Sports drinks - what to use

Spatulala
Posts: 291
I bought a bottle of PSP22 energy drink powder on a friend's recommendation.
My question - is it OK for hydration as well, or should I have the electroyte one as a second drink?
How do you use both, or do you stick to one? I'm doing the Dragon on Sunday so would hate to get it badly wrong! Ta.
My question - is it OK for hydration as well, or should I have the electroyte one as a second drink?
How do you use both, or do you stick to one? I'm doing the Dragon on Sunday so would hate to get it badly wrong! Ta.
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Comments
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There is a recipe on here somewhere for a make your own drink.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/fitness/a ... rink-25744Level 3 Road & Time Trial Coach, Level 2 Track Coach.
Blackpool Clarion CC
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Blackpool Youth Cycling Association
http://www.go-ride-byca.org0 -
I always make my own, way cheaper
1967 Engine0 -
Thanks for that, but seeing as I've just spent £12 on a 1.6kg bottle of PSP22, I'll use that up before mixing up some salted fruit juice!0
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I only use the one, but electrolyte is good for hot days when you'll sweat a lot.
Should really have your fuelling sorted by now if doing the Dragon this weekend0 -
Spatulala wrote:I bought a bottle of PSP22 energy drink powder on a friend's recommendation.
My question - is it OK for hydration as well, or should I have the electroyte one as a second drink?
How do you use both, or do you stick to one? I'm doing the Dragon on Sunday so would hate to get it badly wrong! Ta.
FWIW don't go overboard on all the various "gotta have" this or that drink or this or that
bar or gel. If you eat a somewhat healthy diet you shouldn't have much need for most of the stuff that's sold these days. Maybe a little energy(sugar) drink with water and a energy bar on shorter, up to 50 miles or so, rides. Any longer than 50(or so) and you're
going to need more FOOD to keep you going. Don't get drawn into the idea that all of these nutritional supplements are somehow better than real food. More convenient to carry with you, but not better.0 -
I thought buying the drink powder was 'sorting my fuelling'!! What am I missing?0
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Plain water, or when I want carbs too, squash with some sugar and salt, or pure fruit juice with some salt.0
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Hi
It depend on you.
How much do you sweat?
When I did a sportive with my mate I used twice as much fluid as he did.
I always use an electrolyte drink as a sweat a lot and it stops me cramping.
I use SIS GO and it works for me, but just trying high 5 Zero and that seam ok as well.
But for a long sportive you do need a electrolyte drink or gel etc but how many depends on how much you sweat. On some sportive they give you free drinks so take the electrolyte version.
But you always run the risk that that the brand supplied does not suit you.
HTH
Jon0 -
Spatulala wrote:I thought buying the drink powder was 'sorting my fuelling'!! What am I missing?
Maybe you're making too much of "drink powder". It's helpful, but in the long run, so called real food is what you want to be putting in your body. Not a bunch of sugary water or electrolyte drinks that claim they are do all and are all you need. Think food. Bananas, fig bars, bagels, PB&J sandwiches, apples, pasta, protein(from real food), fruits, veggies,
nuts and grains. Once you get all this in you, then worry about putting a bit of flavored
sugar in your bottle. Did I mention lots of PLAIN water.0 -
Spatulala wrote:I bought a bottle of PSP22 energy drink powder on a friend's recommendation.
My question - is it OK for hydration as well, or should I have the electroyte one as a second drink?
How do you use both, or do you stick to one? I'm doing the Dragon on Sunday so would hate to get it badly wrong! Ta.
Hi Spatula
Drinking just your PSP22 drink should be fine, don't think its going to be that hot. One thing to remember is that you will need to be consuming roughly 1g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per hour, so you should be able to work out how much you need to be eating and drinking over the course of the ride. I would eat your solids in the first few hrs of the ride then use gels. Water with squash isny going to help much on a ride like this and eating solids anything after a couple of hrs into the ride isnt going to help much either, purely because of the time for the solids to digest, use gels.0 -
Hi Spatulala
SIS PSP is a carb drink ie energy only
SIS GO has carbs and electrolyte so gives you energy and salts etc to replace what you lose.
Jon0 -
Apples, sandwiches, bagels, pasta and vegetables. Makes sense, but isn't it going to be hard towing the trailer that I'll need to carry all me grub?
