At the recent ITU in Geelong, I watched Craig Walton getting organised in transtition. As he was doing this, he was drinking a can of Red Bull. I have often wondered who is doing this, and why etc. Does it really have a positive effect on performance, or is it simply to give you a buzz prior to the race and get you “in the mood”.
I am NOT a coffee drinker, and get a real buzz from a simple latte. Surely a Red Bull would send me over the edge? To give you an example, I once had a big night with MattOC (who posted for the first time today - about time!!) on the Vodka Red Bull’s and it took me about 2 days to get my sleep patterns back to normal. Felt “detatched” from myself - very weird feeling.
Mind you, I scored that night so maybe it did enhance my performance…
Really the only active ingredient in Red Bull is caffeine (OK, sugar and some B vitamins too). A can of Red Bull contains 80mg of caffeine, which is less than most cups of coffee. Caffeine can be performance enhancing (although as in everything there is some conflicting evidence), which is probably why Walton drinks it.
There are a couple of sites which list the caffeine content of various foods/bevergages:
Man, as mentioned in my “substance abuse” thread post, I use Red Bull.
It simply rules ass.
Red Bull seems to have this subtle, no side-effect stimulant quality to it that should be illegal it works so well. You are instantly awake, instantly ready to train or race. The stuff works killer. It can be a bit of an acquired taste and you are best served to buy it by the flat at Warehouse Club, Costco, etc. or make friends with the local Red Bull Girls who do the promotion for the stuff around town, every region has a Red Bull promotional staff it seems.
There are other energy/stimulant drinks too. A couple of the guys who work here also swear by Monster, which seems to be like mixing Cytomax with Red Bull according to the label. I am a died hard Red Bull matador though. That stuff rules. If you are flaggin at the end of the day and you know you need to get in a swim workout one Red Bull will get you through it.
Beware though: Strong medecine. Drink it too late and you are condemned to a long, very alert night of watching grainy documentaries on the history channel. You’ll be up until 4:00 A.M. And, like bull riding, getting off The Bull often results in quite a crash at 4:00 A.M.
Hmmm. My first race of the new season this weekend - half Olympic that I am using to get into the swing of things again after a long winter of training.
Might give a pre-race Red-Bull a nudge… How long before it kicks in, and how long will it last, Tom?
Why does it feel like you are becoming my dealer…?
Well, like a few others in this thread have pointed out, everybody seems to have different experiences with it. I rave about it. It works for me. I seem to “wake up” and cut through the haze a lot better with it early in the morning (even though I get up early I am not a morning person). AS one person pointed out here the primary active ingredient is caffeine, but there seems to be an appropriate amount for my weight and metabolism. It never upsets my stomach and it does not have a significant diruetic effect on me. Sometimes coffee is hard on my stomach on race morning.
Like anything, don;t try this for the first time on race morning. That is not a good idea. Try it on an early morning training ride if you’d like. It may work for you, It may not. I really like it. It works great for me.
Oh, I forgot to answer your question. Duh, sorry. It’s late and I need a Red Bull.
It seems to “work” in about 10-20 minutes max. It seems to “last” about an hour maybe. It’s effects are subtle. For me, I am just not tired anymore. Very nice. Maybe becasue some of the other ingredients serve to “buffer” the caffeine in my digestive tract or some such thing. It just doesn’t “hit” you like coffee.
I drank a can of a similar product last summer before a training run and got a nasty cramp in my calf. I’ll always associate the two. My wife (a nurse) told me that the caffeine could be the culprit. On the other hand I’ve had great results with Hammer Gel Expresso, Cliff Bar Ice and Coca-Cola.
Is there an association with caffeine consumption and cramping (especially in the calf muscle)? It seems like the races that I drink Red Bull or other energy drink I will get a calf cramp….Paralyzing!
I drink it on the way to races, but can’t say whether it really helps. That said, I agree w/ **tribri32 ** - - Vodka and Red Bull will kick your ass sideways.
Hey all you RBers. Anyone tried RB in the water bottle. I tried a diluted mix on 2 RB and water in a 25oz bottle to get about a 7% solution and couldn’t really tell if there were any effects. Tried it about 3 times. Going to try again in the spring.
I am with Tom on this one. But my poison is Piranha from EAS. I find the geometry of the Piranha can, though similar to that of the Bull, “fits” my body type better. Besides, I like Piranha flavors better and i get a great deal on it from my sponsor. (did i say sponsor? i meant buddy around the corner who is rep for the company and takes care of me on product - but i can dream) I find the Bull a bit funky on the taste, but if you can find a product with a can that fits you, give it a try. I find i perform better with a can prior to any training or race and it does seem to have the almost instant pick me up effect. The one problem i did have is similar to some of the other posters and came after breaking the cardinal rule of race day prep. I figured if one can was good, two would be great. Guess what, calf cramps. Never happened before, never since. For what it’s worth, i suggest a FIST certified fitter when it comes to a decision the magnitude of choosing an appropriate fit for your energy drink.
I find Red Bull a bit strong for my stomach.
I’ve found SoBe stuff works a lot better for me. (It seems to be mostly natural sources of chemicals.) Plus it’s cheaper (for the amount you get.)
Tom is definetly right, energy drink before bed=Bad MoJo.
I remember the second time I tried Red Bull. Eight o’clock at night. I went to sleep okay, but I had the freakiest dreams, and I kept waking up and sweating a lot, and then I started getting these funny roaring noises in my ears, and the room started spinning. Lets just say, I thought I was going to die. Since then haven’t taken an energy drink after 2:00 p.m.
Why waste Kettle One or Gray Goose by mixing with something like Red Bull? Unless you’re really loaded
Your post reminds me that having had Red Bull(either straight and with vodka) plenty of times the only thing that has suffered is my wallet. But you can mix some pretty cheap vodka and get away with it…
Total loopy juice when mixed with vodka in jugs and best avoided if you want a functioning brain the next day. I do double espressos for the caffeine now to stay awake. No one’s mentioned that it also contains Taurine. Taurus in Latin means Bull. Also it might actually be banned in Germany or Austria??
was told it originated from a tipple the long distance truck drivers in thailand used to get through the night cept it was brewed with speed as well as caffeine. the commercial product uses the same name and butting bulls symbol.
