Energy drinks for kids

[Drone 10]

I guess it's down to a different generation thing, I read a book on the history of the Tour de France and it amazes me when I see old black and white pictures of the riders drinking bottles of wine while racing around France.

 

Back in the early 60's the average speed was around 37kph this years average speed was 39.8kph. So dispite all the technology going into the sport, ultralight carbon fibre bike, energy drinks, sports scientist, nutritionist ect ect the average speed has only increased by just over 2kph. I know there will be some variables from year to year as each years course is different, but looking up the average speed of the event from 50 years ago to what it is now, there isn't that much of an increase in average speed to say the leap in technology has been huge.

That could be further evidence that sport drinks have no impact, the speeds could be easily down to making the bikes lighter which they are today. My dad only recently stopped cycling, he's 53, he started cycling up as an hobby in early 1990's. Infact he was once in front of star for getting pulled for going too fast.. Lol

[dvp82 10]

That could be further evidence that sport drinks have no impact, the speeds could be easily down to making the bikes lighter which they are today. My dad only recently stopped cycling, he's 53, he started cycling up as an hobby in early 1990's. Infact he was once in front of star for getting pulled for going too fast.. Lol

 

Sports drinks do work when used in the right sporting conditions. Could I ride 100 miles in the peak district on just bread and tap water, of course I could. Could I ride 100 miles in the peak district in 6 hours on just bread and tap water, highly unlikely. So these sports drinks help me keep my body topped up with fuel so to speak, so I can ride at the same intensity throughout the ride.

 

You have to see these energy sport drinks as fast and easy way of putting fuel that you have burned off back into your body. Of course I could replace the calories I've burned off by stopping off at points during my ride having meal letting it digest and settle but clearly that's not really practicable.

[Drone 10]

Sports drinks do work when used in the right sporting conditions. Could I ride 100 miles in the peak district on just bread and tap water, of course I could. Could I ride 100 miles in the peak district in 6 hours on just bread and tap water, highly unlikely. So these sports drinks help me keep my body topped up with fuel so to speak, so I can ride at the same intensity throughout the ride.

 

You have to see these energy sport drinks as fast and easy way of putting fuel that you have burned off back into your body. Of course I could replace the calories I've burned off by stopping off at points during my ride having meal letting it digest and settle but clearly that's not really practicable.

You could ride at the same intensity, you said really yourself by saying the speeds have not changed much since tour de France started, and they weren't consuming energy drinks then. Though 100 miles in 6 hours is good, takes 2 hours to Skegness and that's in car

[dvp82 10]

You could ride at the same intensity, you said really yourself by saying the speeds have not changed much since tour de France started, and they weren't consuming energy drinks then. Though 100 miles in 6 hours is good, takes 2 hours to Skegness and that's in car

 

My comment was just a random observation without putting much thought into it, to really use it as a reason for saying I could or couldn't ride at the same intensity or that sport drinks work.

 

But after having a think about it while an increase of only 3kph average speed ( 37kph vs 39.8kph ) doesn't sound alot, over an average of 3500km of racing maybe it is a bigger increase than it looks like. Think of it like this over a 5 hr stage in the Tour de France, which is about the right amount of time for a Tour de France stage to take, a rider today based on average speeds could cover 15km ( roughly 10 miles ) more distance in the same about of time as a rider from 50 years ago. When you look at it like that and start to break down the numbers, technology, sports science, nutrition has improved performance by a decent amount.

[robS35 10]

I don't usually like to quote Wikipedia but in this case the " hitting the wall " link below explains perfectly why when doing some sports like cycling you do need to use these high in carbohyrate performance energy drinks and foods like these in the links below. Water will keep your body hydrated and is perfectly fine if doing a few laps around the park, but if doing endurance sports like cycling over a sustained period at a high pace you need to take it more than just water, thats a fact. Water alone will not give the body what it needs to carry on performing at that same high level. Take a look at the picture of Bradley Wiggins at the start of the men's Olympic TT race last week, the 2 yellow things sticking out of the bottom of his shorts will be packets of high carbohydrate energy gel. Same thing as the drink but in a gel form.*http://www.cyclingnews.com/2012-olympic-games/olympic-mens-individual-time-trial/photos/233912 The amount of energy his body would have been burning up during the 50 minutes it took him to ride the course would have been immense.

