Sports Drinks/What Fluid

The Northern Monkey

Damn, Glandular fever is bad enough

supersonic

Aye! Sorta get used to it, make the most of a situation, can't complain! Get to spend more time on here ;-)

supersonic

Though the adrenal tumour was a bit of a pain lol!

The Northern Monkey

At least you've got a decent excuse :P I'm on here 24/7 because there is feck all to do around here
It stooopidly flat, very busy on the street/road and literally nowhere to ride thats any fun unless I get on a train! The best "hills" I have are bridges and sleeping policemen !

supersonic

Hehe, sounds a bit like York where I used to live.

I get a lot of time for research too - can do it from my own bed if not well, turn on the comp, and then hoover up all the bike stuff on the net! Never stop learning.

The Northern Monkey

I'm supposed to be writing my dissertation (on sports drinks actually) but its only the 1st week back at uni so I can't be arsed atm
I'm finding Uni a bit tedious atm, most of the content is getting quite easy to understand so I find it boring when the lecurers drone on
We do a journal club every 3 weeks, so i'm having to research all the time anyways. Fav websites atm are world health organisation, department of health and he NHS.
The only thing keeping me going is the bike build, i'm loving messing about with parts and tools etc. (i'm a bit James May when it comes to building and organising stuff because i've got OCD).

supersonic

James May is a living legend, I am a big fan!

Yes, an good interest in a subject keeps the mind occupied, and for me it is, well, bikes! I got bored with the physics degree at uni and switched off from it. Though the lab work was fun!

This is my philosophy for a career too - do what you enjoy! No point stuck in something you hate, you will be spnding a third of your life there. Though I expect for you the job will be much better than the learning!

KnightofCydonia

supersonic wrote:

True! I sometimes take a bit more vitamin C if getting a cold, and does help me as I have chronic glandular fever. Turns your wee a very funny shade!

try eating beetroot!

supersonic

Ha, my uncle did that and went to hospital thinking he was pissing blood!!!!!

The Northern Monkey

May is ace, you watch James and Oz's wine tour? Funny as hell!

Bikes are my retreat from work, something that chills me out the GF on the other hand, who is sat here with me, HATES the mention of bikes now I can tell that she gets annoyed with me being on here all the time...but she's watching "sweet sixteen"!!

I have no idea what i'm doing with my degree. Passing would be a start we're hopefully naffing off round the world a few months after we graduate tho


KnightofCydonia
Beetroot is rank think its one of the only foods i wont touch with a barge-pole!! (oooss gorra barge-pole?!)

KnightofCydonia

I love the stuff. Only freshly cooked though without vinegar.

supersonic

Yeah, watched the wine tour, brilliant! 20th Century too, very good.

Beetroot, nah, it is what old men put in their sandwiches!

supersonic

My opinion is that home made stuff can work just as well. Certainly no voodoo magic in the SIS and lucozade sport - just established concentrations of stuff (within a range) that can be easily made up yourself. Probably taste nicer though!

The Northern Monkey

Yea the homemade stuff is cheaper and sometimes tastes nicer....although i've made some pretty rough stuff
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/s ... 132209.stm
Out of those on the bbc, i'd only use the bottom 2 as it uses the natural sugars in fruit, however i would add a very small pinch of salt to the bottom recipe.

blablablacksheep

so far the sceince seems to prove in tests that gatorade seems to be the best isotonic drink that you can get on market, poweraid i love but it does have a few not good things in it ie sweeterners ect,

though it hard to find gatorade i think in the uk which a shame as it the best you can get, loads of guys in forces use it, really good taste and no fake stuff inside

carbonfiend

hmmm Gatorade eh - a good read here for ya.

http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/ ... d%20intake

The Northern Monkey

"With sports drinks you instead just get thirstier, which seems kind of ironic since their slogan is "The thirst quencher!""

Bit mish mashed. Sports drinks are very personal. Many people react differently to the subtle changes in concentrations/taste of each product.

A chat with one of my nutrition lectures (who is a head dietitian for the UK 2012 athletics team) mentioned something that I found quite interesting.
You know how sports people have "lucozade" or "powerade" bottles due to sponsorship? almost 90% of the people she trails don't use the product, hence why the bottles aren't clear/sealed.
It one of the worst things for sports people, yea the drinks might be free, but some of them have different effects on different people, for instance, I really can't stomach powerade, however I can drink lucozade all day....

Bhima

Great thread!

What about fruit smoothies then? I usually make them with a lot of citrus fruits which contain a lot of vitamin C.

So when should I be drinking them? Before, during or after?

I heard that milkshakes aren't too good because they don't get absorbed by your body very quickly but I see loads of energy/protein powders in the bike shop which you're supposed to mix up into milkshakes - how do these work? When is the optimum time to drink them?

