Which Energy Drink Powder?

Gav888

Hi,

At present im using Powerade / Gatorade / Lucozade energy drinks on my training runs and they are around the 6% per 100ml for carbs, which seems to work well enough for me and im drinking about 1 bottle per hour, maybe a little less.

For example I had the below on a recent 5hr 80 mile ride.

3 x powerade 500ml bottles
1 x lucozade energy 500ml bottle
4 x cereal bars

This worked well enough for me and I felt I had enough energy the whole ride (it was my first 80 miler so I wasnt 100% sure what to take so had more than to be on the safe side) and I carried the cereal bars and powerade bottles (2 x 500ml on frame 1 x 500ml in back pocket) but bought the lucozade in a local shop as I ran out of drink.

So, im now starting to look into powdered energy drinks you can buy in bulk and make youself, mainly so I can take some powder on my long runs and just add water when I need a refill rather than worrying what the local shops have in stock and having to carry extra bottles, but also to try and save some money - 4 x powerade is £2.80 in tesco at the moment.

Does anyone have any guides or advise on where to start as its a mine field trying to work out what you need etc. From some searches on here recommendations of SIS and High5, also Myprotein for making it yourself, avoid aspartame in a energy drink and some drinks let you consume more than 6% per 100ml, nearer 10% was quotes on one post giving you more energy?!?

Help!!!!

fto-si

Gav, most of the time I just use fruit cordial drinks on our rides, have started taking one 500ml bottle of Lucozade Sport but only because Tesco where doing them on Buy One/Get One Free.
If I want to add more carbs I just add Maltodextrin which is less than 15 quid for 5kg and its pretty much what the so called Energy Drinks are made up of anyway.

idreamoftailwinds

Drink
Gels
Eat

Takis61

I've tried Zipvit, Lucozade Sport, High 5, and one or two others from Holland & Barret, and to be blunt I stick with Gatorade & Torq for non additives, Lucozade Sport, Tesco & Sainsburys Isotonics for flavour.
Can't stand the powder drinks, they definitely pack more energy but just taste foul IMHO.

andy162

For my money you can't beat Zipvitt. Tastes ok & seems to work for me. Allsports winter training formula(WTF) is ok too. It's designed for longer rides, you don't need to eat with this stuff.

Chocolate is best but still " W.T.F" when you first taste it. You get used to it tho.

arnie-77

That sounds like you are using the chocolate recovery drink during your ride, not the energy drink?
That's pretty radical... especially the not eating bit.

Headhuunter

Make your own. Someone posted this website up here before and I use the Endurance Sports Drink Mix. You can get all the ingredients on the My Protein website. Waaaaay cheaper than the pre made ones and just as effective, the pre made ones are basically the same ingredients wrapped ikn fancy marketing

http://jibbering.com/sports/drinks.html

Gav888

Headhuunter wrote:

Make your own. Someone posted this website up here before and I use the Endurance Sports Drink Mix. You can get all the ingredients on the My Protein website. Waaaaay cheaper than the pre made ones and just as effective, the pre made ones are basically the same ingredients wrapped ikn fancy marketing

http://jibbering.com/sports/drinks.html

Cheers, I did remember something about a post when someone had listed all the stuff you needed but couldnt find the post

Penn

I swear by Maximuscle Viper and Zipvit, both are brill.

mackdaddy

Tried a few but High 5 seems to be favourite for me at the moment.

Gav888

Ive found the below article, can anyone confirm this is correct.

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?P ... nce%20Tips

The bit im look at is - 2. Simple sugar consumption

My understanding is Powerade / Gatorade / Lucozade, which are the main drinks im using on rides are made up of simple sugar's, and using a complex carb drink I can get up to 3 times more energy?

To counter that, the below article confirms that Maltodextrin-plus-fructose is better than Maltodextrin only.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/maltode ... -drink.htm

But to counter that, Hammer advise not to mix simple with complex???

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?P ... %20Library

This is confusing! LOL

andy162

arnie-77 wrote:

That sounds like you are using the chocolate recovery drink during your ride, not the energy drink?
That's pretty radical... especially the not eating bit.

Allsports Winter Training Formula is not a recovery drink. It's specifically designed with enough carbs, protein etc that you can get round a long training ride without stopping for food. I rate it. It's good for me as I'll do exactly what it's made for, 4hr+ (steady-ish) winter rides without a pot of tea & a cake at half distance. Having to get going again in the cold with "cafe legs" is then avoided.

I guess this won't suit everyone, cafe stops are part & parcel of the cycling culture. But not for me in the depths of winter. Get the miles in & get home works for me & my clubmates.

Gav888

Ok, after some research im thinking of using High 5 Energy Source 4:1. At present im trying to work out how many grams of powder per 500ml bottle to use to work out if its cheaper than what im using now.

They do sachet's of 50g which make up 750ml so im assuming I need nearer 40g per bottle, if so it works out at under 60p per bottle. Powerade is about 70p per bottle (multipack price) so not only is it a better drink, its cheaper. But only at that concentration..

Do you use this stuff, if so how many grams do you use per 500ml bottle?

Anonymous

Water, star bars, malt loaf.

Sorry, I know they are not powders.

jonmack

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12615533

This might help. Like Headhuunter I make all my own drinks, works out so much cheaper than buying branded stuff which is basically the same thing. Also means you can taylor them to your needs better, and you know exactly what's going in them.

