The thread on the limited availability of Gatorade Endurance Formula got me thinking about how easy it would be to mix my own energy drink. I could start with a readily available “base” drink, like Gatorade, HEED, etc. and then tweak the other ingredients as needed. Sea salt is cheap, as are the powdered Endurlytes from Hammer, and if I wanted to mix in protein, there are plenty of protein powders available as well. This would allow me to up the sodium and electolytes in the warmer weather and to find the right mix that works for my stomach.
I know that this is what Infiniti does, but the homemade route strikes me as cheaper and easier to adjust on the fly.
Haven’t tried any of the recipes. Once I run out of pre-made “nutrition”, I plan to go buy a bag of maltodextrin from the diy beer-brewing place and try cooking it with some sea salt. Basically Plain HammerGel with Sodium.
Gatorade endurance is all over the place here in WI. I don’t like the taste, but I will say it makes me drink more.
As far as mixing my own concoction, I just don’t even have the time in my life to think about it let alone actually mix it. It doesn’t seem, to me, worth the effort.
I, personally, use 3/4 strength Gatorade. It seems to work well for me both on the bike and while running. Sometimes, on the bike, I will use only water. That being said, I set the countdown timer on my watch. The first alarm is at 25 minutes and then it goes off every 15 minutes after that. It works for me.
I figured out shortly before IM CdA that Gatorade Endurance causes intense stomach cramps, and it was too late to try a new drink. So I did IM on regular Gatorade which I spiked with a little extra sea salt. Worked great.
Haven’t tried any of the recipes. Once I run out of pre-made “nutrition”, I plan to go buy a bag of maltodextrin from the diy beer-brewing place and try cooking it with some sea salt. Basically Plain HammerGel with Sodium.
Interesting recipes, but I don’t have the patience to make one from scratch. I’d rather start with an existing drink and then fine tune it.
The product that I use (MaltrinQD 500) can
dissolve 3 cups (24 fluid ounces) of powder into
2 cups (16 ounces) of fluid—not that I use that
amount. This works out to about 1,000 calories
per bottle.
If I am planning on taking in only one 16-
ounce waterbottle per hour, and no snacks, I mix
one cup of maltodextrin in a 16-ounce bottle.
This yields about 300 calories. I don’t do this
often.
…
Summary: Buy Your Own Maltodex
It’s cheaper, easier to handle, and with better
taste. You can split a $100 order (100 pounds)—
generally enough for four riders for a year.
I have been practicing this for years after any hard training/racing effort … Any flavor of Gatorade, and a scoop of protein powder. The taste has never been foremost thought; although, it’s never horrible. Palatable comes to mind. Highly functional bioavailable carb-protein catalytic effect. It will take a mountain of sound empirical evidence to get me to change this practice.
There was a time, when I worked promo for Powerbar. Never ceased to amaze me how many people were concerned with taste. Could never figure out why an athlete would whine about form over function. If it gets where it needs to be, when needed, does it’s job, and helps get me to the finishline, I could care less what it tastes like.
A can of “polvera di proteina” (protein powder) comes to Italia with me each summer as well.