Sports drinks and gels

[crosscourt]

I am going to play for a week or so in much hotter conditions than normal. I am also going to train much harder/longer than normal.

Should I use a sports drink or gel? I normally drink a lot of water but people tell me that you need something more than water in a long session. I tend to sweat a lot anyway.

And if I do need to take a supplement what is best? Liquid or a gel? And which one?

I have tried Isostar and Lucozade Sport in the past but am never really sure what their different products do for you.

Grateful for your thoughts.

CC

[Power Player]

This really really helps me out down here in FL:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/trace/stamina.html

[jonnythan]

Drink some gatorade with your water. Either dilute it by half or just drink plain water in addition to regular gatorade.

Have a banana every now and then too. Be sure to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water off the court too.

[WildVolley]

A sports drink or just upping your intake of salt can help when playing in hotter conditions. I play mostly in Southern California and I really feel it when I'm playing in humid parts of the country. My body is really stressed dealing with the humidity.

Make certain to be pre-hydrated. Take more towels to dry off, it really will help with cooling. Use shade to cool down. Also, I suggest using a towel dipped in ice water. It takes some time to acclimatize to much hotter weather.

[Ramon]

Here's my formula:

1 pack http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/trace/stamina.html
2 scoops http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/xtend.html
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, http://www.vitamin-discounts.com/pro...lt-9oz-900036/
(optional) 1 cup pickle juice or coconut water

Add water and ice to fill a 32 oz sports jar. Also bring a 2 quart jug of water if they don't have a water fountain at courtside. Drink it during your match.

When you add up the costs, it's actually cheaper than Gatorade which relies too much on sugar. Sugar is only good for short term energy. This mix will give you plenty of long term energy and electrolytes. I added extra salt because I'm prone to cramps, and it really helps in that regard.

[jonnythan]

Originally Posted by Ramon

Here's my formula:

1 pack http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/trace/stamina.html
2 scoops http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/xtend.html
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, http://www.vitamin-discounts.com/pro...lt-9oz-900036/
(optional) 1 cup pickle juice or coconut water

Add water and ice to fill a 32 oz sports jar. Also bring a 2 quart jug of water if they don't have a water fountain at courtside. Drink it during your match.

When you add up the costs, it's actually cheaper than Gatorade which relies too much on sugar. Sugar is only good for short term energy. This mix will give you plenty of long term energy and electrolytes. I added extra salt because I'm prone to cramps, and it really helps in that regard.

I'd be curious to hear your definition of "short term."

[jonnythan]

Originally Posted by Ramon

Here's my formula:

1 pack http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/trace/stamina.html
2 scoops http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/xtend.html
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, http://www.vitamin-discounts.com/pro...lt-9oz-900036/
(optional) 1 cup pickle juice or coconut water

Add water and ice to fill a 32 oz sports jar. Also bring a 2 quart jug of water if they don't have a water fountain at courtside. Drink it during your match.

When you add up the costs, it's actually cheaper than Gatorade which relies too much on sugar. Sugar is only good for short term energy. This mix will give you plenty of long term energy and electrolytes. I added extra salt because I'm prone to cramps, and it really helps in that regard.

Also, I want to note that this mixture has 3 grams of fructose and a grand total of 20 calories.

That's not a lot of energy.

How do you get "plenty of long term energy" from 3 grams of sugar and some vitamins?

[Power Player]

Xtend BCAAs give very good energy (not that jolty kind like a preworkout).

I use them as well, but I don't think OP needs it. I thought we were just talking hydration here so that is why I suggested that electrolyte pack. It works real well since I am prone to cramps and have tried different things.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by jonnythan

I'd be curious to hear your definition of "short term."

If you rely on sugar for energy, you rely on a "sugar rush" followed by a crash. It's much better to have a steady source of energy when you are playing those long games rather than going up and down as you take in more sugar during court changes. Besides, we all know sugar is something we should generally avoid for good health.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Xtend BCAAs give very good energy (not that jolty kind like a preworkout).

I use them as well, but I don't think OP needs it. I thought we were just talking hydration here so that is why I suggested that electrolyte pack. It works real well since I am prone to cramps and have tried different things.

In his post, he said he was going to train much harder/longer than normal.

[jonnythan]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Xtend BCAAs give very good energy (not that jolty kind like a preworkout).

I use them as well, but I don't think OP needs it. I thought we were just talking hydration here so that is why I suggested that electrolyte pack. It works real well since I am prone to cramps and have tried different things.

BCAAs are just protein. Xtend claims to have a total of 10.5 grams of protein plus another 1.2 grams of electrolytes in every 12.8 gram serving, despite also having sucralose, citric acid, Acesulfame, an emulsifier, and food coloring.

And yet it has 0 calories? 10 grams of protein but zero grams of fat, zero carbs, and... zero calories? That is physically impossible and doesn't even make sense. The label is a flat-out fabrication. Even if it were true, it's still only 40 calories. That's about as much energy as you use in, oh, 5 minutes of tennis.

You are attributing qualities to these products that don't make any sense.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by jonnythan

Also, I want to note that this mixture has 3 grams of fructose and a grand total of 20 calories.

That's not a lot of energy.

