GU vs. Gatorade vs. Powerade vs. Accelerade vs. ... (Read 8016 times)

I just get whatever's cheapest - lately, that's powerade. Most of those drinks are basically just high fructose corn syrup anyway. I think there was a study out recently that showed chocolate milk was actually the most effective recovery drink, but I'm too lazy to go find a link to the results. Not that chocolate milk is terribly cheap these days either... For gels, I like the raspberry clif shots - I think the texture is best at faking me into thinking that I'm eating actual food. I'd prefer to eat actual food, but my stomach is too sensitive for that. When I don't have the clif shots on hand, I usually use the powerbar gels, whatever they're called.

I've tried a few flavors of the GU and PowerBar gels and so far I've really liked the Vanilla flavored PowerBar brand. The Chocolate is tasty, but much to thick to digest into a long run. I also read in one my mags that you should down some liquid after ingesting a gel to help your body digest it. I've been a fan of the Gatorade powder mix in the Lemon-Lime flavor. I like the mix because regular Gatorade is way too strong for me, makes my tummy very unhappy. I suggest you just go through a few gels to find which ones your taste buds like.

As far as gels go...they all work the same. They all work great. However, they don't all taste great. Just gotta experiment and see what you like the best. Fluid-wise, I avoid Gatorade & Powerade myself, as they are way too sugary. Upsets the belly. If you wanna use those, I'd dilute it about 50/50 with water to ease the stomach problems. Something like Powerbar Endurance drink, GU2O, etc. works really well. You have to be careful with Accelerade, because the protein can cause some stomach cramping as well. The stuides on that stuff is pretty inconclusive anyway. I've recently become a big fan of this new electrolyte drink mix called NUUN (pronounced "noon"). They are kind of like Alka-Seltzer tabs, but contain electrolytes. 1 tab dissolves into 16 oz of water in about 2 minutes. $6.50 gets your 12 tabs, so it's pretty cheap, actually. Anyway, it tastes pretty good, and is super easy. No need to do a ton of shaking to mix it or anything. Works great...I'd look into that too. http://www.nuun.com/ Good luck...

During a long run I like Jelly Belly sports beans. The lemon lime flavor is pretty good-not too sweet. The best part is that you can eat a few beans at a time which is much easier on your stomach than downing an entire gu during a run.

I like GU (Triberry, Vanilla Bean, Espresso Love), but typically only on runs longer than 1-1.5 hours. I usually take them at 45 minute intervals on long runs. Wash them down with water. As for sports drinks, same thing. Water only under 1 hour, sometimes even up to 1.5 hours if it cooler. In the hot weather I opt for e.Load. Not sure how widely available it is in the US. Is it any better than Gatorade? I think so, but that's just likely my preference. Have used it for years. Never had a problem.

For those who do not like sweet or sugary, you may also want to try Ultima.

The diluting thing is correct, however it is likely only a problem at high exertion. For most of us out on training runs and even for most of us at marathons, you should still be able to absorb a half-strength solution.