The Northern Monkey

A fruit smoothie could be quite beneficial if made at the correct concentrations. say 200ml of pressed/blended fruit squash (mainly orange, apple or pineapple) with 800ml of water and you've got yourself a homemade isotonic sports drink.
There will be natural antioxidants in there, so could be of more benefit than an "off the shelf" sports drink.


With both protein drinks or milk based drinks, it more personal preference as to wether you take them before a ride, but for me I never would - plus they will be poor hydrators (dehydrators if the shake contains caffeine).
The milk will also sit on your stomach and could be uncomfortable and make you feel sick during a ride.

i'd take protein shakes slowly after exercising, wile rehydrating.

deadliest

So where do milkshakes come in on all this because I read on here that they are also just as good as post ride drinks ?

The Northern Monkey

they're good for restoring carb levels (particularly Mcd's milkshakes) however are terrible for restoring hydration.

supersonic

Protein too in the shakes, but I don't use them. I'd rather hydrate first, then about 30 mins after getting in, eat some tuna and pasta.

The Northern Monkey

aye, upto 2 hours after exercise the body will take up essential nutrients almost 10x quicker so that the stores are replaced.
therefore its very important to eat soon after a ride.

I don't take protein shakes either, unless your really REALLY training hard, you shouldn't need it.

Bhima

bigbenj_08 wrote:

I don't take protein shakes either, unless your really REALLY training hard, you shouldn't need it.

I only train really REALLY hard (as you put it!) twice a week and do more long-distance stuff on the other 5 days but I still try to get as much protein as possible every day because it makes a massive difference to the performance the following day. Even if you go for a 10 minute slow ride, your muscles need SOME protein to help them recover - So I wouldn't disregard it!

I once went out for 4 hours and was at 90-95% the whole time, really pushing hard - I got in and ate 4 big fish and a bit of chicken; probably about 250g of protein. My legs didn't feel tired at all the next day! 8)

The Northern Monkey

oh yeah, I don't mean you shouldn't eat protein!!! far from it!

However, I don't see why people need to use protein shakes when you could just have proper meal!!

with the amount of protein in a whey shake, the body can't use it all!

arnie-77

The ideal after training is a 3:1 mix of carbs and protein, so not a full protein shake. I have been using SIS rego after training hard and feel it has a benefit, not least because you can get it down within 20mins of finishing training. There are two versions of rego, make sure its the one with whey protein.

Although they get a bad rap, Maximuscle's Viper drink has been a staple of mine for years and is very good as it has lots of ingredients other drinks just don't have, flavour is a bit strong though - I tend to alternate between Viper and Torq energy which is very good, tasty and without a lot of the artificial rubbish.

punctureboy

i have worked to the same theory as arnie for a while now. a small amount of protein in your carb shake helps your body uptake the carbs. it also aids recovery when used straight after exercise.

going back to the initial article (please don't think i'm trying to pick holes in it) caffeine is not the enemy of sports people as many think. you have to drink it in crazy quantities for its diuretic qualities to become an issue. when taken just before exercise it can focus the mind and body. i tried drinking a can of a redbull type drink just before a running race. i felt great and did better than usual. this is why caffeine is starting to appear in more sports drinks.

arnie-77

On the caffeine front, I reserve this for gels or bars only - and then go for the strongest I can find. Personally I feel its best not to have a caffeinated drink, but to leave it to the gels/bars as a last resort boost. A careful balance is needed as most gels are not strictly intended for use alongside a carb drink. This is just my preference as I found the Viper'Extreme' version a quick way to ride like a nutter, for a little while, only to have a whopping great energy crash down later in the ride... something I never ever got with the regular version of the drink.

paulfitz

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Yea the homemade stuff is cheaper and sometimes tastes nicer....although i've made some pretty rough stuff
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/s ... 132209.stm
Out of those on the bbc, i'd only use the bottom 2 as it uses the natural sugars in fruit, however i would add a very small pinch of salt to the bottom recipe.

Top thread this is bigbenj...

I made the 2nd recipe last night, shook it up, bunged it in the fridge... God it tastes like Lucozade!!!

Well impressed 8)

paulfitz

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Yea the homemade stuff is cheaper and sometimes tastes nicer....although i've made some pretty rough stuff
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/s ... 132209.stm
Out of those on the bbc, i'd only use the bottom 2 as it uses the natural sugars in fruit, however i would add a very small pinch of salt to the bottom recipe.

Top thread this is bigbenj...

I made the 2nd recipe last night, shook it up, bunged it in the fridge... God it tastes like Lucozade!!!

Well impressed 8)