Training & Nutrition - Gatorade or Powerade?

Hey everybody, Im from a small town with no real access to a bike shop or gym. I am planning on doing the Bell Ride for Heart tomorow (75k) and I would like to know... do you suggest Gatorade or Powerade (the two energy drinks availible here).

I am going to have a camel pack full of water as well, but i wanted an energy drink to replace my 'ites and 'iums when biking.

Powerade is so much cheaper but is still pretty tasty...but, it seems like all that's in it is sugar, even moreso than Gatorade. Out of the two, Gatorade will probably help you more.

Isn't powerade "lightly carbonated"? I ain't drinking anything carbonated during exercize, sorry.

Isn't powerade "lightly carbonated"? I ain't drinking anything carbonated during exercize, sorry.
no, no carbonation.

Beer!

Gatorade... You should be good w/ a ton of that stuff...

Don't eat salty food before that...

Gatorade....the original and still the best. Formulated to mimic the mineral content of the sweat that it replaces. Good old lemon-lime for me.

Powerade...too dang sweet!

C'mon, Powerade White (I think it's called Glacier? or Iceberg?) is the best tasting stuff ever! Better than anything gatorade has ever put out! Try it sometime if you see it. I have no doubt that it's little more than sugar water, but it's damn tasty sugar water.

i like the gatorade water stuff, propel fitness water. Tastes just as good as regular gatorade only way less suger....so you can drink it when you not exercising and not have to worry about it.

no, no carbonation.
Ahh, I must be thinking of something else then.

You need an "Other" category. I use Accelerade and prefer to it either of your two choices.

Gatorade has insufficent sodium and potassium for long, hot, or hilly rides...that's one reason they released the Gatorade "Endurance" formula recently. For regular weekday rides, Gatorade is fine. But, for longer weekend rides, I need more electrolytes to avoid cramping problems.

Fortunately, you can beef up the electrolytes in Gatorade easily. Just add a dash of salt for sodium, and a dash of No Salt (or "salt substitute") for potassium, to each water bottle.

If you look, gatorade has: sucrose, and dextrose (at least in the powdered stuff) as its main ingredients. What does powerade have? High fructose corn syrup.

Fructose is not a good exercise-support carb. It is preferentially uptaken by your liver, not your muscles.

Therefore gatorade wins.

Someone check and see that this information is not outdated.

I was one of the first folks to try Powerade, before it was put on the market. We were the beta testers I guess. It came in Red and Green. I always thought they should carbonate it a bit and call it Powerbelch but no one ever listens to me......

dodgy,
dude that's a good one.




Beer!

C'mon, Powerade White (I think it's called Glacier? or Iceberg?) is the best tasting stuff ever! Better than anything gatorade has ever put out! Try it sometime if you see it. I have no doubt that it's little more than sugar water, but it's damn tasty sugar water.
I agree. The white is great. However very hard to find except at a 7/11 type store in the small bottles. I have never seen it in the big jugs or powder in the local supermarket.

Both Gatorade and Powerade and mostly sugar water. Since you obviously have Internet access I would get online and try some other drinks such as Cytomax or Hammer Gel products which have a high carb count but low sugar. You get the good carbs and not much of the sugar spikes associated with pure sugar drinks. Just my opinion. You may not have time to do that for this event which in that case either PA or GA will work fine. When I use either of those I dilute in 50/50 water to cut the sweet taste down a bit.

Which sugar matters... Powerade sucks.

Gatorade has Sucrose (fructose + glucose), and dextrose (which IS glucose). Glucose is a better sugar for exercise than fructose.

Powerade has Fructose.

Therefore Gatorade wins.

Which sugar matters... Powerade sucks.

Gatorade has Sucrose (fructose + glucose), and dextrose (which IS glucose). Glucose is a better sugar for exercise than fructose.

Powerade has Fructose.

Therefore Gatorade wins.

If this is true, then these would appear to be two very different animals. Very interesting, Herr Crunk...

Powerade is about the same as Coca Cola. Surprise, its branded by Coca Cola.

Crunk is right on the money. Powerade has High Fructose Corn fatness in it; Gatorade does not.

Of course, I am interested in other options besides gatorade, as were mentioned. Time to go searching the web:)

Anything containing alot of dextrose or maltodextrin as its main carb is preferable to anything else. These are glucose, your preferred exercise energy source.

After that its just a question of how concentrated the sugar is, and how much KCl, HCl it has.

Thats all there is to energy drinks.

Jess and I just tried Powerade today (found it at a country store during our ride) in some "Jagged Ice" flavor. It wasn't bad at all.

Then again, it was 90 degrees out, humid as hell, and the Powerade was ice cold. Anti-freeze probably would have tasted good at that point. ;)

If you are planning to keep your teeth for a long time, you may want to avoid sports drinks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4329729.stm

Here's another.
http://www.newstarget.com/006110.html

It says sports drinks are erosive to teeth 30 times more than water. I have seen another article saying 10 times more erosive than soda pop.

