Water or Energy Drink?

Forum rules
The information / discussion in the Cycling Health Forum is not qualified medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
User avatar
15wilsonwu
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 9:31 pm

Water or Energy Drink?

Postby 15wilsonwu » Thu Jun 07, 2012 5:57 pm

Which is better for drinking during a short, but intense cycling session, water or energy drink?
Last edited by 15wilsonwu on Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2015 BMC TimeMachine TMR02
- Ultegra 6800
- Shimano RS31

User avatar
toolonglegs
Posts: 15463
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Somewhere with padded walls and really big hills!

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby toolonglegs » Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:13 pm

Better for what?... I only shower in water :P .

ozstriker
Posts: 230
Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby ozstriker » Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:46 pm

if your talking about energy drinks as in mother red bull and the likes, i wouldnt advise drinking them at all to aid in any fitness activity.

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby Mulger bill » Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:51 pm

Water.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

User avatar
15wilsonwu
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 9:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby 15wilsonwu » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:19 pm

ozstriker wrote:if your talking about energy drinks as in mother red bull and the likes, i wouldnt advise drinking them at all to aid in any fitness activity.
i mean like, gatorade and stuff
2015 BMC TimeMachine TMR02
- Ultegra 6800
- Shimano RS31

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby trailgumby » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:24 pm

Under an hour, water. Over an hour, High 5 or Endura. NEVER Gatorade. :x It's lolly water rubbish.

Once you start doing high intensity training rides 2 hours and over using Endura, High 5, Hammer, etc and using them properly, you will never go back to Gatorade.

ozstriker
Posts: 230
Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby ozstriker » Thu Jun 07, 2012 9:08 pm

trailgumby wrote:Under an hour, water. Over an hour, High 5 or Endura. NEVER Gatorade. :x It's lolly water rubbish.

Once you start doing high intensity training rides 2 hours and over using Endura, High 5, Hammer, etc and using them properly, you will never go back to Gatorade.
does endura still have the problem of giving people the trots.

I totally recommend this stuff if your doing intense training

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby trailgumby » Thu Jun 07, 2012 9:37 pm

Dunno. Only use it for races as I like the light levels of caffeination (8mg per gel) and the magnesium for keeping away the cramping. I use High 5 for training as it's half the price but their caffeinated gels are too strong (30mg).

I get the runs sometimes if I go all-out and "leave it all on the track" (ie finish with nothing left) anyway, so it's hard to tell if it's the product or naturally occurring.

User avatar
15wilsonwu
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 9:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby 15wilsonwu » Thu Jun 07, 2012 9:41 pm

trailgumby wrote:Dunno. Only use it for races as I like the light levels of caffeination (8mg per gel) and the magnesium for keeping away the cramping. I use High 5 for training as it's half the price but their caffeinated gels are too strong (30mg).

I get the runs sometimes if I go all-out and "leave it all on the track" (ie finish with nothing left) anyway, so it's hard to tell if it's the product or naturally occurring.
I guess water is the way to go, i'm just 13 and i fear too much caffeine will affect me :/
2015 BMC TimeMachine TMR02
- Ultegra 6800
- Shimano RS31

Abby
Posts: 470
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 11:41 am

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby Abby » Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:30 am

+1 for water, especially if its 'only' a short, sharp session...

I only ever use 'sports drinks' on long, 2+ hour rides. And even then, only if its particularly hot and I'm gonna be sweating much more than usual. My plan is generally use water for fluid replacement, and everything else (ie. 'salts', energy, etc) comes from food (whether that be gels, muesli bars, banana, whatever)...

Cheers,
Abby
Twitter / Instagram: @cgradecyclist
Image

User avatar
15wilsonwu
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed May 23, 2012 9:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby 15wilsonwu » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:20 pm

Thanks guys!
2015 BMC TimeMachine TMR02
- Ultegra 6800
- Shimano RS31

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby trailgumby » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:50 pm

The Endura Rehydration is caffeine free, it's only the gels that are caffeinated. Most companies that produce gels offer caffeine free versions.

For longer rides, bananas are good, as are the Cadel's/Winners energy bars, fruitcake slices, sections of apple, and white bread jam sandwiches. Whether I can go up to two hours without taking on carbs depends on how long it was since the last meal, but either way I definitely start to fade at about the 50 minute mark without having taken on something earlier during the ride, and always have, even when I was a teenager.

It seems some people naturaly store carbs better than others, and I'm one of the "others".

Providing you're moderate with your intake you should be fine with using the proper rehydration mix (not gatorade). However, at 13, training efforts much over 80 minutes is getting into an area I would not be comfortable expecting of someone your age. You still have a lot of growing to do - especially over the next 2-3 years! Your body is undergoing major changes.

