What's in your supplement locker?

Gabbo

As we know (or I know), most dedicated cyclists will be using some form of performance enhancing supplements pre and post workout.

Inside my supplement locker is:

SIS Go Energy drink (orange)
SIS REGO Rapid Recovery drink (banana)
SIS GO Electrolyte drink (watermelon)
Nature's Garden Soya Protein (vanilla - yuk)
Spirulina powder (absolutely vile)
Flaxseed
Aloe Vera juice

The spirulina powder I don't tend to use any more. It's high in protein (60%) and also very high in iron. It's basically algae! Flaxseed is nice on cereal or porridge and the aloe vera sits pretty doing nothing. Had hemp protein but gave to a friend as again I found it vile in the extreme.

I know all brands (Zipfit, SIS, High5) are all very similar, but I find that the SIS products are very easy to consume. Taste nice and has a nice texture.

What supplements do you use?

pinarellokid

i just have the usual high5 bottle deals at the minute..

i use spirulina in fishing bait.. didnt know it was ok for humans..
give us a shout if yor getting rid of that !!!

keef66

Tea and Hobnobs. They're still legal aren't they??

hipshot

I think you'll find Hobnobs are a grey area.

alihisgreat

SIS Go Electrolyte energy drink
SIS electrolyte tablets
PowerBars


Malt Loaf
Nutri-Grain bars
Bananas
Flapjack

Tiesetrotter

Porridge.
Bannana.
Soren
Water
and beer (British as i have taste) as my isotonic recovery.

superfourben

Leftovers from many free maxifuel racepacks
Bananas
Nature Valley Peanut crunch bars
Nesquick + Milk
Carton of Vita Coconut drink (Yuk)

snickwell

Supplements? F*ck all. I'm not a performance level athlete, soreen, bananas, water, peanut butter, jam and bread does me just fine.

The amount of money wasted/spent on 'supplements' baffles me.

rdt

Short rides: water.

Medium rides: add bananas / Aldi jelly babies / maybe Aldi cereal bar.

Longer rides: add sandwiches (something that can't easily fall out, like pate) cut up small & individually wrapped for eating on the move - sarnies taste great during a long ride / maybe malt loaf.

Post ride: my next meal, or if not eating for a while then milk with maybe Nesquik.

DavidJB

Herpes.

simon_masterson

No 'Extract of X, which could increase muscle capability by 2%', or whatever, which is what I tend to think of when people talk about 'supplements'...

I use MyProtein and buy my ingredients in bulk, as it's not only cheaper but I get to decide what's going in. Currently that's maltodextrin, dextrose, unflavoured 'Impact' whey protein and powdered oats. I make recovery drinks using all of the above (though I'm thinking of phasing out the oats), and use the sugars for energy. Will probably add fructose to the mix next time I order. I've also started using cherry juice too after a feature in CW (the best cycling publication); not sure it's worked but it tastes nice!

But I wouldn't call it 'supplements' as such; more 'convenience', if anything, because what I use does not differ much from my ordinary diet: it's just carbs and protein. It just so happens that since the body is (apparently) more sensitive to carbs and protein for replenishment of muscle glycogen and repair in the first half hour after exercise, and I've chosen ingredients that I deem effective to maximise that.

But frankly even if all of those benefits were for nothing I'm still better off, given what I can scoff down in my post-ride hunger rampages.

jscl

SiS GO Electrolyte
CNP Caffeine and non-caffeine gel
*SOMETIMES* use SiS carb-based too

Otherwise, flapjacks and malt loaf before. Banana and milk afterwards.

migrantwing

snickwell wrote:

Supplements? F*ck all. I'm not a performance level athlete, soreen, bananas, water, peanut butter, jam and bread does me just fine.

The amount of money wasted/spent on 'supplements' baffles me.

+1

t.m.h.n.e.t

snickwell wrote:

Supplements? F*ck all. I'm not a performance level athlete, soreen, bananas, water, peanut butter, jam and bread does me just fine.

The amount of money wasted/spent on 'supplements' baffles me.

Only a matter of time before money was mentioned :roll:

What is to say that money which I have earned is "wasted"? What is to say that supplements are expensive? Expensive to who? you? me? everyone?

Captainlip

A good meal, three times a day

amaferanga

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

snickwell wrote:

Supplements? F*ck all. I'm not a performance level athlete, soreen, bananas, water, peanut butter, jam and bread does me just fine.

The amount of money wasted/spent on 'supplements' baffles me.

Only a matter of time before money was mentioned :roll:

What is to say that money which I have earned is "wasted"? What is to say that supplements are expensive? Expensive to who? you? me? everyone?

Isn't the point that you can get everything you need from normal foods that cost a lot less, so regardless of whether or not someone can afford to fill themselves full of supplements, they're still p!ssing money down the drain (while convincing themselves that the supplements really do make a difference for their 6 hours a week of commuting (in many cases)).

neeb

Chocolate soya milk is all I use for recovery.

As far as supplements for general health are concerned, just a daily dose of high quality omega 3s and 50ug of vitamin D during the winter months. And as I'm more or less veggie I use a lower-salt yeast spread (like Marmite) that's fortified with B12. All the rest you can get from eating properly.

