Energy drinks

[LkptTiger 1]

Why is it we think of reaching for a stimulant instead of working on getting fit?

I am willing to bet that, last season, when I was healthy, I worked as hard, on and off the ice, as any other guy in the leauge. Even now, slightly over a month after surgery, my therapist and doctors are having a hard time keeping me off the ice/in the gym when they say/think I shouldn't be.

I work hard, and would like to think myself in pretty good shape. Still, I pop a couple Sudafed (unless, of course, I am taking pain-killers for any injuries I might have) and wash it down with Red Bull before every game, and drink another Red Bull between the second and third periods (well, I did last year and will continue to do so if I am able to recover and return to competitve hockey)

Why? It seems as though you would reason that the only reason one would use such drugs would be to compensate for a lack of physical preparation. Personally-speaking, that's just not the case. In using these products, I simply hope to "enhance" my physical abilities - which (I believe) I earned with hard work and lots and lots of sweat.

hockechamp14: You may or may not be making use of sarcasm there, so I'll say this anyways: be carefully, buddy - being over-hydrated can be just as bad as being dehydrated.

[SB39 2]

I've become kinda anti-sugar over time, so I drink about a half-liter of watered down green and herbal tea mixed or white tea, then water for games. Great for awareness and no crash for me as long as I've ate well that day. Try it.

[hockechamp14 0]

hockechamp14:  You may or may not be making use of sarcasm there, so I'll say this anyways:  be carefully, buddy - being over-hydrated can be just as bad as being dehydrated.

You're not going to get over hydrated by compensating for the minimal loss of water from a low dose caffine drink. Also, you are going to have an awfully difficult time over hydrating yourself in the duration of a hockey game. If you're afraid of over-hydration, make sure you're drinking a carb or protein+carb workout or sports drink.

caffeine isn't a shortcut like some people make it out to be. It has actually been shown to improve performance in test subjects. The fact is the drinks are crappy with tons of sugar and HFCS and then some caffeine. It's not the caffeine that's the problem in the drinks, it is the other stuff.

Besides, I hear this new energy drink on the market that has 0 calories, so no sugars or anything in it, plus a minimal dose of caffeine together with B12, tyrosine, and yohimbine. They're calling it the "ipod" of energy drinks.

http://ifitandhealthy.com/spike-shooter-energy-drink/

Is it a diruetic? Fine, then drink more water...

Sounds pretty shady to me.

Really? Any more shady than drinks calling themselves Rockstar or Monster? How can you consider a drink that's designed without a crash "shady."

Oh wait... they obviously put steroids in that crap then. :o

here's quite a bit of info about l-tyrosine. They say n-acetyl-l-tyrosine has been shown to be inferior thus far, experience thus far in general hasn't shown much advantage of either one over the other.

http://www.bulknutrition.com/i7_L-Tyrosine.html

but as you can see from that link, it CLEARLY is a steroid, VERY VERY shady!

[LkptTiger 1]

You're right - it isn't likely that one will become "over-hydrated" during the course of the game; but that's not to say it doesn't happen. It is possible, and the results can be almost as bad as dehydration

Most of the time, it doesn't happen as a result of attempting to regain any water lost in the consumption of any substance that would rob the body of the H2O. It's usually just an accident - some 4th liner sits on the bench for the vast majority of the game with nothing to do but open/close the door and squirt water into his mouth - eventually he gets a shift, goes out and skates hard for about 35, seconds, comes back to the bench looking like he's going to die, climbs the boards, shoves a couple guys out of his way and throws-up all over the floor.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

The performance improvements in research studies I've read about dealt with Mental clarity in test subjects. I haven't seen studies on physical improvement in sport. Know of any? I'd be interested in reading them.

This Spike Shooter thing reads like it is an ad. Is it? One of the ways companies are using the internet is to do "non-ad" sounding ads. And then there is "viral marketing" where usually you advertise with an ad that sounds like opinion and then hope it gets linked all over the internet as people tell each other about the product.

And here we go again with no carbs - yet carbs are the fuel - the energy - your muscles use in sport.

yep.. people forget that your body needs carbs for physical activity.. I used to drink the Low Carb Monster energy drink, like someone else listed- just to get me up and out (I play late nights, around 12:40am) as I nap before I skate. I switched to the regular one, but it made me feel like rubbish..

I was chatting with a trainer at my local gym, and he ripped me for drinking those before a skate... he suggested 45 mins before I skate to eat......

1 slice of whole grain bread, with peanut butter, sliced banana and drizzled with a little honey (organic, all natural stuff, not the crap that added sugars, etc)....

I've been doing this for about a month before I skate, and I gotta say, I feel a lot better before, and afterward. The sandwich is a decent balance of proteins, slow carbs, and fast carbs... so it offers a lot more than a caffeine jolt, when your body crashes prematurely.

[mack 44]

Coca Sek

[pantherfan 0]

Coca Sek

I call out again for a review of this drink.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Mack, how does it taste?

[hockeymom 2]

Coca Sek

I call out again for a review of this drink.

Is that the coke product mixed with coffee? I had a sample of that the other week. Before I took a sip, I was honestly looking for where I was going to spit it out because I expected it to be gross.

It wasn't. It was surprisingly, shockingly... pretty good. Now mind you, I don't know what a full can would taste like...

[pantherfan 0]

;) I doubt it's the same drink.