Good luck with it, it's great that you've come here to ask questions :D

User avatar
Le Velo
Posts: 534
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:59 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby Le Velo » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:51 pm

Try infinit nutrition custom made formula. They will make it suited for your type of riding, your body type and loaded with the correct amount of cards, protein, sodium, potassium, etc .... Or whatever ingredient your formula will require.
Have been using it now for almost a year and have no need for gels, bars or snacks even if going for a 200km ride as it has everything needed in it, no cramps, no bonking, a clean energy from start to finish..... But for a short ride water is sufficient
Image

ozstriker
Posts: 230
Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby ozstriker » Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:03 am

For those guys that use endura is there anything you do to improve the flavour.

I got lemon lime and it tastes pretty rough.

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby trailgumby » Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:50 am

Pick another flavour :lol: I quite like their coffee flavouted gels.

The High5 citrus is quite palatable, as is their orange. Their banana gels are yum. :)

The good thing about these maltodextrin based carbs is they aren't too sweet. Gatorade and the like gets to the point after awhile where the thought of taking another sickly sweet swig is off-putting ... so the uptake slows down and you start to suffer a bit...

ozstriker
Posts: 230
Joined: Thu May 31, 2012 6:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby ozstriker » Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:10 am

at 50 bucks a pop, it adds up when you try all the flavours

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby trailgumby » Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:42 am

Yeah, true. Some brands have sampler packs they market as "triathlon packs" where they give you a cross section of their range to get you through an event. Might be a cheap way to try a few different flavours?

chriscole
Posts: 155
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:35 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby chriscole » Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:48 pm

Water.

Your sweat has much lower salt concentrations than your blood plasma and extracellular fluid. So when you sweat, you make your blood and ECF _more_ salty, not less. Water is the correct fluid for restoring both volume and tonicity. The absolute loss of total body sodium during a ride, unless you're doing something particularly grueling on a hot day with lots of climbing, is effectively negligible from a pathophysiologic point of view.

For long rides, or in between shorter excursions, simply eating food is a good idea. It provides you with energy, as well as electrolytes and a huge number of other nutrients. Note: Food = something your great-great grandmother would have recognised as such. Processed high-tech goo has a role in acting as a stop-gap measure in high performance racing situations (in cycling, cross-country skiing, running, etc.) but for the purposes of training, and general recreational riding sessions, should probably be avoided, as the nutritional value is exceptionally low.

Revend
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:31 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby Revend » Thu Aug 09, 2012 8:41 pm

I think water is best then energy drink because water is natural and it is important for us. It also provides energy to our body. I don't like energy drink. I like only water because it is best to quench thirst.

Reman
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 8:15 pm
Location: Inner West, Sydney

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby Reman » Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:51 am

Revend wrote:I think water is best then energy drink because water is natural and it is important for us. It also provides energy to our body. I don't like energy drink. I like only water because it is best to quench thirst.
Umm, water contains 0 calories and provides no "energy". However it is essential as our bodies are mostly water and even small levels of dehydration can affect performance (as can over hydration).

User avatar
bardygrub
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:33 pm
Location: North East Victoria

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby bardygrub » Fri Aug 10, 2012 8:26 am

i have found a long as you are sweating then any powder drink that has electrolytes in it does the job. We dont just weat water and replacing these minrals that we lose will help.

i little off the subject... does anyone still eat bananas on a longer ride? i purchases a gel and took it on a 80k ride last Saturday that had two major climbs, had it halfway through the ride and felt good aftr it but that night woke up and had to run to the dunny.. eye of a needle! coincidence about the gel i dont know but havn't had a gel since. :roll:
Image
Image

reefer
Posts: 248
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:30 pm
Location: Townsville

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby reefer » Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:03 am

I am trying to increase my riding around warm and flat Townsville and take 2 bananas and some dried fruit leathers.

I also use Shotz gels and electrolyte from time to time when aiming for 100km rides, as they are convenient (not bulky) and they taste ok.

I have found, that I need to eat more as I try to expand my distances. It helps me ride longer and I feel better the next day.

I am also following the CSIRO diet book as my primary goal in cycling is to lose a few Kilos. So i have been finding it difficult to find the balance of eating more, to enhance my cycling and staying within my daily allowance. This is where I find Bananas perfect, to meet my needs.

guyc
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 1:26 pm

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby guyc » Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:40 am

New article on this toipic: "Do sports drinks and hydration theory hold any water?"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... eory-water

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby Mulger bill » Fri Aug 10, 2012 12:07 pm

Prefer straight water or occasionally a weak cordial with a small pinch of salt on really hot days.

Bananas make good fuel IME, help with cramping too.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

User avatar
RonK
Posts: 11508
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:08 pm
Location: If you need to know, ask me
Contact:

Re: Water or Energy Drink?

Postby RonK » Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:24 pm

Water. Product not required...
Cycle touring blog and tour journals: whispering wheels...

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users