Gatorade Review

Having tried just about all the different lotions and potions which come in the form of Energy drinks, gels, recovery drinks etc etc I had finally settled on the brand I has happy with and felt I got the most out of. Well, that was until Emma from Gatorade made an appearance at our warehouse unit for a chat, armed with some samples! My life was about to change forever!

The Gatorade range cconsists of three main products:

1. Gatorade 01 Prime – you take this pouch approx 15 mins before exercise to fuel your muscles. 01 Prime is a concentrated liquid blend of carbohydrates, electrolytes and B vitamins – delivering energy and helping to sustain your body’s ability to burn carbohydrates.
2. Gatorade 02 Perform – you mix the powder in your bottle with 500ml of water and drink during exercise. Gatorade 02 PERFORM has been scientifically proven to help athletes replace fluids, refuel working muscles and replenish electrolytes during activity. 02 PERFORM’s carbohydrate and electrolyte formula comes in three different formats; liquid (500ml), convenient single serve powder stix (36g) and larger powder canisters (350g). Water needs to be added to both powder formats.
3. Gatorade 03 Recover – you take this immediately after you’ve completed your workout. Gatorade Recover is a protein, carbohydrate and electrolyte drink that provides hydration and muscle-recovery benefit after exercise. Recover has the consistency and great taste you’d expect from Gatorade to help you to prepare for the next challenge.

So armed with my samples I headed into the sunset, well not really as living in East Kilbride we don’t see much sun, but you know what I mean!

With a 41 miler planned for the Saturday I prepared my Gatorade for the ride. 15 mins before I took the Gatorade 01 Prime. The 01 Prime comes in two flavours, Berry and Orange, both of which are very tasty. The liquid is very easy to drink and is actually quite refreshing, It’s a close one but I think my favourite is probably the berry.

Next I prepared two 500ml bottles with the Gatorade 02 Perform powder, one with the Lemon and one with Orange. Gatorade have devised a pretty nifty system where you pour the powder straight from the tub into the lid which has a measurement line marked on it. My first impression when looking at the powder in the lid was that it looked quite gritty, however when mixed with water and given a good shake it was actually very nice and not gritty in the slightest. The Gatorade 02 Perform also comes in handy sachets which slot into the back of your jersey or into your pocket for those longer rides or sportives where you may need to refill your bottle.

I found the Gatorade 02 Perform easy to drink and refreshing, especially if you make it up and place it in the fridge for a wee while. Both the lemon and orange flavours are nice but I would pick the orange as my favourite, buy would be more than happy with the lemon, it’s not bitter like some lemon stuff can be.

So having set off on my ride I drank from my bottles on a regular basis and found the Gatorade 02 Perform easy on my stomach and it didn’t bag me up or feel sickly at any point. One thing I will say which you may not want to know, while drinking 2/3 bottles when out on my ride, not once did I need to stop for a pee. Now if I was drinking 2/3 bottles of water when out on my ride I would definitely have needed to stop. After the ride when I did go to the toilet I was showing no signs of dehydration. Sorry for going into detail about that but I feel it’s important to highlight as dehydration on the bike or in any sport is not good!

Having returned home from my ride I took the Gatorade 03 Recovery drink which comes pre-made and only comes in Berry flavour. Again I found this very easy to digest as it’s quite a watery liquid and not a thick milkshake type recovery drink like some. I liked the idea of the 03 Recover being pre-made as it will come in handy when away doing sportives, not having to make powder up and carry bottles in the car to mix it.

So did I notice a differnce? That’s a very good question, but since I’ve been using the stuff, which has been a couple of weeks now I’ve noticed that I’ve not been suffering from fatigue and still feeling pretty strong during the last 10 miles of a 40-60 mile ride. Since then I have been smashing my PB’s on my commute to and from work. We sponsor a couple of riders and one in particular, Emma, bought some of the Gatorade products from us to try and on using them for the first time she got a podium finish in her race! Coincidence or not she loves the stuff and uses it on a regular basis now.

A few of the boys in my social cycling group use the Gatorade products and one had said to me that he wasn’t sure, what, if anything, the products did for him as he’d used them for a while now and didn’t notice any difference any more. He ran out of the Gatorade 02 Perform Powder and filled his bottles with just water for a 35 mile ride and he struggled, he noticed the difference NOT using the Gatorade products.

I’ll definately be sticking to the Gatorade products to fuel me for rides and Sportives in the future. If it’s good enough for Team Sky and British Cycling then it’s definitely good enough for me!

Gatorade have released a very handy Gatorade Fuel Pack which includes:

x1 Orange Prime 118ml

x1 Mixed berry Prime 118ml

x3 Orange Perform stix 36g

x3 Lemon Perform stix 36g

x2 Mixed Berry Recover 500ml

x1 Gatorade Green Bottle 500ml

The Gatorade Fuel Pack is a 3 stage performance nutrition pack, ideal for race events, sportives, triathlons or just a long weekend ride. All you need in one handy pack. Ideal for trying out the range.

Now is the time to try the Gatorade range or stock up as they are running a promotion just where they will refund all purchases made before 29th June if a Team Sky rider wins the Tour de France! You need to register your purchase(s) on the Gatorade Website, sit back and cheer on Team Sky. This is a great offer especially with the form Chris Froome is in at the moment.

Stuart
IT Manager