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Food & Drink Drinking energy drinks during gym sessions

Discussion in 'General' started by Jake123456, 1 Jun 2012.

  1. Jake123456

    Jake123456 Surprise!

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    Hey guys,

    I've been going to the gym for about 2-3 months now and I thought I'll take it up a notch and start eating properly aswell as training.

    Now, I came across Lucazade during my shop at lunch (The still version, not fizzy) and bought one.

    I've been doing a bit of search and I'm unable to find if drinking energy drinks actually help during gym sessions, so I thought I'll take to the very nice Bit-Tech Forums and see what you guys think..

    So the question is, do energy drinks actually work or not?.,

    :confused:
     
  2. mansueto

    mansueto Too broke to mod

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    I personally don't like energy drinks but I don't think it's a very good idea to drink one while working out. I'd imagine it would be okay before or after, but not during. There have been some bad horror stories that involved sports and energy drinks. I don't have a source for this but it occurred a few years ago where a teenager drank 1 or 2 redbulls before an ice hockey game, part way through the game he had a heart attack on the ice and he actually passed away.

    Can't seem to find the source but after some googling a lot of hockey players are against using redbull before a game because it makes them feel jittery and they all said they felt "their hearts pounding through their chests". Granted, not sure how Lucazade compares to redbull, I still wouldn't feel comfortable drinking it.

    You did say you wanted to start eating properly, with a better diet you will start to feel more energized so keep at it.
     
  3. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    They do work, but not during. They replace energy lost, not expended. Slightly different, but essentially they help with recovery, not with actual gain.

    You would be far better off firstly by taking a multi-vitamin, codliver oil tablet and Vitamin D3 tablet every day, even on days off from training.

    Then before you start training, take a pre-training shake mixed with some Creatine (if you need more detail, I'm happy to help), then a recovery shake after. You will notice the difference with a couple of days.

    Forget energy drinks. Personally I hate them.
     
  4. GavX

    GavX What's a Dremel?

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    It'll be the caffine in energy drinks (ie Red Bull) that is the main problem, your lucozade/powerade etc have fructure/glucose/sucrose which if needed can be broken down and give your muscles a little bit more fuel and help you go for longer (they claim) but caffine just gives you the illussion you have energy but doesn't actually give your body any real fuel, just triggers hormones to think you do. Hark at me, had 4 cans of the stuff today. As for the Lucozade sport I don't think there is alot is any caffine in it, just water, salts and sugars so my unprofessional oppinion is it will be as good as water, and you shouldn't die. :D

    Energy drinks do work, just not for physical things more mental, more "aaah, 2 hours sleep, 12 hour shift, to Tesco!"
     
  5. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Mix water with some glucose and salt and you have the same thing. At a fraction of the price. :D
     
  6. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    Caffeine is actually good when training, but not during or after. Take it, for example, during the day when you're at work. Have coffee or whatever then to keep your metabolism going faster, then just go training in the evening.
     
  7. Kylevdm

    Kylevdm The Mod Zoo Podcast Host

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    Personally I do not drink loads while at the gym, lots of people drink too much while working out. Just remember that your body takes time to process liquids so dont drink loads just because you are thirsty, just keep sipping. Also isotonic drinks would be absolutely fine, I would not drink the likes of red bull etc.

    I normally have:

    200-300ml of water before going to the gym
    300ml or so of water while at the gym (normally 1.5hours)
    400ml post workout with protein with some oats mixed in
     
  8. Malvolio

    Malvolio .

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    As someone who pushes himself quite hard on a daily basis through physical exertion and who loves copious amounts of very strong coffee, I can relate just how terrible this idea is. Typically I need a buffer of an hour or two between ingestion of high-energy drinks and exerting myself, otherwise I end up with strange heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and issues thinking clearly. Obviously this is with caffeine not whatever garbage is in most of the overpriced "energy drinks" you'll find on petrol-station shelves, but the effect should still be largely the same: not good.

    You want energy? Have some protein after the workout and a bunch of easily digestible sugars beforehand (fruits and such). Done.

    Oh, and in direct comment to the idea of a multi-vitamin: don't bother. Studies have proven that they colour your urine, and that is about it. Well, there are a few things in most multi-vitamins out there that actually do directly harm you and cause issues, but mostly they just colour your urine. The slightest bit of research through unbiased channels will show this. They sound good on paper, but the body just doesn't absorb nutrients in the way that the pills deliver them (plus you really don't need most of what is in them provided your diet isn't utterly terrible, even if you were able to absorb them).
     