 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/science-in-sport-go-energy-16kg-tub-previously-known-as-psp22-1/

 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/science-in-sport-go-isotonic-gel-box-of-30-x-60ml/

 

Hitting the wall - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_the_wall

 

Like the other poster, I'm a cyclist and I ride at a decent level. 150km in 5 to 6 hours on a Sunday Morning in the Peaks is usually my thing. I hit the wall a couple of times when i first starting taking cycling more serious than just a hobby due to not eating or drinking enough of the correct food stuffs during a ride and it's not a nice thing to experience.

 

These high carb performance drink and gels do work. They are a simple and very fast way to keep the body's energy levels topped up, but as others have said they are not aimed at the twice a week average joe doing a casual workout at the gym.

[Drone 10]

Yes I understand if you was doing extreme exercise like marathons, long distance cycling etc that you would need something else other than water as extreme exercise causes low electrolytes imbalance which causes tiredness, muscle weakness, abnormal heart rhythm and can lead to death if not replenished. Now you say sport drinks replenishes the lost electrolytes, Yet the potassium, which is the main one, magnesium and carbs which is used to replace lost electrolytes is found in other things like coconut water, even pop like coke and fanta has it in. So drinking a sport drink or drinking fanta during extreme exercise that lasts hours would have the same effect. .. You do know sport drinks are poorly researched ?

[Drone 10]

My comment was just a random observation without putting much thought into it, to really use it as a reason for saying I could or couldn't ride at the same intensity or that sport drinks work.

 

But after having a think about it while an increase of only 3kph average speed ( 37kph vs 39.8kph ) doesn't sound alot, over an average of 3500km of racing maybe it is a bigger increase than it looks like. Think of it like this over a 5 hr stage in the Tour de France, which is about the right amount of time for a Tour de France stage to take, a rider today based on average speeds could cover 15km ( roughly 10 miles ) more distance in the same about of time as a rider from 50 years ago. When you look at it like that and start to break down the numbers, technology, sports science, nutrition has improved performance by a decent amount.

The increase is 1.7 miles faster which over 3500 km is nothing when you take into account how light and more efficient racing bikes are today compared to 50 years ago, sport drinks have not done that. Though like I said in above post that I agree takin on challenges like tour de France would need something else other than water, i still believe that fizzy pop or coconut water or certain fruit juices for an healthier choice or even bread with it would still do the same job as a sport drink. It's just how they are marketing it that is causing confusion

Edited August 8, 2012 by Drone

[the_rudeboy 12]

My daughters ex-boyfriend ended up in hospital with liver and kidney damage due to drinking excessive amounts of these energy drinks. Parents be warned.

[llamatron 10]

Qi! and where are yours from?

 

Experiments and tests have been done and placebos given to kids and yet the parents who's children received placebo's still believe that their kids acted hyper. Its also been published in various journals.

 

And see dv82 post.

 

new scientist, panorama, dentists, personal experience (I had sensitive teeth, quit my coke habit:D, now my teeth are fine) etc.

Edited August 8, 2012 by llamatron

[llamatron 10]

I watched a programme recently about the exaggerated claims of sports products. They showed that the claims sports drinks make result from very limited research, mainly on laboratory animal experiments.

An award winning cyclist was featured, and he revealed his secret formula - nothing more complicated than water and a jam sandwich.

Also, the programme showed that hydration isn't actually that important, it can even be dangerous if taken to the extreme.

When I go to the gym I just drink water, or Ribena

 

it was panorama!

[llamatron 10]

To say hydration isn't actually that important is nonsense and a stupid ill advised thing to say. If your taking part in physical activity you need to keep your body hydrated.

 

The only thing your correct on is the over hydration, yes you can run into problems if you over hydrate just like you can when you don't take in enough liquids and dehydrate.

 

she means you don't need to think about keeping hydrated you just need water when you feel thirst.

[llamatron 10]

Don't think you quite understand do you. Theses drinks are supposed to be drank during the activity you are doing to replace quickly and easily what the body looses while doing said activity.

 

These drinks are nothing to do with the more you exersice the more energy and fitter you might become.

 

the point is they do no better than drinking water and eating food. They are a marketing ploy! They are replacing lost water salt and sugar. Things that are better replenished by eating food and drinking water.