Orange juice during training?

Triathlon Forum
1

Yes i did a search already and didnt find anything.

Can i substitute my calories on the bike in a long distance tri with orange juice instead of an electrilyte mix? Has anyone tried this? Good or bad idea? Essentially it would have calories and natural sugars. Juat cut it with water, add some sodium and potassium and you are good to go. The reason i ask this is because im trying ro find a was to stop the gut rot bloating with something natural (and cheap). Gels seem to sit heavy in my stomach during exercise.

2

I think oranges are on the lower fructose side of things, so that’s probably preferable to something like apple juice. You’d have to give it a try and see obviously but it definitely could work if you enjoy drinking it enough (and when it’s warm. Maybe that’s an issue).

All gels or some gels give you problems?

3

The pH of OJ is pretty low. I’m not really sure what if any problem that would cause, but it certainly distinguishes it from regular sports drink. Obviously if you cut it with water the pH will rise, but then it will become hard to carry enough calories, as though it wouldn’t be with straight OJ.

4

The acidity, high sweetness, and fiber (if you have pulp) put OJ low on the list of training drinks.

As mentioned, apple juice tends to be more common (though for me the fructose causes stomach cramps).

5

OJ would cause me more bloating, and maybe barfing. Try it in training and see how it works for you. My .02, If you can tolerate whatever sport drink your A race has on the course it simplifies things.

6

I think I’d try something all natural like Skratch before I went with OJ.

http://www.skratchlabs.com/
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7

Yes i did a search already and didnt find anything.

Can i substitute my calories on the bike in a long distance tri with orange juice instead of an electrilyte mix? Has anyone tried this? Good or bad idea? Essentially it would have calories and natural sugars. Juat cut it with water, add some sodium and potassium and you are good to go. The reason i ask this is because im trying ro find a was to stop the gut rot bloating with something natural (and cheap). Gels seem to sit heavy in my stomach during exercise.

I would first take a hard look at whether you need any nutrition during your training sessions at all. *** If your nutrition is solid when not training***, you can probably get away with just water on all but your long bike rides.

8

Just get a bin of generic lemonade mix from the grocery store.

9

I just use water and if I eat anything, just a P&J and maybe an apple. Nice and cheap.

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10

I’ll sometimes have an OJ with me prior to the swim and drink it over the period of an hour or two. But I think I’d find it too acidic and sweet, especially when it warmed up.

11

OJ has a lot of citric acid which does not help digestion at all. Thrown it up a few times growing up before I learned

12

FWIW,I use diluted pineapple juice (2 parts juice, 1 part water).

13

I have used it in 300k rides without any problems but I would not recommend it.
I usually use it when I run out of other stuff and wait for sales since it’s pretty cheap. I mix it as 1 part oj 2 parts water and a little mineral salt, doesn’t taste that bad as long as it remains cold.
I prefer oj over other juices cause it doesn’t taste as sweet as others wich makes it easier not to empty a bottle in one go.