and 40% more fluid. As a result, the athletes under test were able to complete a 60km flat out time trial 6 minutes faster (on average) when drinking EnergySource with Super Carb’s as compared to PSP-22 from SiS. Test protocol
Yes you did read that correctly! That was a 6 minute faster time trial when drinking Super Carb’s as compared to drinking PSP-22 (SiS) and a 19% improvement in performance compared to water. The study.
How Super Carb’s works
There are two bottlenecks limiting the amount of carbohydrate that reaches your working muscles.
Firstly it’s important to note that the maximum amount of carbohydrate your body can absorb each hour is not the same as the amount you can swallow! You can swallow very large amounts, but your body can only absorb a limited amount of it.
The bottleneck
History... Sports drinks for general use are typically mixed at 5% to 6% carbohydrate concentration. Some time ago, it was discovered that a form of carbohydrate called Glucose Polymers (also known as maltodextrins) were better at gastric emptying than simple sugars (sucrose, dextrose, glucose etc). Specialist energy drinks based on glucose polymers became available around 10 years ago. These could be mixed at concentration of 10% (or occasionally higher), without negative effects on stomach emptying. High5 was one of the first companies to use maltodextrins in its award-winning EnergySource range of products.
Today...How quickly drinks empty from the stomach is not however the limiting factor in getting carbohydrate fuel to your muscles.
The real limit is further down the digestive tract.
Next
Yes you did read that correctly! That was a 6 minute faster time trial when drinking Super Carb’s as compared to drinking PSP-22 (SiS) and a 19% improvement in performance compared to water. The study.
How Super Carb’s works
There are two bottlenecks limiting the amount of carbohydrate that reaches your working muscles.
Firstly it’s important to note that the maximum amount of carbohydrate your body can absorb each hour is not the same as the amount you can swallow! You can swallow very large amounts, but your body can only absorb a limited amount of it.
The bottleneck
History... Sports drinks for general use are typically mixed at 5% to 6% carbohydrate concentration. Some time ago, it was discovered that a form of carbohydrate called Glucose Polymers (also known as maltodextrins) were better at gastric emptying than simple sugars (sucrose, dextrose, glucose etc). Specialist energy drinks based on glucose polymers became available around 10 years ago. These could be mixed at concentration of 10% (or occasionally higher), without negative effects on stomach emptying. High5 was one of the first companies to use maltodextrins in its award-winning EnergySource range of products.
Today...How quickly drinks empty from the stomach is not however the limiting factor in getting carbohydrate fuel to your muscles.
The real limit is further down the digestive tract.
Next
More than 30 years of research has shown that carbohydrate is the best fuel for sport. It makes you fast, it gives you endurance and it makes your sport enjoyable.
Unfortunately, the amount of carbohydrate stored in your body is relatively small and is quickly depleted during training and racing. Maximising the amount of carbohydrate that your muscles have available for fuel is the most effective thing you can do to improve your performance. The more carbohydrate you can take on board during exercise, the less you use of your body’s precious stores and the faster you can go for longer.
As an athlete you have about 400g of total carbohydrate stored in your body, with about half of this amount available to fuel exercise-specific muscles.
So how much difference does feeding your body during exercise make?
If you were able to consume 100g per hour during a 3-hour event, your working muscles would have an additional 300g of carbohydrate to use as fuel. That would be more than double your usable store. So you can see that consuming sports drinks during exercise has the biggest impact by far on carbohydrate availability and thus exercise performance.
Traditional sports drinks however can only deliver a maximum of around 60grams per hour of carbohydrate through the stomach and intestine to the working muscles. Drink more and it will just sit in your intestine causing bloating and other gastric problems. You may have experienced this!
Unfortunately, the amount of carbohydrate stored in your body is relatively small and is quickly depleted during training and racing. Maximising the amount of carbohydrate that your muscles have available for fuel is the most effective thing you can do to improve your performance. The more carbohydrate you can take on board during exercise, the less you use of your body’s precious stores and the faster you can go for longer.
As an athlete you have about 400g of total carbohydrate stored in your body, with about half of this amount available to fuel exercise-specific muscles.
So how much difference does feeding your body during exercise make?
If you were able to consume 100g per hour during a 3-hour event, your working muscles would have an additional 300g of carbohydrate to use as fuel. That would be more than double your usable store. So you can see that consuming sports drinks during exercise has the biggest impact by far on carbohydrate availability and thus exercise performance.
Traditional sports drinks however can only deliver a maximum of around 60grams per hour of carbohydrate through the stomach and intestine to the working muscles. Drink more and it will just sit in your intestine causing bloating and other gastric problems. You may have experienced this!
Super Carb’s lets your body absorb more carbohydrate per hour , lots more, and it’s a double whammy. First the extra carbohydrate carries in more water for better hydration. Second, the carbohydrate is absorbed so quickly, that little is left over to cause gastric distress.
So how does Super Carb’s compare?
In a recent test at Herts University of Sports Science, EnergySource with Super Carb’s was compared to PSP-22 from SiS. Super Carb’s was shown to deliver 23% more carbohydrate to the working muscles as compared to PSP-22
In a recent test at Herts University of Sports Science, EnergySource with Super Carb’s was compared to PSP-22 from SiS. Super Carb’s was shown to deliver 23% more carbohydrate to the working muscles as compared to PSP-22
Rob Friel: test subject
“That drink is rocket fuel. I’ve been riding faster than ever. 7th in my first elite mtb enduro and 5th in my 1st elite road race. No stomach problems either”.
“That drink is rocket fuel. I’ve been riding faster than ever. 7th in my first elite mtb enduro and 5th in my 1st elite road race. No stomach problems either”.
