What to drink when to improve your marathon training, triathlon training, or Ironman training
In the good old days, sports drinks were sports drinks. Sure, there were multiple brands, but their formulas were very similar, and they were all marketed for general use before, during, and after all kinds of exercise. In recent years, however, the sports drink market has exploded, and there are now several different types of sports drinks formulated for very specific uses. Many endurance athletes have trouble keeping these different types of drinks straight and knowing which ones they should use when. This short guide will help clear up the confusion by outlining the five major categories of sports drinks and highlighting how to use each for optimal endurance sports performance.
Regular Sports Drinks
This category of sports drinks includes products such as PowerAde that offer the traditional mix of water, 6 to 10 percent carbohydrate, and electrolyte minerals. Research has shown that regular sports drinks effectively limit dehydration, maintain blood glucose levels, and enhance performance in interval workouts and in workouts and races lasting longer than one hour. Therefore, regular sports drinks are helpful before exercise (to hydrate and increase blood glucose levels) and during exercise lasting 60 minutes or longer, especially in hot weather. They may not, however, be able to meet your body’s nutritional needs during multi-hour workouts and races.
Low-Calorie Sports Drinks
Low-calorie sports drinks, such as Propel, typically contain little or no carbohydrate and are sweetened with artificial flavorings. Most low-calorie sports drinks perform similarly to plain water—which means they hydrate effectively, but because of their minimal energy content they do not enhance endurance performance as well as regular sports drinks. However, some endurance athletes with sensitive stomachs are able to tolerate low-calorie sports drinks better than regular sports drinks. If you have trouble with regular sports drinks, use the highest-carbohydrate low-calorie sports drink that your body accepts, as there is a direct relationship between carbohydrate levels and performance in sports drinks (up to 8 to 10 percent carbohydrate).
Enhanced Sports Drinks
Some newer sports drinks add various ingredients to the regular sports drink mix, such as vitamins, lactate buffering compounds, and ergogenic ingredients. But the only ingredient extras really worth considering are added sodium, caffeine, and protein or amino acids. Sports drinks with higher concentrations of sodium do a better job of replacing what you lose through perspiration than those containing less sodium, so you may want to consider using a sports drink with extra sodium, such as Gatorade Endurance, during longer exercise bouts that occur in hot weather.
Caffeine is proven to enhance endurance performance, and caffeinated sports drinks, such as some flavors of Accelerade, provide a convenient delivery mechanism for caffeine. But because the performance-boosting effect of caffeine is minimal for those who consume caffeine regularly, reserve caffeinated sports drinks for races and put yourself on a one-week caffeine fast before the event.
The added protein in sports drinks such as Accelerade has also been shown to increase endurance, reduce muscle damage, and accelerate the restoration of muscle performance. Some athletes, however, don’t like the taste associated with the extra protein while others experience GI problems with protein-enhanced sports drinks.
Ultra-Endurance Sports Drinks
If you participate in endurance events that are long enough to cause you to miss regular meals, such as a 24-hour mountain bike race, you may want to consider using a sports drink like Perpetuem. Such products are really a cross between regular sports drinks and meal replacement shakes, as they contain fats and vitamins that are needed in multi-day hikes and other such events. Yet because of the additional ingredients in them, ultra-endurance sports drinks are not as easily digested during high-intensity exercise as other sports drinks, so they may not be appropriate for some athletes during events such as Ironman triathlons, where exercise intensity can be relatively high.
Recovery Sports Drinks
Formulated especially for use immediately after exercise, recovery sports drinks, such as Ultragen, typically contain large amounts of carbohydrate (more than regular sports drinks) for fast muscle refueling, amino acids and/or protein for muscle tissue repair, and electrolytes to facilitate rehydration. Research has shown that recovery sports drinks accelerate muscle recovery compared to regular sports drinks. But because they are much more calorically dense than regular sports drinks, recovery sports drinks generally should not be used during intense exercise, as they may cause stomach upset.
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Posted by: DAVE EVANS on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Not bad...
Posted by: Chris on Friday, August 14, 2009
My first half ironman is coming up at the end of September. I have yet to figure the nutrition riddle out. I have had no issues with accelgel at rides up to 50, then when I did a century I felt like yacking accelgel...exclusively so I might add. A few weeks later, 1 day after a sprint triathlon, I tried heed on a 56 mile ride along with Hammer gel and 1 endurolyte capsule and felt blah at the end, slightly nauseous. I have bought some perpetuem and will try that on my next long ride -of course it is not made any easier seeing there are three suggestions for preparing perpetuem. I have also considered maybe I have overtrained some and maybe my body just needs a break. The recent slight nausea after the 56 mile ride threw me for a loop. Is all this maybe just overexertion/overtraining? Am I consuming too much? Too little? The right/wrong stuff? How can I figure this out??
Posted by: Matt Fitzgerald on Friday, August 14, 2009
"I'm sorry to hear about your recent nutrition struggles in your long rides. I can assure you they are quite common. It appears that some endurance athletes simply have more sensitive gastrointestinal systems that do not respond as well to the stress of exhaustive efforts as those of other athletes. Since this sensitivity is likely genetically based, it is seldom possible to completely overcome it. But that doesn't mean it will always hold you back in long workouts and races. The keys to working with a sensitive GI system are keeping your exercise nutrition as simple as possible and erring on the side of too little instead of too much. I recommend that you try to get all of your long-distance nutrition from a single source, namely, a sports drink. Simply drink it according to your thirst. Don't force it down if/when your body is telling you it's not ready for more. As long as you are able to drink enough to offset at least 2/3 of sweat losses and to take in at least 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, and assuming you pace yourself properly, you will not bonk due to dehydration or glycogen depletion. Experiment with different drinks in training. Start with the most light-tasting (least sweet) brands. Also, although I personally favor sports drinks with protein, some athletes are sensitive to it, so try one without protein. Try a workout or two in which you intentionally try to get away with drinking as little as possible. If you don't experience GI symptoms, you'll know you're on to something. Then increase your drinking until you find the maximum rate of fluid intake you can sustain without nausea, etc. Good luck!