If you are planning to keep your teeth for a long time, you may want to avoid sports drinks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4329729.stm

Here's another.
http://www.newstarget.com/006110.html

It says sports drinks are erosive to teeth 30 times more than water. I have seen another article saying 10 times more erosive than soda pop.

But is there an alternative to sports drinks? Other than mixing your own salt+water, etc? One that isn't dangerous to your chompers?

But is there an alternative to sports drinks? Other than mixing your own salt+water, etc? One that isn't dangerous to your chompers?
Brush your teeth after a ride. You should anyway.

Agreed, brush your teeth after a ride. Sports drinks are the bomb.

What about Cytomax? A number of long time racers in my area swear by it!

I buy tubs of the stuff in powder form (works out to be ~1/3 of the cost if mixed at the same concentration as a pre-mixed drink), and Gatorade has calcium, where Powerade does not.

Powerade=nasty.

Any drink with the stuff you need is going to rot your teeth just as much as Gatorade. Even if you take plain water and add salt, you're going to end up with hydrochloric acid.

I chose Gatorade because it has more sodium and potassium in it than Powerade does. I didn't know about the sugar thing, so that's a bonus.

I bought a tub of Accelerade, but I really dislike that stuff, so I'm back to Gatorade. On my long rides I take two bottles of Fierce Grape (one chilled, one frozen for the second half), and then fill my Camelbak with ice water. I think I might start taking a packet or two of salt with me as well.

Gatorade - red. Cut with 50/50 water. Plus a banana with breakfast and one after the ride. And some Balance bars to munch on during ride - they don't melt too much in heat and don't freeze solid too quick in the cold.

What about Cytomax? A number of long time racers in my area swear by it!
I have tried almost ever sports drink and have finally settled on Cytomax (for now). It seems to have the best balance and does not bother my stomach or give me heartburn.

they taste the same to me...but I like powerade...I geuss......its kinda asking what is ur favorite M&M...even thoguh they taste the same

As a drink? Gatorade. As a thirst quencher? Powerade. As a ride drink Accelerade (or powerade, Gatorade gums up my mouth from all the sugar).

NaCl + H2O = HCl? Huh?

Parse Error.

But is there an alternative to sports drinks? Other than mixing your own salt+water, etc? One that isn't dangerous to your chompers?

Yeah it's pretty easy.
I use a drink mix and mix a water bottle with 50% more concentration than necessary. Then I carry another bottle with plain water. Drink from one. Then take a swish from the other to rinse your mouth. It works, believe me, in hot weather, you can feel your teeth going sour 5 minutes after drinking sugar drinks.

But is there an alternative to sports drinks? Other than mixing your own salt+water, etc? One that isn't dangerous to your chompers?
First, my dentist told me to "rinse with water" if possible after drinking a "sports drink". So, I carry 2 bottles, 1 with drink, 1 with water. I try to rinse all the time but I'm not particularly good about it.

Second, in regards to the "drinks". Powerade (at least the premixed stuff) has got HFCS in it, basically, the stuff is junk. Gatorade (powdered) uses essentially table sugar. Gatorade powdered is by far cheaper than premixed bottles, however, G is NOT an endurance formula (guess that is why they call it a thirst quencher). Note, G now has an endurance formula (which comes in the un-yummy flavor of lemon line).

There are many other endurance drinks out there. My favorite is Cytomax. Unfortunately, CM loses to G in the taste department. E.g., CM "grape" ... well, kinda-sorta-maybe-iffy tastes like "grape". CM's fuel source is better than table sugar. Most energy drinks, gels, bars contain maltodextrin. You can make your own drink (search for this) and add maltodextrin. Basically, you will be adding a "bar" into your drink. Here's where we got ours:

http://www.supplementdirect.com/?content=52&product_id=10818

I tried several "homemade" brews, but none really worked as well as using CM as the base. Here's my formulation:

8 scoops CM powder (makes 1 gal)
1 packet Kool Aid grape, unsweetened
3-4 Ts table sugar
1 t salt (sodim)
1/2 t salt substitute (postassium)

The Kool Aid makes it more palatable. The sugar is needed cause unsweetened KA will curdle your tongue faster than concentrated lemon juice. Salt for extra electrolytes. I use 3.5 Ts of this mixture per 24 oz bottle. Depending upon the ride (distance, heat, etc.), I will add 2-4 Ts of the malto powder. This will make one strong concoction ... strong enough so that on my standard 80 mile loop I will eat 1 less Clif Bar (subtract the malto powder, add another bar). Best.

I haven't found a Powerade flavor that suits me yet, so for the time being I choose Gatorade. Actually, I use Tang powder (or the generic grocery store brand). It tastes good to me (the most important thing), and is much cheaper than anything else. It may not have the "perfect" mix of all the big buzzwords, but since I don't rely entirely on drinking it works. On a ride of any length (10+ miles on MTB or 30+ on roadie) I carry food. None of those nasty ass bars either. I can get the same nutritional value with 2 or 3 fig newtons. $2 for a huge package instead of $1 each too. I like to eat them, so that means I will eat even if tired or over heated. That's important.

Brush your teeth after a ride. You should anyway.

yeah.. them bugs is nasty.