Real food - salads with spinach, avocado, beetroot, pumpkin seeds, sea buckthorn berries, etc. One really great thing about living in Finland is that you can get big bags of frozen berries from the supermarket - wild blueberries, sea buckthorn, "lingon berries" (cowberry), etc.

t.m.h.n.e.t

amaferanga wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

snickwell wrote:

Supplements? F*ck all. I'm not a performance level athlete, soreen, bananas, water, peanut butter, jam and bread does me just fine.

The amount of money wasted/spent on 'supplements' baffles me.

Only a matter of time before money was mentioned :roll:

What is to say that money which I have earned is "wasted"? What is to say that supplements are expensive? Expensive to who? you? me? everyone?

Isn't the point that you can get everything you need from normal foods that cost a lot less, so regardless of whether or not someone can afford to fill themselves full of supplements, they're still p!ssing money down the drain (while convincing themselves that the supplements really do make a difference for their 6 hours a week of commuting (in many cases)).

What real food can you purchase for around 25p a serving?

sheffsimon

Gabbo wrote:

As we know (or I know), most dedicated cyclists will be using some form of performance enhancing supplements pre and post workout.

Inside my supplement locker is:

SIS Go Energy drink (orange)
SIS REGO Rapid Recovery drink (banana)
SIS GO Electrolyte drink (watermelon)
Nature's Garden Soya Protein (vanilla - yuk)
Spirulina powder (absolutely vile)
Flaxseed
Aloe Vera juice

The spirulina powder I don't tend to use any more. It's high in protein (60%) and also very high in iron. It's basically algae! Flaxseed is nice on cereal or porridge and the aloe vera sits pretty doing nothing. Had hemp protein but gave to a friend as again I found it vile in the extreme.

I know all brands (Zipfit, SIS, High5) are all very similar, but I find that the SIS products are very easy to consume. Taste nice and has a nice texture.

What supplements do you use?

Would be interesting to know what volume and intensity of training you do to require any or all of the above?

B.M.R.

Hi5 Isotonic tabs
Zipvit Energy Gels (including caffeine ones)
Cod Liver Oil daily
Nesquick and skimmed or semi-skimmed milk.

The tabs and the gels only get used on rides over two hours (starting after about an hour of nothing but water), anything shorter and just water. I mix and match caffeinated ones for an extra boost, though not too many of these in one go. I like the taste of the Zipvit ones, and although they are gloopier than others they also have more carbs in them (52g) which means I only need to take about 1 every 45 minutes.
I was going to invest in a post-exercise recovery supplement, as I feel I am very bad at taking on food post exercise in the fabled "window of opportunity". Then my other half read in her sports magazine that a nesquick (or own brand) quickly made milkshake does the job pretty well, so I went for that instead.

I primarily take the cod liver oil as it stops my eyes getting dry (had them lasered five years ago, best 3 grand I ever spent!), but it has other benefits too.

rdt

SheffSimon wrote:

Would be interesting to know what volume and intensity of training you do to require any or all of the above?

For folks using all this stuff, I suspect it's as much about the pleasure derived from the ritual of the regime itself (purchase, preparation, consumption) as it is about any possible physical performance benefits that might be achieved.

cf. recreational drug use.

AndyPkr

Like many I used to scoff at using energy drinks, bars and recovery drinks and mostly just used water whilst riding. As my rides began to increase in length I was finding I was bonking towards the end of my rides and suffering for a couple of days after. I then started using powdered energy drinks and the odd bar whilst out riding. It may be all in my head, but I now find that I can ride further and complete my rides feeling far fresher than I ever did. Whilst out with my (water drinking) mates they would scoff at my well packed saddle bag, but were always keen to relieve me of the odd bar when they found themselves in trouble. They to have now moved to the dark side and are amazed at how it has transformed their rides. Only problem now is keeping up with them.
I tend to use:-
SIS Go Energy in my water bottle.
A selection of energy bars (any make or flavour).
SIS gels for emergencies only.
SIS Rego after tough rides.
I buy my SIS Go Energy and Rego in satchet's to save having to measure them out. They can be more expensive but I buy a full box of 18 at a time which works out cheaper. I find the bottled powders start to go hard after a while.

AchillesLeftKnee

High5 Zero tablets (otherwise it's Cramp City after about 90 mins), and Mule Bars if the ride's long enough to warrant eating whilst out (in other words, at least two hours of good effort). The latter feel like the greatest rip-off on earth, but they do the job, are dead easy to eat whilst riding, and don't taste like a byproduct from a paint factory.

iPete

A lot of snickers bars and bananas, a nom nom nom.

Perhaps I'm the reverse, I used to go for supplements/recovery drinks, you name it when I was crap in the hope they'd get me through and now with decent fitness don't bother. If you're into marginal gains and are pretty serious, go for it.

ddraver

SIS Go Lemon and Lime for general rides (cos it tastes nice..)

SIS PSP22 Blackcurrant for long (100km+ road, 40km+ MTB) rides

Rego for after long rides if it's cheap on CRC or in 24hr races, because it tastes nice and if don't have something specific I ll just eat the whole fridge

A bunch of out of date Cliff shot blocks that I ve used for races/sportives/long rides as "emergency rations" a single Cliff bar (need to get a few more of those, nom nom!), a bunch of random energy gels from freebies that I ll probably never use and should throw away...