People that train very seriously do intake a lot of supplements to stay at peak performance, along with following those guidelines. Seems to work well for them.
Yes but don't confuse the cause and
successful effects of taking your "training seriously."
In the case of the above comments requesting specific advice about "their own" training or riding effort one has to consider the fable regarding the "training chicken" and his "sports eggs."
In other words, the posts would have you believe that if "will" uses sports products during his 20mph cross country rides he will feel better. In other words the "training chicken" thinks the only way to be comfortable 20mph+ is to take the "sports eggs."
But wait grasshopper - this is only true IF the causes of will's current discomfort is improper or indigestible food intake. It could be, that Will simply has not trained or conditioned his digestive organs to an extent that ANY fuel ingestion will work.
What am I getting at? Its very difficult to be sure that sports products will rectify or otherwise solve someone's fueling problems during tough rides. You have to remember, these products only help in the case that normal blood flow and health is already present during ingestion. And sometimes only "slowing down" will give an athlete an opportunity to refuel. Hence some of the reasoning behind the "feed zones" in pro racing.
So for sports products to be effective, an athlete will still need to understand the limitations of fueling in high intensity situations and plan the timing and quantities of sports products used in accordance with the same seriousness and attention they give their training.
This all pretty neatly tracks back to the original post -
"Hammer products - Are you serious?
You'd better be - if you want them to work.......