I’m racing a 70.3 in Galveston next month and I’m trying to decide what nutrition plan to go with and do some of my longer training rides with. Last year I just took a GU every 30 minutes but that didn’t seem to be enough. This year I’m thinking either Perpetuem or Infinit in a bottle. Any recommendations? Perpetuem is a whole lot less expensive.
I have tried Perpetuem in training and racing and I have found that it’s OK for soemthing like a 70.3 but anything longer than that has been disastrous for me. I think it just has too much Protein and the taste is awful. It contributed to me completely bonking on my run at my first Ironman last year and so I am not using it anymore. I will be trying Infinit but I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t tell you if it works or not for me. Some people really like Perpetuem but I know more people that have had horrible experiences with it. I would steer clear.
I find drinking the same thing for 5+ hrs not good. So I alternate between perpetuem and infinit in my bottles. Works for me. Infinite is more expensive, but u can customize the formula
I love Hammer products but couldn’t imagine drinking Perpetuum for 2+ hrs. Yuck. My Infinit formula has the “taste” dialed all the way to ZERO and it’s great. If you like the taste and it gives you the right number of calories/sodium, then go for it and save the $$$.
Perpetuem is meant as a low intensity fuel. Heed (for <2 hours) and Sustained Energy (for >2 hours) are better suited to high intensity workouts.
Here’s a Hammer fueling plan:
Fueling Plan (per Hour)
*Time Interval *Food Source Serving Carbs Calories Sodium
Beverage
0-60 mins H2O 0.75 L 0 0 0
0-60 mins Heed/S.Energy 1 scoop 26 g 100 cal 40 mg
(Note: for <2 hours I use Heed only, for >2 hours I use 1/2 scoop Heed & 1/2 scoop S.Energy)
Electrolytes
ev. :20 mins Endurolytes 1 capsule 0 0 40 mg
*increase to 4-6 capsules/hr in hot climates
Fuel
@ :20 min Hammer Bar 1/4 bar 6.5 g 58 cal 0.75 mg
@ :40 min Hammer Bar 1/4 bar 6.5 g 58 cal 0.75 mg
@ :60 min Gel 1 packet 22 g 90 cal 20 mg
Hourly Total 61 g 306 cal 182 mg
The total calories is 20-40 cal more than recommended. For the first hour I’ll eat 1/4 of a Hammer bar at either 10 or 60 minutes instead of a gel. For workouts where sweating will be excessive, I’ll use Endurolytes Extreme since each of my two dispensers only carry 6 capsules, and since electrolyte loss will be increased. Note: even though sweating increases the body is physically unable to absorb more than 750mL of water from the digestive tract per hour.
A nice way to increase electrolyte totals is to add Electrolytes Fizz to the Heed/S.Energy drink. It also helps you personalize your desired flavor (i.e. adding grapefruit to lemon/lime Heed and unflavored S.Energy).
I can carry 4 hours of water/beverage on training rides without having to refuel. For anything longer, or races, I’ll use a feed bottle with a concentrated solution and add it in stages to a main bottle where I add water.
I have only ever tried the coffee flavored Perpeteum and LOVE the taste (even here in teh tropics) but after 4-5 hours my stomach really doesn’t like it. Dunno why and I so wish it worked because it keeps me from getting hungry very well. I’ve never tried Infinit and have gone 180 degrees over using coconut water (I pay my 2nd born $50 (about 4USD) for 5L of it) and solid food.
I use infinite and it works well. I customized my formula to add more electrolytes and less protein and whatnot (stomach doesnt like it) and its great. Worked for my 70.3 last year and has been working for my 3 hour training days so far this year. Make a few concentrated bottles and I dont need anything else.
I have only ever tried the coffee flavored Perpeteum and LOVE the taste (even here in teh tropics) but after 4-5 hours my stomach really doesn’t like it. Dunno why and I so wish it worked because it keeps me from getting hungry very well. I’ve never tried Infinit and have gone 180 degrees over using coconut water (I pay my 2nd born $50 (about 4USD) for 5L of it) and solid food.
Have you had a conversation with Hammer about your issues with Perpetuem? They are very helpful and it may come down to something you might need to change. If you are in the tropics then it might be insufficient water intake? Could be too much Perpetuem? Certainly worth an email or call to them.
I have used both. What I have found that works best for fuel and hydration is infinit. I sweat a lot so my mix represents that. Make it very strong to just sip then just drink water with. A lot easier taking one gulp of concentrate then drink water than for hrs drinking a mix that gets warm. With aid stations having cold bottles its much easier to drink enough if drinking cold water and not a warm mix…my 2 cents
I have only ever tried the coffee flavored Perpeteum and LOVE the taste (even here in teh tropics) but after 4-5 hours my stomach really doesn’t like it. Dunno why and I so wish it worked because it keeps me from getting hungry very well. I’ve never tried Infinit and have gone 180 degrees over using coconut water (I pay my 2nd born $50 (about 4USD) for 5L of it) and solid food.
