Training & Nutrition - Sportslegs, I tried it..

I have read a lot of positive stuff as well as negative stuff about sportslegs. This past week I purchased a couple of trial samples and used them for two club rides. I can actually say I did feel a diffrence in the hills and inclines and on the flats as well when I really had to "Crank it" to ride along with the "hammerheads".

I have never been able to ride with the "Hammerheads" since they start out with such a fast pace in the beginning of the ride and drop a lot of people who are slow in catching their second wind (like me).. I was able to put a little more ass into the pedals.

This feeling of no leg burn lasted about 12-14 miles after I then noticed that my leg muscels were starting to feel like the nomally do. So the stuff works but does not last long. Just wanted to share a bit of info about this stuff through direct experience.

Advil does the same doesn't it? :D

Advil does the same doesn't it? :D

Really or are you just kidding around?

Sorry for the cut n' paste, but it's worth a read. Peloton, at the end of the thread, makes some interesting points.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=41507&highlight=sportlegs

Thanks for the link. That was a good read.

sportlegs shmortlegs


do a real scientific study....go for five 3 hour rides, and on those rides, beforehand,
chow down 3 big TUMS, chase with 4oz h2o...

then do the same with sportlegs instead of the tums

[them tell me you like the tums better]


I find that any dose of calcium carbonate or equivalent gives me better 'legs' uphills at the 3 hour point
as good as or better than any magic juju I ever tried. it's about the muscle fibers firing, and my results are....on rides that matter... tums makes my legs able to generate power better and with less pain and I notice this at or about 3 hours or more. these are my results, yours may vary widely

sportlegs shmortlegs


do a real scientific study....go for five 3 hour rides, and on those rides, beforehand,
chow down 3 big TUMS, chase with 4oz h2o...

then do the same with sportlegs instead of the tums

[them tell me you like the tums better]


I find that any dose of calcium carbonate or equivalent gives me better 'legs' uphills at the 3 hour point
as good as or better than any magic juju I ever tried. it's about the muscle fibers firing, and my results are....on rides that matter... tums makes my legs able to generate power better and with less pain and I notice this at or about 3 hours or more. these are my results, yours may vary widely

A real scientific study would be double blind so you would not know whether you were taking magic supplement A, magic supplement B, or extra magical placebo C. Nor would the guy giving you the magic pills know which is which.

And the study would involve a lot of people, not just you.

And chances are that all three magic supplements will work equally well. If not, then the winner would be in every sports drink on the planet. And WADA would ban it next week (assuming it's not the placebo).

I use Endurolytes on long, hot rides and I think they help. FWIW, Endurolytes are pretty much the same thing, with a couple of additional ingredients, and cost less.

Ive used it and Id recommend it. I used to ease up on speed when halfway up hills because
my quads would start burning. When I take Sportlegs it doesnt hurt nearly as much. Im really
able to make progress in getting better because of that. One weird thing- I now occasionally
get a pain in my side from the exertion. I used to never endure the quad pain long enough to get
the eventual pain in the side.

Ive used it and Id recommend it. I used to ease up on speed when halfway up hills because
my quads would start burning. When I take Sportlegs it doesnt hurt nearly as much. Im really
able to make progress in getting better because of that. One weird thing- I now occasionally
get a pain in my side from the exertion. I used to never endure the quad pain long enough to get
the eventual pain in the side.

Or maybe when you take the pills, you want them to work so you are motivated to tolerate the pain. If that's what it takes to get you up the hill, then all power to you.

Or maybe when you take the pills, you want them to work so you are motivated to tolerate the pain. If that's what it takes to get you up the hill, then all power to you.

Regardless, I dont plan on buying another bottle of it. By the time im finished with it I think I will have
made a marked improvement in my hill climbing.

I think I read once on these forums about drinking a glass of water, with a few spoons of baking soda mixed in. The Alkaline of the baking soda was said to delay Lactic Acid burn. Same principle as the Tums perhaps? (ant-acid)

This stuff is way cheaper.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2603304&cp&sr=1&origkw=magnesium&kw=magnesium&parentPage=search

Different ingredients though. Same stuff for vitamin D (and 3 times as much). But instead of Calcium Lactate Monohydrate, it uses Calcium Carbonate, and instead of Magneisum Lactate Dihydrate, it uses Magnesium oxide.

Any chemists in here?
I think sportlegs theory is that the lactate will enter you bloodstream and inhibit muscular generation of blood lactate, or something like that. so the ingredients would make a difference if that's true. Studies are lacking.

I think I read once on these forums about drinking a glass of water, with a few spoons of baking soda mixed in. The Alkaline of the baking soda was said to delay Lactic Acid burn. Same principle as the Tums perhaps? (ant-acid)

How does the Baking Soda get through the stomach without being neutralized by reaction with stomach acid?