Originally Posted by
photonick
does that gu stuff actually work, i figured it was junk. I just wish those things didn't have so much suguar. I've always felt athletes are kinda suckers for the most part and that 90% of these energy things don't really work. That they'd get the same effect by eating some roast beef rolled up in foil in their jersey, i mean i don't mean offense to anyone and i find myself eating cliff bars and such but i think alot of that stuff is marketing.
Some of it is marketing, some of it is not. Does average Joe on 20 mile leasurly ride need Gels? No. On the other hand you are doing three hour hard pace ride, intervals, race. You need to replenish sugar you are expanding fast, and convenient. Gels fit the bill. They are fast to digest so you get that blood sugar spike fast, and they are compact. Roast beef on the other hand does not. It doesn't have enough carbohydrates, slow to digest, and not very compact. Nutrition need to be tailored to what kind of riding you do. Keep in mind that all the nutrition stuff is not some magic bullet that will make you faster. It's so that you remain fast. At high intensity you burn high percentage of carbo hydrates. So you need something that is easy to digest and hits blood stream fast = Gels. On LSD rides you need/prefer something that gives constant supply of calories = energy bars.