I'm being flippant, thanks all for the advice. I'm hoping they have some food and water en route. Last year I did the Force Century Challenge here in Devon, and the stops had enough cake to feed an army!
I'm not expecting anything to perform miracles or cure all ills, and I'll have some grub to help me round, I just wondered how others did it as the SIS website wasn't very clear.0 -
Great advice, thanks, can I use bars instead of gels later on, or is that not going to help? I only ask because I had a gel once and it was puke.0
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Spatulala wrote:Great advice, thanks, can I use bars instead of gels later on, or is that not going to help? I only ask because I had a gel once and it was puke.
Like i said in my earlier post, solids in the first half, gels in the second half. there are plenty of nice tasting gels out there, try the Torq range. My advice is more relevant if you are doing the grand fondo.
Good luck for Sunday0 -
Spatulala wrote:Apples, sandwiches, bagels, pasta and vegetables. Makes sense, but isn't it going to be hard towing the trailer that I'll need to carry all me grub?
I'm being flippant, thanks all for the advice. I'm hoping they have some food and water en route. Last year I did the Force Century Challenge here in Devon, and the stops had enough cake to feed an army!
I'm not expecting anything to perform miracles or cure all ills, and I'll have some grub to help me round, I just wondered how others did it as the SIS website wasn't very clear.
By all means use the stops for food and water. Strangely enough I'm not putting down the value of a couple of energy bars that you can carry with you. For pure convenience they are the ticket. It's just that as FOOD they are somewhat questionable. Lots of sugar in all those drinks, gels, and bars.0 -
maximuscle viper extreme! :twisted:veritas vos liberabit0
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There are 3 (IIRC) food stops on the 100 mile Dragon Ride. Each will have bananas, cake of some form, energy drinks (High 5) and water, so you won't need to take too much with you during the ride.
Don't forget to fuel and hydrate yourself up before you ride - porridge, bananas etc in the morning and pasta or similar the evening before - which will provide you with a good base of carbs and protein for the event.
In terms of energy bars and gels, take ones that you like the taste of, that don't give you stomach cramps, ones that you can easily eat whilst riding, and that you have tried before the event. I love malt loaf which I often use on mountain bike rides where you stop alot, but find it difficult to eat on road rides as it seems to stick to the roof of my mouth.0 -
From the interweb:
The three categories of sports drinks
If you opt for a sports drink, whether home-made or proprietary, you need to be aware that such drinks fall into three categories, which play different roles in the recovery process and therefore should be consumed at different times after exercise.
* Hypotonic drinks are dilute carbohydrate electrolyte solutions which are less concentrated than body fluids and are therefore rapidly absorbed by the body. They begin the rehydration process while simultaneously helping to replenish carbohydrate energy reserves. No proprietary versions of such drinks are currently available on the UK market since an Umbro product was withdrawn;
* Isotonic drinks have a similar carbohydrate electrolyte concentration to the body's own fluids. They are best used later in the recovery process to boost energy intake while still encouraging fluid uptake during the final stages of rehydration. Proprietary brands include Liquid Power, Isostar and Lucozade Sport;
* Hypertonic drinks are solutions with a higher carbohydrate electrolyte concentration than body fluids. In general these types of drinks contain large amounts of carbohydrate and are therefore best used as energy supplements during periods of heavy training, when energy expenditure is likely to be high. Again, no proprietary versions are available in the UK, although you can make an isotonic drink hypertonic by making it up in a more concentrated form. If you prefer to drink water alone after exercise, it is possible to achieve adequate rehydration if solid food which replaces lost electrolytes is consumed at the same time. If this is not possible, some form of electrolyte solution is essential.
They sell littl e sachets of isontonic and hypertonic drinks in Asda for a squid.The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.0 -
I use the NUUN tablets, they fiz up and disolve very quicky in your water bottle. Its flat when you drink it and they taste ok.
Easy to carry a tube with some in for refills, when the powders tend to stick to the sides of the bottle and not dissolve (I found, anyway)
I also take cerial bars and plain water (Camelbak Slipstream, I know its not the "done thing" but at least I'm hydrated)
Gels are good, but you can end up with sticky hands/handlebarsRichard
Giving it Large0 -
dennisn wrote:Maybe you're making too much of "drink powder". It's helpful, but in the long run, so called real food is what you want to be putting in your body. Not a bunch of sugary water or electrolyte drinks that claim they are do all and are all you need. Think food. Bananas, fig bars, bagels, PB&J sandwiches, apples, pasta, protein(from real food), fruits, veggies,
nuts and grains. Once you get all this in you, then worry about putting a bit of flavored
sugar in your bottle. Did I mention lots of PLAIN water.
