As an avid health nut, I know that what you eat after your workout plays a huge role in determining your overall success.  This post workout meal may even be deemed your most important meal of the day, for this is when you will have your (one hour) "window of opportunity" to build, repair, and refuel your muscles. 

By ingesting high quality carbohydrates and protein within one hour of your workout you will enhance your recovery with increased energy, muscle size and strength, body fat loss, and achieve your goals quicker.

For faster gains and quick recovery, consider milk as your post-workout meal.

The milk drinkers gained the most muscle. "The gains of muscle in the milk group were 8.8 pounds, vs. 6 pounds for the soy group, vs. 5.3 pounds for the control group [drinking the carbohydrate drink]," says Phillips. "The group that drank the milk gained 60% more muscle than the carbohydrate group and 40% more than the soy group," Phillips says.

It makes sense that whey and casein proteins will optimally rebuild muscles, calcium contained in the milk triggers your body to burn fat, and the simple sugars in the milk help shuttle the proteins into the muscles for quick repair. 

But, what you should take home from this lesson may actually be something that is somewhat overlooked in the conclusion, this being the importance of meal timing.  Since the participants of this study ingested two cups of milk at two separate times, once right after their workouts and a second serving one hour later, they were better able to keep their bodies anabolic (in a state of muscle repair) with continuous availability of amino acids.  The small meal sizes will help to keep the body burning fat for fuel, too.  A much better plan than drinking all four cups of milk at one time.

So what are you waiting for?  Get going to the gym and get a great pump, then refuel your body with good old fashioned milk, it just might do your body great!