How do you get "plenty of long term energy" from 3 grams of sugar and some vitamins?

The energy source is amino acids. After the body burns simple sugars, it burns fats and amino acids. I've had matches where I came in without eating for several hours. After the first few games, I thought I was finished, but as soon as the amino acids kicked in I got my second wind, and I literally felt more energetic after 2 hours than after the first 15 minutes.

[jonnythan]

Originally Posted by Ramon

The energy source is amino acids. After the body burns simple sugars, it burns fats and amino acids. I've had matches where I came in without eating for several hours. After the first few games, I thought I was finished, but as soon as the amino acids kicked in I got my second wind, and I literally felt more energetic after 2 hours than after the first 15 minutes.

10 grams of amino acids isn't going to get you very far. The amino acids you took didn't "kick in." After that amount of time you were running on glycogen.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by jonnythan

BCAAs are just protein. Xtend claims to have a total of 10.5 grams of protein plus another 1.2 grams of electrolytes in every 12.8 gram serving, despite also having sucralose, citric acid, Acesulfame, an emulsifier, and food coloring.

And yet it has 0 calories? 10 grams of protein but zero grams of fat, zero carbs, and... zero calories? That is physically impossible and doesn't even make sense. The label is a flat-out fabrication. Even if it were true, it's still only 40 calories. That's about as much energy as you use in, oh, 5 minutes of tennis.

You are attributing qualities to these products that don't make any sense.

I often wondered that myself. The label is probably wrong, but it does seem to work. I'm taking 2 scoops BTW.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by jonnythan

BCAAs are just protein. Xtend claims to have a total of 10.5 grams of protein plus another 1.2 grams of electrolytes in every 12.8 gram serving, despite also having sucralose, citric acid, Acesulfame, an emulsifier, and food coloring.

And yet it has 0 calories? 10 grams of protein but zero grams of fat, zero carbs, and... zero calories? That is physically impossible and doesn't even make sense. The label is a flat-out fabrication. Even if it were true, it's still only 40 calories. That's about as much energy as you use in, oh, 5 minutes of tennis.

You are attributing qualities to these products that don't make any sense.

you are right..5 hour energy is 0 calories and so obviously by your logic it must fail as well to provide energy.

I work out fasted so that why I stared using bcaas. It works for me and works on the tennis court. A lot of people use BCAAs during exercise. You don't. High five yourself and move on. Even though I clearly tried to address the OP's question you can't let it go and had to start an argument anyway about an unrelated supplement that I never recommended him in the first place.

[jonnythan]

Originally Posted by Power Player

you are right..5 hour energy is 0 calories and so obviously by your logic it must fail as well to provide energy.

It does fail to provide energy. Caffeine does not "provide energy."

Originally Posted by Power Player

I work out fasted so that why I stared using bcaas.

It's not fasted if you're taking protein beforehand.

Originally Posted by Power Player

A lot of people use BCAAs during exercise. You don't.

Yes I do. BCAAs come in food. Anything with protein has BCAAs and quality whey protein is almost half BCAAs.

The fact is that energy comes from calories. Sugars, proteins, and fats provide energy. Taking a supplement with a bunch of vitamins and maybe a few calories worth of sugar and protein isn't going to "provide sustained energy" or some other nonsense.

Electrolytes are good. Sugar is also good. When your energy stores are depleted from long periods of exercise, the best thing you can do to restore them and get some more energy is to ingest a high-GI sugar and get some glucose into your cells.

[Power Player]

Actually you are wrong..you don't do leangains, but I assure you that the guy who advocates it and researches it far more than you clearly states that you can take xtend and work out and it is still considered a fasted state. Go ahead and look it up, or continue to be hard headed as usual.

If caffeine and b12 don't provide an energy boost, then what do they do? This is a semantic argument by you for purposes of acting like it a know it all and derailing this thread.

Anyway, you are the king know it all who likes to argue people over everything. Congrats on displaying this trait yet again. I have you on ignore now since all you ever do is start derails over semantics, and don't even know what you are talking about.

Crosscourt, the sugar in gatoraide is not going to prevent dehydration. It is up to you to decide if you need that or not. I am sure you have multiple things you like snack on to provide energy. My main post was simply that an electrolyte supplement is going to really help you out since you lose so much in the humidity. I am not going to allow the annoying little kid to derail the thread anymore, so i'm out.

[CDestroyer]

Originally Posted by jonnythan

It does fail to provide energy. Caffeine does not "provide energy."

Thats one of the dumbest things I have read on this board.

What else ya got alcohol does not "provide a buzz". LOL

[jonnythan]

The point is that the OP was asking for advice on what to do when playing longer in hotter conditions than he's used to.

The answer is not "a couple grams of BCAAs, 3 grams of sugar, electrolytes, and a multivitamin." He doesn't need "energy," he needs fuel and liquids. Gatorade and similar drinks - those that provide electrolytes and sugars - are ideally suited for his situation. He doesn't need to spend $20 on something with effectively no actual calories and a ton of vitamins and minerals.

[CDestroyer]

Originally Posted by Power Player

This really really helps me out down here in FL:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/trace/stamina.html

Thanks man. Just ordered 2 boxes of that stuff. My stamina needs serious work.