A vast majority of endurance athletes supplement their training with some kind of ergogenic aid, whether it be a carbohydrate gel or drink, an energy bar, or another type of nutritional supplement. Some individuals claim that liquid nutrition is the way to go, while others feel that solid foods are what is needed to train and race at peak performance. The trouble with the sheer variety of products available on the market is that no group can identify the “best” nutritional combination for an athlete. Personally, I feel that the optimal combination is a carbohydrate gel used in combination with liquid nutrition – thus, you can imagine my excitement when I was asked to review GU’s line of carb gels for Team RF.
The first thing you notice when you pick up one of these gels is the packaging size. Unlike some other brands out there (ie Clif gels), the GU packaging is small and simple, allowing it to be stored in the back pocket of a tri top, attached via elastic bands to a water bottle (my personal favorite), or stored in a bento box for bike workouts. The small size means you can easily get all of the gel out in a hurry, which is crucial especially while in a running race where you can’t fumble around with confusing packaging and slow down. This will be appreciated more by the competitive athlete, but it is a nice touch for any user.
GU’s lineup of energy gels currently comes in 10 varied flavors, ranging from exciting varieties like Tri-Berry, to old favorites such as orange and “just plain.” This means that you can find the perfect combination depending on your tastes and needs. I prefer the mandarin orange or strawberry-lemon flavors, as they are not overwhelming and have never caused stomach issues. However, one should keep in mind that carb gels, being sweet, should not be mixed with sweet drinks ie Gatorade, especially during warm weather training – I tried this combination on a summer long run and the results were not good. Generally, water is your best bet – this is a good thing, seeing as you can be sure that all aid stations in races stock it (the sports drinks stocked vary from race to race and even station to station sometimes.)
In terms of nutritional value, the GU gels carry the same percentages of carbs and sugars as every standard gels on the market (and also have the same caloric values.) They are a great tool to use for keeping those long hard runs going – I normally take one if I’m going for 90 minutes or more. However, I don’t recommend usage on anything shorter than 75 minutes – you want to train running on depleted energy stores. For a real pick-me-up during a race or long hard session, GU gels come in non-caffeinated or “2X caffeine” forms. The caffeine gels contain 30mg of the good stuff, so unless you are a hardcore coffee drinker, you will notice increased energy levels. Personally, I never drink coffee, so one of these gels before a race or in the middle of a hard interval session is a big kick. If you are willing to spend about double the money, look into GU ROCTANE gels – they are the same as your basic carb gels, but contain 30 grams of caffeine as well as several amino acids to buffer lactic acid in the system. As we all know, less lactic acid = run faster, so it’s well worth it. However, even GU recommends using Roctane by alternating one regular gel with one Roctane gel, so don’t overkill. Personally, I have only used it during races and a few hard sessions, but it does provide great results.
In general, GU’s line of carb gels is an extremely efficient, useful tool on the market which will work well with most endurance athletes and their nutritional plans. For those athletes looking to go long, they will provide you with the energy you need to keep going. Just keep in mind that these are a training tool, and should not be overused – however, using them on hard workouts will allow you to reap their numerous benefits. Happy training!
