Effects of chocolate milk consumption on muscle recovery following rowing exercise: A randomised crossover study

Introduction: For athletes, an excessive increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) after multiple endurance exercises indicates muscle glycogen depletion that induces a diminution in performance. Our study aimed to examine the efficacy of chocolate milk (CM) compared with carbohydrate-protein replacement drink (CHOPRO) in suppressing the increase in BUN level following multiple rowing exercises among national male rowing athletes aged 18–23 years. Methods: Seven male athletes from the Rowing National Training Centre, Pengalengan, West Java, participated in this single-blind, randomised crossover study. They received CM or CHOPRO during four hours of recovery between two endurance exercises. Before (pre) and after (post) multiple exercises, a venous blood sample was collected to measure the increase in BUN level. The effects of each beverage on BUN level were compared using an independent t-test. Results: The increase in pre-post BUN level was significantly lower for CM trial compared to CHOPRO trial (164.0±61.3 mmol/L vs 293.5±88.3 mmol/L, p=0.012). Conclusion: It was observed that CM reduced rate of increase in BUN level following multiple rowing exercises. Thus, CM can be useful for athletes during intense training regimen with multiple exercise sessions. Future studies should investigate the effect of CM in various types of sports, using convenient, non-invasive, and real-time measurement.