  9. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    There are studies out there for various different things with multivitamins. None of which I have seen that cause harm. If a vitamin causes harm, then I would suggest changing your brand. a multi-vitamin is simply another food you are placing in the same location. It's how your body sees it and breaks it down. Sure, not ALL of it is absorbed, but it does help.

    Considering modern society, the idea of a diet being bad enough to not warrant using it isn't far off when you look at what most people eat. I eat healthy and train five days a week, and I still take them. Personally though, I take it to stop me getting ill and boosting my immune system (along with D3) rather than benefiting my training.

    As for fruits, personally I don't think they're as good for you as people say they are. People have this concept that fruit is healthy. It really isn't.
     
  10. LennyRhys

    LennyRhys Fan Fan

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    Short answer: no. GavX hit the nail on the head - energy drinks often have a high caffeine content which can be bad for the body if you have lost a lot of fluid through perspiration. On the contrary, sports drinks don't tend to have caffeine in them so they won't really harm you in any way... but to be honest, the best thing to drink whilst you exercise is plain old water. Drink it in small sips as and when you need it.

    The only time you really need to worry about replenishing salts is if you lose a lot of fluid (eg from hours and hours of constant exercise). Sports drinks are a fad, a lot like many other forms of so-called sports "nutrition." Eat good, healthy food and drink plenty of water. :thumb:
     
  11. Malvolio

    Malvolio .

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    I'm sorry, but no. If you genuinely believe that you have a diet that meets your physical needs, then taking a supplement (no matter how ineffectual) in addition to your diet is dangerous. Just the fact that so many multi-vitamins contain your daily intake requirement of vitamin C (in my experience with them anyway) should send up a red flag immediately as to just how badly conceived and implemented they are, given that most foods we consume contain copious quantities of the stuff (vitamin C overdose is a real thing and can be quite dangerous).

    If your daily food consumption consists mainly of scrapings of cheese from a fast-food restaurant and fizzy soda, I would concede that a dietary supplement may be beneficial, but only as a last and desperate resort if you are utterly unable to change your dietary intake.

    Though your point about fruit not being the end-all of nutrition is well said, but I never stated that your diet should consist of only fruit. Balance is key.
     
  12. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    You would be better off drinking Isotonic drinks when training. The body is supposed to hydrate faster on those than plain water alone. And leave off the caffeine drinks when training.
     
  13. Jake123456

    Jake123456 Surprise!

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    Thanks guys! I'll stick to the water then! I forgot my bottle, so I'll pour the lucazade away and put water in it ;)
     
  14. Phalanx

    Phalanx Needs more dragons and stuff.

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    My multivit doesn't have a full compliment. I don't use the normal multivitamins. I buy my supplements from the biggest supplement company in the uk, who know what's involved in making a good supplement. Not the crap available in Tesco/wherever. But then you strike me as being in the know too, so I imagine you know there are more brands out there than just the Centrum crap and the like you see in shops :)
     
  15. julianmartin

    julianmartin resident cyborg.

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    Example 1: Fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A can build in in body fat, and toxic levels are quite dangerous.

    Remember - multivitamins were conceived with the idea of helping those who are deficient. Most people who eat even reasonably well in the western world can barely benefit, apart from pregnant women with folic acid. The rest is just a waste of money.

    And you don't think fruit is good for you? What? Can you substantiate that? Obviously one needs to be mindful of the sugar intake involved and so on.

    Your immune system gets better as you get ill and get over it. Never getting ill will result in a weak immune system.
     
  16. Evenge

    Evenge Minimodder

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    I have been reading bodybuilding publications 1,5 years now and it seems that the opinion about caffeine depends on who are you asking. I have tried to have energy drinks just before gym training and felt that it gave me some extra energy and I did't get tired so fast. But then again I can manage well without them and can have same energy boost at gym if I just eat properly before the training session.
     
  17. LennyRhys

    LennyRhys Fan Fan

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    I often eat whilst training - usually a small bite of a banana between sets. Whether it's a psychological thing or not, I've found that it works for me. :D
     
  18. happysack

    happysack goodateverthinger

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    I have used thermobol(packed and packed caffiene) and really helped strip back fat, not gain muscle though - speeds up metabolism
     
  19. holzj17

    holzj17 What's a Dremel?

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    dont bother taking anything during your session as by the time it kicks in you probably wont need it. just stick with a pre-workout shake such as Jack3d or NO Xplode
     
  20. lysaer

    lysaer Suck my unit! Kirk lazarus (2008)

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    If you're training for a couple of hours plus then you would get the benefit from something like a lucozade. But if you're only training for an hour don't worry about it just drink water.

    Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using Tapatalk 2
     

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