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Gels vs Gatorade
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Gels vs Gatorade
"scottt" wrote in message om... Any clue as to what works best...? I ride between two and four-hours a ride--a few times a week (also teach spinning classes twice-a-week). I average about 80-100 rpm and also push around 16-20 mph.I always hydrate before I ride and bring at least one large bottle of water and a bottle of mixed accelerade. Last year, as well into this season, I have been using Hammer gel as another source of fuel (especially on longer rides).I'm feeling great, and pose this question to see if anyone has better results with a mix of water/gels, or bars and water/energy drinks or any other combo. My Tri buddy swears by eating a good breakfast and drinking only Gatorade...He also mentioned that one dosen't get any more bag for your buck/carbs etc. using sport drinks and gels. Is he more loopy that usual? In my experience I prefer water and solids over gel or Accelerade. In fact, after a few hours the taste of (warm) Accelerade becomes plain revulsive. Gels have the advantage that they are lighter and easier to consume than solids (energy bars, fig newtons, etc.) Arguably, there is no need to consume that many carbs on 2-3 hour rides. There should be enough glucogen in your muscles to fuel the ride. Just stay hydrated. Of course, ymmv ... literally. Bengt-Olaf. |
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Gels vs Gatorade
I'm feeling great, and pose this question to see if
anyone has better results with a mix of water/gels, or bars and water/energy drinks or any other combo. If you're feeling great, something is working. I learned the hard way with hunger pangs, dried salty sweat, and cramps. All signs of electrolyte imbalance. Now I start hydration sooner, take two Accelerade bottles (the newer formula tastes better), GU energy gels and energy bars (even Snickers Marathon is good), at least two bananas and Chinese dried salted orange peels. I also stop more often, get off the bike, and eat and drink for approximately 10 minutes. |
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Gels vs Gatorade
scottt wrote:
Any clue as to what works best...? I ride between two and four-hours a ride--a few times a week (also teach spinning classes twice-a-week). I average about 80-100 rpm and also push around 16-20 mph.I always hydrate before I ride and bring at least one large bottle of water and a bottle of mixed accelerade. Last year, as well into this season, I have been using Hammer gel as another source of fuel (especially on longer rides).I'm feeling great, and pose this question to see if anyone has better results with a mix of water/gels, or bars and water/energy drinks or any other combo. My Tri buddy swears by eating a good breakfast and drinking only Gatorade...He also mentioned that one dosen't get any more bag for your buck/carbs etc. using sport drinks and gels. Is he more loopy that usual? I usually don't push myself that hard for that long when I'm cycling, as it's mostly about transportation for me, but I have experiences I can relate from when I was a treeplanter. Treeplanting is a lot like cycling in many ways, in that fast planting is a high output activity, complete with accelerated heartrate and rapid breathing, not to mention profuse sweating. I've heard people say things like sustained 66% of Vo2 Max, whatever that means to you. The same pitfalls apply, such as dehydration, loss of blood sugar, and eating foods that are difficult to digest quickly and keep going without slowing down. To make money planting, you need to push yourself to a cyclists' level of exertion for nine hours a day, every day you work. I experimented a lot with different drinks and foods, and found that for the most part anything labelled or packaged as a sports product was less likely to improve my performance. Gatorade, while it was a lot better than koolaid (yes I tried koolaid, it was cheap), still left me feeling awful at the end of the day. Straight gatorade is disgusting to chug, and even if I watered it down a lot I would run out of steam about 6 hours into the day. Often by quitting time I would have difficulty focusing my eyes on anything for very long or walking in a straight line. I would slur my speech and be unable to fill in the form claiming my trees for the day. I would pass out and sleep on the drive back to camp, which if you've ever planted you know is a *very* bumpy ride sometimes. The same thing happened with powerade, kool-aid, and some kind of gel I forget the name of. I never had this problem when I drank plain water, and I would drink up to 7 litres a day or more without ****ing. I also liked to drink a can of V8 once a day, I felt like that made a difference, possibly from the salt, or just because I really like V8. I also tried many different kinds of foods. I found that energy bars and granola bars of all sorts weren't filling enough. Half an hour after eating my stomach would be growling (I need to eat a lot, and eat often). Heavier foods like pasta, potatoes, and vegetables were too hard to digest. If I ate even a moderate amount I would feel bloated and get heartburn, and would slow down more than if I hadn't eaten. The best thing was a combination of trail mix and sandwiches. A handful of salted pretzels, peanuts, chocolate, raisins and other misc salty and sugary bits plus a portion of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with whole grain or multigrain bread. It's important not to eat too much at any one time, but to eat often throughout the day. Sometimes I would eat a small amount of meat or tuna in a sandwich, just to break the tedium of PB&J. I would also eat several cookies or brownies throughout the day, which our cooks baked for us. This combination never failed to work for me. If I tweaked it even a little bit, like using white bread instead of wholewheat, I would have significantly less energy by the afternoon and would make less money that day. I think the key is getting the right balance of electrolytes, carbs, proteins and sugars in an easily digestible form, which energy bars and drinks could never do for me. I also worry about the things that go into such products, chemicals and preservatives and colouring and flavouring and who knows what other additives. In the long run as well as the short, it's much better to eat a balanced mix of wholesome organic foods, and to drink plain water. In my experience anyhow. |
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Gels vs Gatorade
On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 17:11:17 -0700, scottt wrote: My Tri buddy swears by eating a good breakfast and drinking only Gatorade... Well, he can enjoy the tooth decay. It's seriously not good to be washing your teeth in sugar water all day long. If you're going to use sugar as fuel, make it quick and rinse with water. I'm sure there's no real difference between the syrup in a gallon of gatorade and a little foil pack of sugar syrup. Seriously, you wrote that you feel great, so what's the problem? EK |
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Gels vs Gatorade
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Gels vs Gatorade
"scottt" wrote in message
om... Any clue as to what works best...? I ride between two and four-hours a ride--a few times a week (also teach spinning classes twice-a-week). I average about 80-100 rpm and also push around 16-20 mph.I always hydrate before I ride and bring at least one large bottle of water and a bottle of mixed accelerade. Last year, as well into this season, I have been using Hammer gel as another source of fuel (especially on longer rides).I'm feeling great, and pose this question to see if anyone has better results with a mix of water/gels, or bars and water/energy drinks or any other combo. My Tri buddy swears by eating a good breakfast and drinking only Gatorade...He also mentioned that one dosen't get any more bag for your buck/carbs etc. using sport drinks and gels. Is he more loopy that usual? Unless you've been fasting, you should have enough stored glycogen to go for 2-3 hr at a hard pace. Beyond that, you may need ~500 cal/hr or so to keep up. Whatever you find easiest to digest and palatable is all that's important. Gels and bars are some rider's choice, but there's no magic, fig newtons, PB&J, etc. work just as well and are cheaper. For fluids, riding hard in hot weather can consume 1-3 L/hr (most riders closer to 1 L/hr max), you don't want to get much more than 2 L behind, and there's a maximum rate that you can absorb, so depending on conditions and length of ride, you have to drink accordingly. There isn't much difference in drinking plain water vs. "carbohydrated" water, and there are advantages to keeping food and fluid separate. For very long rides, especially in the heat, salt replacement becomes an issue. There is a considerable variation in how much salt different riders may lose. I've found it only becomes an issue for me after 7-8 hr of hot, hard, riding. |
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