PowerBar Energy Gel

If you've walked into any specialty running store you've probably been face to face with a large display of gel packs and electrolyte tablets promising to improve your performance and reduce cramping.  But here's some news - they're not all equally effective.

Say you're out for a training run in the summer heat, sweating like crazy and you find the heat is intensifying the normal fatigue associated with using up the natural glycogen stores in your muscles.  You take a GU gel pack and briefly feel better but soon you have to stop running because the fatigue is still too much.  How do you address the electrolyte loss from sweating?  You could carry NUUN tablets in your water bottle but now you're combining multiple products.  Why not take one product to boost your carbs and electrolytes in one quick mouthful?

PowerBar Energy Gel contains 27g of carbohydrates plus 200mg sodium and 20mg potassium.  This is enough to address your nutrition needs for activities lasting over 45 minutes, and is suggested to be taken with water.

But what of taste?  Gels often make people ill because the brown-rice syrup (GU, HammerGel, and Cliff-Shots) sticks in their throat or is heavy in their stomach.  However most flavors of PowerBar gels are much thinner, and therefore easier to swallow.  I recommend starting with the Vanilla flavor, and again wash it down with water so as to continue with proper hydration.

Just some thoughts - it's always important to try various products and see what works best for you, and your training.


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