The Paez Indians in south-western Colombia will launch Coca Sek this week, a fizzy drink based on coca leaves consumed for centuries by native Colombian peoples. The Paez, who live in the Calderas reserve, began their efforts to sanitise the use of the coca leaf, the main ingredient in cocaine, by selling crushed dried coca leaves for use as tea.

[mack 44]

Weird taste, kind of lemon-y and more like tea than soda. It's an all right taste but hype or not it's got a great little kick to it. That and I don't have to go thru a guy named T-Sizzle for it.

[hockeymom 2]

;) I doubt it's the same drink.

The Paez Indians in south-western Colombia will launch Coca Sek this week, a fizzy drink based on coca leaves consumed for centuries by native Colombian peoples. The Paez, who live in the Calderas reserve, began their efforts to sanitise the use of the coca leaf, the main ingredient in cocaine, by selling crushed dried coca leaves for use as tea.

I'm thinking of a different product - Coke Blak. coke+coffee Wonder how long this one will survive?

http://www.coca-colablak.com/us/index.jsp

[kovalchuk71 212]

I love that stuff. Its great

[chk hrd 164]

Here is a link to a recent article on energy drinks vs sports drinks from USA Hockey magazine.

http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php...ight_nav=normal

It explains in simple terms why energy drinks are bad for you.

[hockechamp14 0]

Here is a link to a recent article on energy drinks vs sports drinks from USA Hockey magazine.

http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php...ight_nav=normal

It explains in simple terms why energy drinks are bad for you.

The only credible argument in the article is that caffeine doesn't actually give you fuel, it's just a stimulant. That can also be counter argued by

A) Depending on the does of caffeine in the drink, the half life in your body is long enough to last you the game

B) Intake of caffeine through the game will keep you from getting a caffeine crash.

Everything else is just pathological garbage with the "slippery slope" and yadda yadda. Caffeine can be harnessed for use with other important neruotransmitters and stimulants to boost performance. When used with knowledge and with planning, it can give you a performance edge when used concurrently with a protein or protein and carb sports drink.

Again, it can be used INTELLIGENTLY to give you a performance advantage. No, I do not advocate mite/squits/pee-wee players using caffeine. They really shouldn't even be worring about that kind of stuff right at that point anyhow.

[hockeymom 2]

Here is a link to a recent article on energy drinks vs sports drinks from USA Hockey magazine.

http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php...ight_nav=normal

It explains in simple terms why energy drinks are bad for you.

The only credible argument in the article is that caffeine doesn't actually give you fuel, it's just a stimulant. That can also be counter argued by

A) Depending on the does of caffeine in the drink, the half life in your body is long enough to last you the game

B) Intake of caffeine through the game will keep you from getting a caffeine crash.

Everything else is just pathological garbage with the "slippery slope" and yadda yadda. Caffeine can be harnessed for use with other important neruotransmitters and stimulants to boost performance. When used with knowledge and with planning, it can give you a performance edge when used concurrently with a protein or protein and carb sports drink.

Again, it can be used INTELLIGENTLY to give you a performance advantage. No, I do not advocate mite/squits/pee-wee players using caffeine. They really shouldn't even be worring about that kind of stuff right at that point anyhow.

hockechamp: The only studies I've seen that linked caffeine with increased performance was on mental clarity and rate of memory - not physical performance. And, if I am remembering correctly, they were on subjects that didn't regualrly use cafeine. The simplified bottom line was it can be useful when cramming or test taking under specific circumstances. Of course there are other studies that are contradictory. It is never a simple world.

What physical performance benefit studies have you come across?

[DamnLocust 0]

Here is a link to a recent article on energy drinks vs sports drinks from USA Hockey magazine.

http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php...ight_nav=normal

It explains in simple terms why energy drinks are bad for you.

that article is why this thread was started. see page 1 of the thread.

[jbyun04 7]

caffeine isn't a shortcut like some people make it out to be. It has actually been shown to improve performance in test subjects. The fact is the drinks are crappy with tons of sugar and HFCS and then some caffeine. It's not the caffeine that's the problem in the drinks, it is the other stuff.

Besides, I hear this new energy drink on the market that has 0 calories, so no sugars or anything in it, plus a minimal dose of caffeine together with B12, tyrosine, and yohimbine. They're calling it the "ipod" of energy drinks.

http://ifitandhealthy.com/spike-shooter-energy-drink/

Is it a diruetic? Fine, then drink more water...

apparently vitamin b12 is the ultimate cure to hangovers

people at my work usually drink beaver buzz if they've got a hangover and they say they feel much better afterwards

[hockey3 0]

If you scroll down in this article it talks about caffeine use as an athletic performance enhancer.

Caffeine Article

[hockeymom 2]

If you scroll down in this article it talks about caffeine use as an athletic performance enhancer.

Caffeine Article

Oh thanks VERY much - I took a quick read. I'll look at it more carefully later and compare it to the updated stuff on glycemic energy.

[Muzza_77 0]

During the state champs this year I used gatorade. This was the first time I had every used a sports drink like this ever in my life. I would drink water before and during the game, and after the game I drank the Gatorade. When I played 3 games in one day, I found that the Gatorade gave me much more energy and helped me. Now though since I suffer from ALOT of cramps, my physio tells me to drink gatorade so now I get to drink it more. :D