I think you need to do a bit of reading Dennis. Energy drinks DO work and its easier to get some of the calories and carbs you need using energy drinks AND some kind of food. In terms of bang for your buck you can't really go wrong with a few energy bars. Sure you wouldn't live off this stuff day-to-day, but it does the job it is designed to do (fuelling you during hard exercise) very well.
Now if we were talking about just going for a bike ride or even a training ride then there's no need to spend a fortune on energy drinks/gels/bars, but many people treat sportives as pseudo-races so don't want to be phaffing about eating daft things like vegetables and pasta while they're on the bike - they want something that's quick to eat, easily digested and that will delivery a good sized hit so they don't need to be eating continually. Vegetables, pasta, fruit, etc. are what you eat before/after your ride.
Energy drinks aren't the be all and end all, but they do what they are designed to do and I think you'd find you'd perform better with an energy drink and bars than you would with water and carrots.
And incidentally, like many others I make my own energy drinks and it certainly is not expensive.More problems but still living....0 -
I agree that "sports" and "energy" products do have their place, I also think that they shouldn't be looked at as a replacement for a good diet, I do think that some of these things tend to make people a bit lazy about nutrition as a whole.0
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I use the orange psp drink stuff, forget what exactly it is, and its amazing! You can actually feel it effect you. That and powerbars are all you need imo. perhaps some flapjacks or something.
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Shut up legs, shut up legs, shut up legs!0 -
danowat wrote:I agree that "sports" and "energy" products do have their place, I also think that they shouldn't be looked at as a replacement for a good diet, I do think that some of these things tend to make people a bit lazy about nutrition as a whole.
In some ways yes, but equally most of the athletes I coach see it as part of a healthy diet, and an easy way to get what they need immediately after training.
Generally people who actually race use sports drinks etc properly, everyone else just uses them effectively because they're lazy!0 -
Like the people who run for 10mins on a treadie in the gym, and then glug down 500ml of "sport whatever", or the people who chug gels before a 5k race :roll:
In races, sure, even if you don't "need" them, they do give you a physcological boost, so even if its just a placebo effect, its worth it, in races.0 -
Horses fior course, but the guy is talking about the Dragon ride, not a potter down to the pub. For all the cynics here (Dennis
) you are, of course, right but it's a different matter if you're looking for a good time in a big sportive.
I'm trying to work out my 'fueling' for the Marmotte. This is a good 8hour ride and some people will be in the saddle for up to 11 hours. You're going ot need HUGE pockets if you want to get round on 'real' food.
Sure if you can get the carbs from real food, but it's tough to down 60g a hour (that's 2 or 3 bananas).0 -
ride_whenever wrote:danowat wrote:I agree that "sports" and "energy" products do have their place, I also think that they shouldn't be looked at as a replacement for a good diet, I do think that some of these things tend to make people a bit lazy about nutrition as a whole.
In some ways yes, but equally most of the athletes I coach see it as part of a healthy diet, and an easy way to get what they need immediately after training.
I have to be honest and say that I don't buy the "part of a healthy diet". Just exactly what is so healthy about eating and drinking whole bunches of sugar? What nutrition do you get from sugar?0 -
I'm with you on this one Dennis, though you're the one who keeps saying 'sugar'. You obviously need carbs as part of your diet, moreso if your riding a big event, but it doesn't have to be sugar.0
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Depends what you mean when you say "sugar".
Stuff like SIS PSP22 has Fructose and Maltodextrin in it, while they are sugars, they are nowhere near as bad as the highly refined "white stuff" or crap like corn syrup.0 -
PSP22 is about 6% sugar, whereas a banana is about 12%.....................0
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danowat wrote:Depends what you mean when you say "sugar".
Stuff like SIS PSP22 has Fructose and Maltodextrin in it, while they are sugars, they are nowhere near as bad as the highly refined "white stuff" or crap like corn syrup.
That's what I mean. You say this stuff is "nowhere near as bad as....". So they are bad, but not that bad? What does that mean? Are you honestly trying to say say that all this "stuff" is even close to being on a par with real food? That after a long ride what your body really needs is to have a bunch of sugar pumped into it instead of food? :roll: :roll:0