I just do 65g Maltodextrin, 9g Protein and 1g Electrolyte powder mixed with water and squash on a standard ride, then for recovery I do 44g Maltodextrin to 31g Protein with a Yazoo strawberry milkshake, they're not perfect but they're cheap and do the job!

Gav888

jonmack wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12615533

This might help. Like Headhuunter I make all my own drinks, works out so much cheaper than buying branded stuff which is basically the same thing. Also means you can taylor them to your needs better, and you know exactly what's going in them.

I just do 65g Maltodextrin, 9g Protein and 1g Electrolyte powder mixed with water and squash on a standard ride, then for recovery I do 44g Maltodextrin to 31g Protein with a Yazoo strawberry milkshake, they're not perfect but they're cheap and do the job!

Good post, didnt find that. I was planning on making my own, but I wanted to try some proper branded stuff to see how it compares, then compare that to home made and go from there

Headhuunter

Gav888 wrote:

Ive found the below article, can anyone confirm this is correct.

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?P ... nce%20Tips

The bit im look at is - 2. Simple sugar consumption

My understanding is Powerade / Gatorade / Lucozade, which are the main drinks im using on rides are made up of simple sugar's, and using a complex carb drink I can get up to 3 times more energy?

To counter that, the below article confirms that Maltodextrin-plus-fructose is better than Maltodextrin only.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/maltode ... -drink.htm

But to counter that, Hammer advise not to mix simple with complex???

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?P ... %20Library

This is confusing! LOL

That is confusing. Some of the DIY recipes on the net recommend combining fructose with matodextrin so I'm inclined to believe it's fine. In any case, there doesn't seemto be any real reason cited in the Hammer article, other than just "don't do it". Also I am sceptical about believing something written by a company trying to sell you more of its product, whereas the other article you posted appears to be more independent.

Steve Tcp

Gav888 wrote:

Ive found the below article, can anyone confirm this is correct.

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?P ... nce%20Tips

The bit im look at is - 2. Simple sugar consumption

My understanding is Powerade / Gatorade / Lucozade, which are the main drinks im using on rides are made up of simple sugar's, and using a complex carb drink I can get up to 3 times more energy?

To counter that, the below article confirms that Maltodextrin-plus-fructose is better than Maltodextrin only.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/maltode ... -drink.htm

But to counter that, Hammer advise not to mix simple with complex???

http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?P ... %20Library

This is confusing! LOL

It's confusing because you're comparing different companies who are proving the old saying that there are no facts in science, just interpretations of test results. For what it's worth I'd been increasingly plagued by cramps for the last two or three years culminating in nearly having to abandon a 75 mile bike ride this June in temps of 28 deg c so bad were the cramps. A few days later I Iistended to an episode of the Everyday Cyclist podcast where Graham Street talked about nutrition and triggered an epiphany for me that made me realise that, amongst other mistakes, I was over hydrating and diluting my electrolyte supplies. He specifically recommended Hammer Nutrition, so I ventured over to their web site and read the article you just linked to and decided that, with nothing to lose re my cramping, I might as well go with Hammer advice and tey their products. I also realised that it is absolutely logical that if your body can only process 300 or 400 calories an hour, and 500 to 750ml of liquid in the same time, taking on more than that during exercise is pointless and has the potential to create stomach problems. Anyway, back at the point, I now use Hammer Endurolytes to boost my electrolyte count 24hrs before a longer ride and then use them during the ride as well, especially on warmer days. I also use their gel (I love the banana flavour and the fact that their gel can be bought in large bottles and decanted to small flasks or a gel bottle to save having sticky packets), Heed (electrolyte drink for short rides on hot days) and Perpetuem for carbs and protein on longer rides. Yesterday for example I did 100k using just a 750ml bottle of Perpetuem and 2 portions of gel with no problems - that is no cramps nor aching legs later. The difference I'm experiencing both during and after rides is amazing and I would highly recommend Hammer gear with one slight note of caution - I believe that they are in a few legal disputes in the states relating to athletes failing dope tests with traces of Nandrolene in their system that allegedly came from contaminated batches of Hammer powders (perhaps it's the Nadrolene that's giving me the improvements :shock: )

MikeyC

I think Steve TCP has mentioned a good point here about over hydrating (hyponatremia see here http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch156/ch156d.html)
on hot days it is absolutely vital to maintain your electrolyte balance and plain water alone won't do it. On hot days or indoor spin sessions I use SiS GoLive - and no more cramps! As for the energy drinks there are various on the market (SiS, HighFive etc), but I think the powdered ones are better because you can mix them to the correct concentration (hypotonic) and their contents are easier on the stomach to digest. Tyically you need approx 60g of carbohydrate per hour - this includes any from liquids and bars. Post ride / excercise, especially if it has been a tough session, a protein recovery drink and a hot bath and massage of the legs eliminates the "heavy legs" the next day - well it does for me!

Mike

ded

I'm not even going to attempt to discuss the science and pseudo-science above but will instead fall back on my own, anecdotal, totally unscientific assessment...

I've tried quite a few (ZipVit, Power-whatever, Lucozade stuff) and my favourite is definitely High5 4:1, along with another one they do which is more geared to hot days (can't remember the name, sorry). Used this stuff extensively in training and doing the marmotte (very hot) this summer and always worked for me. Good energy replacement, tastes OK (even after 7hrs) and didn't give me an upset stomach.

Still not found a recovery drink I like tho' - sticking to bananas/fruit/milk in a blender and a tuna sandwich.... :?