Sports drinks

[Guest guest]

Does anyone have recipes for sports drinks like 'Gatorade', and protein shakes?

Tom Pawikowski

........ City?

[Guest guest]

Gatorade: Fill a glass roughly 3/4 full with fruit juice or fruit punch. Add

water to fill the rest. Add a dash or two of salt.

Protein drinks: Pour a glass of skim milk. Add in powdered skim milk.

McClinch

Blacksburg, VA

[Guest guest]

My reason for using powerade or gatorade does not stem from electrolyte loss

(although at 200 lbs there is some argument perhaps in the heat of this

summer for that - but far less than other reasons for usage) - it stems from

2 other reasons. 1. duration and intensity of exercise and 2. fast

metabolism and own personal realization that I require more than water to

work out. I tend to ingest 1 quart to 2 quarts during timeframes of 1-3

hours. I then follow up with water and food post workout.

I found earlier in my career as a powerlifter that I was suffering from less

than good energy levels by the time I hit my working sets. Gatorade or

powerade - albeit coolaid in a bottle - works for me. I use it heavily when

I compete as well - it helps hydrate me, and I find it works better for me

than water. So in my case it's carbs + water.... not electrolytes.

I think a lot of people aren't really needing more than water though - and

yes advertising is a factor. But I am not wanting to be like Mike.... I

need good energy levels, I do eat before training and this is the result of

trial and error as a competing powerlifter.

I also though disagree with the villainization overall of calories - and if

you want to make up your own beverage with salt, sugar and water, feel free.

I like the manufactured ones myself... it's a matter of personal preference,

but once you find you have better performance during sessions over the hour

mark or feel better prepared for a heavy training session by using one, you

tend to continue and test once in a while by not using, to ensure you still

require such aid.

So perhaps you dismiss what is useful in some form to others because you

dislike the advertising? I've also previously heard that the

gatorade/powerade or homemade solutions previously given out on ST hit that

5-6% glucose level that is also one of the best rehydration solutions -

<unless that has somewhere been refuted>. I think the worst was soda pop -

at around 10%. very slow on hydration. Water was shown to be slower than

the 5-6% level of glucose solution. That's where gatorade and powerade

among others fall in.

If you hate advertising, I think Mel and others have put up alternate

solutions for this workout solution. I happen to like the convenience and

taste of powerade - and that's the one that I use. Nothing to do with any silly

advertising. I watch very little TV other than cable movies - no ads lol.

(And not sure why I'd want to be like Mike anyway, lol.....)

[Quite frankly I haven't found the ingesting any special drink during training

makes much difference to training, as long as one meets one's perceived need

for fluid or energy and one has eaten adequate food a few hours before one's

workout. I can easily complete a long strenuous lifting session with

maximal or circamaximal lifts - and always have - without the use of any special

drinks. My feeling is that a great deal of their value, especially to the indoor

anaerobic athlete, often lies more in the head than in any real physiological

need. Have you ever accurately weighed yourself unclothed before and after a

weight

training session during which you have eaten or drunk anything? If not, try it

one day

to see how much fluid you really have lost by sweating and breathing. You may

be very surprised to note that you may be drinking far more than you lose in

any given training session. Mel Siff]

Personal preference, and training requirements are what determine my usage

or non usage of a product, along with the rules of powerlifting in the drug

tested USAPL/IPF.

The Phantom

aka Schaefer, CMT, CSCS, competing powerlifter

Denver, Colorado, USA

-----Original Message-----

Everyday I see people drinking Gatorade, Lucozade and many other

sports drinks in hope of increasing `performance / energy.' No

doubt, we have all read somewhere how important these drinks are.

Yet I can't help think that sports drinks as with other supplements,

diets, exercise etc… have been blown out of proportion once again

through mass marketing claims, propaganda, abused scientific claims

etc.

" Jordan uses gatorade, so I'm going to " Do you train like

Jordan?

In fact, recent discussions have led to number of members mentioning

how important it is to replace glycogen stores (and other vital

nutrients) during- and post-workout.

However, have we got to be a little more skeptical about the use of

sports drinks? Once again go back to our famous saying `IT DEPENDS

ON'

Dependent on a number of factors as we have discussed before with

regard to 8-10 glasses of water per day (see previous messages) such

as environmental conditions, the workout itself - intensity and

duration, goals of the individual, dietary habits….

Don't waste your money on these drinks; by all means I think they

play important role in specific situations.

Here is an interesting extract from:

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/soft.html#Judith

Students are now being given " electrolyte " drinks called " ergogenic

aids " to replace electrolytes that are allegedly depleted during

workouts. There are three problems with using these drinks as a

rehydration solution. First, most soft drinks are diuretics, meaning

they squeeze liquids out of the body, thus exacerbating dehydration

instead of correcting it.

Second, most people actually lose few electrolytes during exercise.

After exercise the body is usually in an electrolyte load having lost

more fluids than electrolytes. If sweating has been profuse,

electrolytes can be replaced by drinking a lacto-fermented beverage

or pure mineral water, which contains a proper ratio of minerals

(electrolytes), and by eating a healthy diet containing Celtic sea

salt. Third, when we give sugar-laden drinks to dehydrated kids, the

high sugar content requires that blood be sent to the stomach to

digest it. This fluid shift can lower the blood volume in other parts

of the body making them more susceptible to cramps and heat-related

illnesses.

Water tastes better too:)

---

I welcome further criticism and debate

Carruthers

* Don't forget to sign all letters with full name and city of residence if you

wish them to be published!

[Guest guest]

My personal feelings on the use of a sports drink is that the only

time that one would ever 'need' one is during activities that are for

long durations (2+ hours), and of moderate/high intensity. These

types of activities will likely significantly deplete glycogen

stores, and so these sports drinks (or 'sugar water' as I often refer

to them when speaking with clients) may serve to enhance

performance. For most 'everyday Joes' that spend an hour pushing

weights, or on the treadmill/stationary bike, etc, they should

probably just concern themselves with drinking water and save their

money.

As far as digestion and the redirection of blood to the gut rather

than to working muscles, I think that as long as the solution is

dilute enough, then that pretty much becomes a non-issue. As

states in her post, 6% seems to be the best - this is the percentage

found in Gatorade (as far as I know, Powerade is actually an 8%

solution), and I'm sure they've got a lot of research/references to

validate this. However, much of the research is done at their own

Sport Science Institute, but this does not necessarily mean that

their results should be entirely dismissed.

Best regards,

Habeeb Ahsan

Mississauga, ON, Canada

[Guest guest]

Sports drinks bring in over $7.5 billion a year, touting benefits like improved

athletic performance, increased energy and superior hydration during exercise.

Because of their glitzy marketing campaigns, which often feature celebrity

athletes, many people are under the impression that these drinks are healthy and

essential during or after a workout.

What they don't advertise is that sports drinks are up to 30 times more erosive

to your teeth than water. And as this latest study pointed out, brushing your

teeth won't help because the citric acid in the sports drink will soften your

tooth enamel so much it could be damaged by brushing.

Sports drinks have high acidity levels to extend their shelf life (as do soft

drinks). That can be especially problematic for a sweaty athlete with a dry

mouth who can't produce enough saliva to regulate and protect his mouth from the

acidity.

So when you drink a sports drink, it's not an exaggeration to say it's akin to

spraying a fine layer of corrosive acid over your teeth. Further, the " benefits "

are not much different than drinking a can of soda.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/23/Sports-Drinks-Rot-\

Your-Teeth.aspx

What's in your ice chest?

Lottie