Has anyone tried this?

 

Highly subjective opinion, but IMO you can replicate the components in 'sports drinks' with a bottle of water, a banana and a candy bar. Yeah....they have 'electrolytes' etc...but that's what the banana is for...and you wouldn't believe how much sugar is in sports drinks....

"Have a banana"...

 

I use Cytomax while mountain biking. The sports drinks nowdays are a lot better than the original Gatoraid. I get less muscle pain and fewer cramps using Cytomax than the old fashioned way of water, a banana and a powerbar (or candybar). It makes a big difference when pushing really hard in a race. I'm normally a huge sceptic of products like this (I'm a biochemist), but this stuff does work (IMO). When you sweat a lot, the electrolytes are important. I've seen hikers need IV treatment due to electrolyte imbalance due to simply drinking water and not gatoraid or something like it.

 

Tom has it right. If you are pushing yourself at whatever athletic activity you like, you need to keep hydrated and replacing electrolytes. You also need to add calories and carbs to replace what you are buring off. Dont fool yourself, racing your car or pushing hard in a DE in 90 degrees plus heat is a work out.

Personally, I really like Accelerade. It has the usual amounts of Sodium, and electroyltes, but it also has protein. Protein is the key to better muscle endurance and faster recovery. I drink this when doing Triathlons or long Mountain Bike rides. It works like a charm.

Another very good product is Gatorade Endurance Formula. It has lots of sodium, which helps your body retain fluids on very hot days. It really works, and I usually drkink this when I am at the track. I also like eating powerbars or cliff bars at the track. They are easy to digest and dont slow you down (is this the secret to fast lap times?)

So next time you headed out to the track, think about what you put in the body before you get there. It does make difference in how you will feel during and at the end of day. Rock on!

JL

 

Don't confuse this with a Gatorade or any other electrolyte replacement product. It does work and it's amazing how custom the formulations are...at $100 a drink (water bottle size) it better be. I know of a lot of racers who use it and I have heard first hand from some of them as to the benefits. I have spoken to the owner/formulator many times and he has a lot of data to back up it's performance. I have no personal experience with it however (nor do I plan to since it won't help a back marker like me).

Also, they have changed the name from Glycomax to Performance Drink.

I'm not saying you should use it. Just clarifying that it's much more than a $100 version of Cytomax, Gatorade, etc.

 

Gatorade Endurance is evil stuff. I tried some while training for the Rochester Marathon last summer in the Houston heat and humidity. No amount of electrolyte loss is worth drinking that foul tasting stuff (mind you I like regular Gatorade). The added sodum is gross.

I take Endurolytes from Hammer Products. I notice a huge difference using them.

Glycomax sounds interesting, but not at $100 a drink. Maybe if I were on the bubble for a Boston qualifier, but geez, does it come with a hooker at that price?

 

Geo,

I drink the Endurance Formula Gatorade as bottled. I like Gatorade Endurance only if its real hot. The added sodium REALLY works in helping retain fluids. But, for the 6 hour Tri traces I do go Accelerade all the way! Its amazing what a difference the protien makes! Do they make a 6 hour Viagra?

You are right ChrisP, I did confuse GlycoMax and Cytomax. But, at $100 a shot, forget it! I can buy a lot of Accelade and PowerBars for the kind of scratch!

JL

 

Yeah, at $100 a shot it should come with a hooker and Viagra.

I haven't tried the Cytomax. I like the Enduralytes because they are capsules and they don't irritate my stomach like sodium does. At the Phoenix half-marathon last year I took some salt and immediately got such a stomach cramp I had to walk for two miles and thought I was going to wretch. I got a simlar feeling (but thankfully to a lesser extent) this past summer when I tried the Gatorade Endurance. I was at least able to keep running, but I didn't drink it all either.

 

How important is the sugar content in these sport drinks? Is it a necessary ingredient or do they add it to make it easier to sell? A long long time ago, we used to drink something called ERG..tasted like sweat...hopefully it was at least good for us...

 

Grape pedialyte is my favorite race drink...

 

Also the Glycomax/Performance Drink stuff is designed to keep the mind sharp and operating in a way specific to the sport and person he is formulating for. He uses different formulas for golf, driving, etc. It's all about stabilizing blood sugar and the subsequent effect on the mind. The stuff is hugely popular in endurance auto racing, again not for the physical side but because of the mental requirements of the length and number of stints.

It's not a marathon or triathlon type thing. I used to race bicycles competitively for a number of years so when I met him I went into it thinking the same thing. "Wow...this is expensive gatorade". He quickly educated me on the difference between this and "energy" drinks.

For riding I don't use an electrolyte drink unless it's over 2hrs. The hotter it is the more I prefer water. If I'm forced to use Gatorade I thin it out with water because it's too high in sugar and slows the absorption of water through the stomach. The performance loss from even being a few percentage points into dehydration is much more significant than the performance loss from having lost electrolytes.