Supplements or Cheaper solutions to push harder

[Ryanharman5]

I was told to ask here so this could be put on a podcast: I am looking to supplement my training cycling rides with the brand:

Drink Mix 320

If I wanted to save money could I use honey and maple syrup? Or just eat a banana before and during the training? I want to really make the most of my indoor training.

[jarsson]

I CARBS! (and so should you!)

personally for longer outside rides I like having a water bottle and a fuel bottle (lately its been Gu Roctane) and some real food in jersey pocket. On these longer adventure rides I put Roctane powder in small zip loc bags, two bottles worth will fill a small bag. It also makes the “water refills from a fountain at park” more palatable. Drink mostly water for the first hour, unless I start going hard from the start. That has worked well for me over the last 4 years but we eat a lot of fruit and…

Frustrated with figuring out fueling

Thank you. I read it, everything seems normal outside of bike riding nutrition. I don’t have any kind of symptoms mentioned here.

Fueling Workouts

C / c = kcal? or C / c = carbs? I’m assuming you’re using C & c interchangeably to mean kcal right? If so, then 800kcal ride probably means you should be eating somewhere between 200-350g of carbs over the course of the day, depending on goals, activity level, etc. Regardless, answer depends on duration of workout. If you burn 800kcal over the course of a 2-hr ride, you’d be better off having a higher percentage of your day’s carbs intra-workout, than if you were to burn 800kcal in under a…

And many more on forum.

[Barry_Bean]

Short answer, yes.

Long answer - finding ideal nutrition is a deep, deep wormhole where people obsess, use shaky science, and ignore the fact that individual body chemistries vary widely.

Using a good drink mix (and the Maurten is a good one) is the easiest way to get fast acting carbs that are easy to digest, but there is nothing wrong with getting your carbs from high carb low fiber fruits , honey, maple syrup, or even sugar water. Read the threads on making your own drink mixes and you’ll find lots of ideas on the best recipes.

[odpaul7]

I remember my old tri coach in college (who moved onto Olympic training), in a thick British accent, “on your hill climbs today, put a big dallop of honey in your water and it’s like f**king jet fuel for the back half of the workout and you’ll be descending faster than a greased weasel”

I don’t think he’s changed that up either. Honey is cheap and delicious. If it works for Olympians it’s good enough for me. Don’t need to make it complicated

[Abidingdude]

Gatorade powder.

[DXR]

Most granulated sugar bags are less than a dollar per pound at your local supermarket.

But it’s close to 1:1 fructose:glucose instead of 1:1.08 like the fancy stuff, so you might not win le Tour on it.

[ABG]

Eat food you enjoy

Candy