HEED + Solid Foods vs Perpetuem / Sustained Energy

Triathlon Forum
1

So my IM training/plan has been based on HEED drink + solid foods (e.g., cliff bars, stinger bars/waffles) + salt tabs. I have trained with HEED, I like the flavor, it is east to drink and does not feel heavy. I also train taking in a bar midway through moderate length rides and have taken in 2 bars or so on 100mi rides, and this has not been a problem. When I went to restock on HEED, I read the label and it suggests I should be swapping to Perpetuem for 3+ hour efforts - so I bought some Perpetuem and tried it tonight - that stuff taste like crap (literally taste like cardboard), and I don’t think I can do it.

This being said my question is, is there something huge I am missing if I just stick with HEED + solids + salt tabs - i.e., build my intake around HEED? I have seen some people suggest using HEED + Sustained Energy - would this be a better option? Based on what I have read, it seems like those doing (perpetuem) or (HEED +sustained energy) are going with a liquid-only style intake - I am hoping that the HEED + solids approach may allow me to survive with HEED based liquid. If I went HEED (maybe with some sustained energy), does any one have any general suggestion if and what I would want to supplement with?

Thanks,
Chris

2

  1. You would GREATLY improve your options if you looked outside of exclusively using Hammer.

  2. If you changed to an alternate fluid replacement drink with a higher amount of electrolytes (pick ANYTHING as they ALL have exponentially higher electrolytes than Heed), you would most likely INCREASE your consumption of electrolytes, even if you reduce the # of electrolyte capsules to zero. Case in point, pulled from another post on this topic…

So you’re going to consume (10) Endurolytes which will give you:

**Sodium: **400mg
**Potassium: **250mg

Let’s say you switched to SaltStick & cut the # of capsules in 1/2. These (5) caps would have:

**Sodium: **1075mg
**Potassium: **315mg

So by moving from (10) Enduroytes to (5) SaltStick, you could more than DOUBLE your sodium & potassium intake.

Also, if you look at the electrolytes from the 400-calories of Perpetuem you’re putting in the bottle, it will yield:

**Sodium: **330mg
**Potassium: **180mg

If instead of using Perpetuem, you used 400-calories of EFS (for example), you would have:

**Sodium: **1260mg
**Potassium: **672mg

So if you switched from Perpetuem to EFS & consumed ZERO electrolyte caps of any kind (NONE!), you would change the amount of sodium & potassium:

Perpetuem (400-calories) + Endurolytes (6-caps):
Sodium: 570mg
Potassium: 330mg

EFS (400-calories):
Sodium: 1260mg (+690mg)
Potassium: 672mg (+342mg)

All while consume ZERO electrolyte caps. Just some food for thought…literally :wink:

Hammer intentionally puts a ridiculously low amount of electrolytes in their Heed/Perpetuem/Sustained Energy, so they can then sell you endurolytes…which again, has by far the LOWEST amount of electrolytes of any electrolyte capsule available (as noted above). We’ve also hashed this out here in greater detail:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2683291#2683291

  1. You DO NOT need to add a product containing protein (ie Perpetuem or Sustained Energy) for events lasting >3hrs…again, this is more Hammer Nutrition hyperbole.

The VAST majority of the athletes we work with…whether it be beginners going 15hrs or IM Champs going 8hrs, do not intentionally add protein to their long course strategy.

Just more food for thought.

3

Sounds like good advice and I will look into for my next round, but my IM is close and I am trying to not stray too far from what I know to this point (HEED) if I can. That being said, it looks like I should be able to stick with HEED if I supplement electrolytes? For HIM’s I have typically used perform (since it is on course) + solids, taking GU’s on the run and I have felt fine. Perform/gatorade, however, are so sweet, I was trying to shift to something I actually want to drink, and that is where I arrived at HEED. I also like taking in some solids, and I am not to the point where I want to move to a 100% fluid based intake. So let’s extend the hypothetical - If I am too far along to make a big switch, would I be fine with HEED + solids + some form of electrolyte supplements, or would I still have a huge gap somewhere?

Again, not discounting your info, I just don’t want to make a big shift at this point.

4

Your comments make perfect sense, given that your race is close.

With that, what you want to think about w/ 1/2 & IM nutrition is all you’re doing is trying to hit certain hourly marks w/ calories + fluids + electrolytes. That’s really all it is & if you’re hitting those marks without any GI distress, you have a good plan.

Can you hit those marks using exclusively Heed. Sure.
Can you hit those marks using exclusively Gu. Sure.
Can you hit those marks using a million other variations. Sure.

On an hourly basis, the average IM athlete is going to consume:

**Fluid: **24-28oz
**Calories: **300-350
**Sodium: **600-750mg

So if you’re *average *& can hit those marks using you’re current strategy, then no…there wouldn’t be any huge gaps.

5

Thanks - those numbers are right in-line with what I have been trying to hit, and helps give me confidence in the plan I will go with for this round - it helps to know that I am not forgetting some “key” element that everyone knows will crush me somewhere LOL.

After this round, I plan to experiment a bit more. For me, the HEED was already experimenting a bit to get away from the on course perform - the sweetness of that stuff is just too much for me - I can stomach the taste for a HIM bike leg, but not sure I can do it 2x on the IM bike leg.

Thanks again - very helpful.