Hi
Can anyone recommend a high carb and electrolyte rich drink to use during the bike leg of an IM?
Thanks
Jono
Powerbar Perform?
Gatorade?
Looking for something else? Do you have special needs?
jaretj
I just did IMMT on Infinit and it worked perfectly. Dialed down the flavor so I can put 4 scoops (about 725 cal) into a single bottle. The taste ended up a bit salty, but it doesn’t bother me.
PM me if you want the specifics of my blend.
HEED
I typically use the recommended mix strength but up the strength for hotter rides.
I second HEED (from Hammer Nutrition). Easy to dial in your desired strength and carbs etc. No stomach issues, nothing artificial etc… However, I have recently searched for an alternative just strictly based on cost. Check out truenutrition.com. You can make your own custom mix and specify every ingredient and it shows a running “Nutrition Facts” table for your creation. I have basically replicated both the electrolyte and recovery mixes for about 2/3 less.
HEED
I typically use the recommended mix strength but up the strength for hotter rides.
The OP asked for an electrolyte rich drink.
HEED has BY FAR the lowest electrolyte content of just about any product on the market, so if the OP is looking for something on the moderate/high end of the electrolyte spectrum, HEED is a poor choice.
I mixed CarboPro and Scratch labs for the first time last week. Not too shabby, but it’ll take a few more long rides to see if the stomach likes it.
Good find! BTW, what did you get to replace Heed?
I second HEED (from Hammer Nutrition). Easy to dial in your desired strength and carbs etc. No stomach issues, nothing artificial etc… However, I have recently searched for an alternative just strictly based on cost. Check out truenutrition.com. You can make your own custom mix and specify every ingredient and it shows a running “Nutrition Facts” table for your creation. I have basically replicated both the electrolyte and recovery mixes for about 2/3 less.
The real question is why? There is no need for electrolyte replenishment during exercise and you get enough from a normal diet to cover anyone except someone who has a legitimate deficiency. And if that is the case, your doctor would prescribe what you need to do, not a tri forum.
Then recommend something! And I highly disagree because most of the commercialized mixes on the market it’s impossible to find their true nutritional content. Plus there’s a point of diminishing returns on electrolytes and other nutrients. Supplement your electrolytes depending on race conditions, not just overload the mix “just in case”. Also look at the sodium content of some of those mixes, marketing that as the great remedy for cramp prevention. HEED and few others were at least designed that you can make the bottle stronger based on needs without it being sickeningly sweet or losing it ability to be properly absorbed into the digestive tract.
HEED
I typically use the recommended mix strength but up the strength for hotter rides.
The OP asked for an electrolyte rich drink.
HEED has BY FAR the lowest electrolyte content of just about any product on the market, so if the OP is looking for something on the moderate/high end of the electrolyte spectrum, HEED is a poor choice.
Check out First Endurance EFS. That’s what I use at the start of an IM, then switch to Perform.
Then recommend something! And I highly disagree because most of the commercialized mixes on the market it’s impossible to find their true nutritional content. Plus there’s a point of diminishing returns on electrolytes and other nutrients. Supplement your electrolytes depending on race conditions, not just overload the mix “just in case”. Also look at the sodium content of some of those mixes, marketing that as the great remedy for cramp prevention. HEED and few others were at least designed that you can make the bottle stronger based on needs without it being sickeningly sweet or losing it ability to be properly absorbed into the digestive tract.
Nowhere did I suggest that you need an abundance of electrolytes or that the OP needs them. He asked for an *electrolyte rich drink, *which HEED is NOT. A far superior product if an athlete is looking for an *electrolyte rich drink *would be…
EFS
Ironman Perform
GU Brew
Gatorade Endurance
& a myriad of others as you’d be hard-pressed to find* *fluid replacement drink w/ a lower electrolyte content than HEED. Again, I’m NOT suggesting the OP needs such a large volume, but if he asked for a unicycle & you sent him a link to a bicycle, I’d be trying to explain to you that he’s looking for a bike w/ 2-wheels & you’ve suggested a bike w/ one…right or wrong, that’s not what he’s asking for.
No need for supplements during IRONMAN ??? Use from normal diet?
I would like to know how much and what you need to eat to give the optimum performance for IM w/o taking supplement nutrition.
The real question is why? There is no need for electrolyte replenishment during exercise and you get enough from a normal diet to cover anyone except someone who has a legitimate deficiency. And if that is the case, your doctor would prescribe what you need to do, not a tri forum.
I started using carbo pro and nuun together it has worked really well for me.
No need for supplements during IRONMAN ??? Use from normal diet?
I would like to know how much and what you need to eat to give the optimum performance for IM w/o taking supplement nutrition.
The real question is why? There is no need for electrolyte replenishment during exercise and you get enough from a normal diet to cover anyone except someone who has a legitimate deficiency. And if that is the case, your doctor would prescribe what you need to do, not a tri forum.
(first of all, Brian has probably forgotten more about nutrition than just about any one here knows, but I digress)
Let’s turn it around: what nutrients do you think are depleted during prolonged exercise by a person with a normal metabolism, such that replenishment is required for “optimum performance”?
I’m guessing the only real “what you need to eat” answer is this: sufficient calories and liquids to avoid bonking and dehydration. The food and drink should have a reasonable amount of sodium to avoid hyponaetremia, of course (which basically means “don’t just drink water”). How you get your calories and liquids is a personal preference (hence Brian’s business :-). We’ve all heard of people doing IRONMAN using everything from highly refined powders, gels and bars to turkey sandwiches and PB&J.
I thought daremo was Rick?
I thought daremo was Rick?
Brian is BrianPBN. Thought I’d throw that in there.
I used High 5 Energy Source 2:1 for IMUK. 12 Servings mixed in a single bottle (have to mix ahead of time and make sure you mix in stages to get good consistency) was just right for the bike leg and set me up well for the run.
No need for supplements during IRONMAN ??? Use from normal diet?
I would like to know how much and what you need to eat to give the optimum performance for IM w/o taking supplement nutrition.
The real question is why? There is no need for electrolyte replenishment during exercise and you get enough from a normal diet to cover anyone except someone who has a legitimate deficiency. And if that is the case, your doctor would prescribe what you need to do, not a tri forum.
You find that out for yourself, through eating and drinking various things during your long training rides.
There is no magical nutrition bullet. What works for person X may not work for Y, and may not work for Z. Even what works for person X in an IM distance might not work in a HIM or Oly due to increasing intensity levels. But at the core, you don’t need the majority of the stuff that gets packed into replacement drinks.
John
How do you control the ingested osmolality of these super-concentrated bottles ? Wash down every oz of super mix with x oz’s of H20 ?
Thanks,
RG