Have you had a conversation with Hammer about your issues with Perpetuem? They are very helpful and it may come down to something you might need to change. If you are in the tropics then it might be insufficient water intake? Could be too much Perpetuem? Certainly worth an email or call to them.
Never occurred to me. thanks for the idea!
I’ve been using Perpetuem for 2 seasons now and I love it…70.3 and Ironman races… I use the liquid mix for the bike, solids for the run, water, electrolytes, and hammer gels for a treat. For the bike I freeze a 3 hr bottle the night before so it’s nice and cold coming out of T1, then bring a 2hr bottle with just powder and add water from aid station when 3hr bottle is complete. Key with Perpetuem liquid is keeping it cold, otherwise it’s disgusting… Unflavored is a good choice
My experience with Perpetuem is that I can just about start the timer the moment it is mixed with water for when it will go rancid. On a number of occasions in a long course my second bottle mixed with Perpetuem would be so foul (at least to me) that it is like a personal sabotage of carrying the extra weight and running out of fluid because it becomes intolerable. Winter training experience was different with better results. Hot summer seemed to equal disaster for me a couple of times.
My mix and has been for a few years has been Maltodextrin, BCAA, Glutamine, liquid electrolyte formula and a Hawaiian Punch single flavor pack in the bottles. Never had that mix goal rancid even in the hottest long course.
But it never hurts to give it a try and see if you have different results.
I’ve only used Perp and it’s always been good to me so no reason to change. As with any fuel it’s important to use it for a while in various conditions and various concentrations to dial in your needs. There are no guarantees, however, that any single product will work perfectly every time - there are just too many variables beyond the control of the athlete.
The Hammer Nutrition Fuels - What they are and how to use them
I have only ever tried the coffee flavored Perpeteum and LOVE the taste (even here in teh tropics) but after 4-5 hours my stomach really doesn’t like it.
Perpeteum goes bad in the heat.
I have only ever tried the coffee flavored Perpeteum and LOVE the taste (even here in teh tropics) but after 4-5 hours my stomach really doesn’t like it.
Perpeteum goes bad in the heat.
http://www.hammernutrition.com/...ed-questions-section
http://www.hammernutrition.com/...ed-questions-section
yeah, but I make it up new (carry polvo) each bottle so the bottle is around for only around 1-1.5 hours.
Did you get a custom blend or one of the blends off the shelf?
Have you had a conversation with Hammer about your issues with Perpetuem? They are very helpful and it may come down to something you might need to change. If you are in the tropics then it might be insufficient water intake? Could be too much Perpetuem? Certainly worth an email or call to them.
When I had a conversation with the experts onsite in Whitefish, I shared that my legs felt heavy when using Perp. That’s when they suggested Heed and Sustained Energy. Perp is very high in fat. Sustained Energy is low in fat but higher in protein. Heed has neither.
Definitely contact them. They’re super helpful! And by speaking directly with them they might just hook you up with some samples to help you find what works.
I gave up on Perpeteum a while ago, partly because of the heat but also because I could only handle a couple of hours of it. I think I was drinking the unflavored version. It was like drinking waffle batter. I switched to Infinit and that didn’t work out. Now I’m using straight maltodextrin, gels and a little bit of solid food early in the bike.
For my 70.3 last year, I started with “Ensure with extra calories”, one bottle an hour before the swim, thena. Gel just before the swim with some water and an “Ensure” in T1.
On the bike I had one bottle mixed with Gatoraid and one water and picked up a bottle of Poweraid on the course and one energy bar. Managed to get the Poweraid down without puking which was a surprise (long story behind that).
In T2 I had a gel and some water. From there, onto the race course, I alternated each aid station. At one I would have a 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Pepsi (why they didn’t have coke I don’t know), at the next, 1 Gel and water. I walked the aid stations (sometimes backwards) to give my legs a rest and make it easier to get stuff down. With about 3 miles or so to go, I stopped the gels and just had the Pepsi.
Didn’t bonk, didn’t puke, didn’t feel low in energy so I figure success. I plan to use the same routine this year.
Oh, and when I train, I use water and a bit of Gatoraid. I bring some gels in case I start to bonk on the bike. On runs under an hour I don’t take anything and on swims (so far up to 1.5 hours), I don’t have anything till after.
I did custom due to high sweat that I did not want to take enduralytes ect. I have done 50 milers, 20 milers with 10,000 feet gain and descent, 6 IM bunch of mary’s. I have found the best for me is a strong solution (gulp or two)then drinking nothing but water. .I can get 2000-2500 calories in a bottle.