

1. Water. That's right, water.
2. Chocolate milk. It's not just for kids!
3. Fruit juices.
4. Fruit smoothies.
5. Sports drinks.
6. Coconut water.
7. Vegetable juices.
8. Green tea.

In-training recovery How much time is long enough? That depends on the intensity of the workout, but between 24-72 hours. Higher intensity workouts require more rest than lower ones. If there is not enough time to recover between workouts you will be not be fully prepared for the next training.