Hammer Nutrition - Endurolytes Fizz

As I've posted before, I have a Nathan Elite Plus 1 hydration belt which has a 22oz water bottle and a 5 oz nutrition bottle. I had been using just water on my runs in the big bottle, but as it has gotten hotter outside, I realized that I needed to start replenishing my electrolytes, especially since I've been pushing some pretty long runs on Saturdays (14 miles). Since I already have a spot for carbs in the 5oz bottle, I didn't need a full up sports drink in the big bottle, plus I wanted to keep the water as 'light' as possible, to keep it more waterlike and not sicky sweet.

In my research I found Hammer Nutrition's Endurolytes Fizz tablets. These are simple tablets that you drop into your water bottle that dissolve. They are very convenient since you don't have to mess with mixes or powders. They add the following to your water:

(from the Hammer Nutrition website).

Endurolytes Fizz Grape Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 1 tablet (4.5g)
	Amount Per Serving	%DV
Calories	10
Total Carbohydrate	<1g p="">	<1>
Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride)	13mg	650%
Calcium (as Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Chloride)	100mg	10%
Magnesium (as Magnesium Oxide)	50mg	13%
Manganese (as Manganese Gluconate)	3mg	150%
Chloride (as Calcium Chloride)	60mg	2%
Sodium (as Sodium Bicarbonate)	200mg	8%
Potassium (as Potassium Bicarbonate)	100mg	3%
Tyrosine (as L-Tyrosine)	100mg	†
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. † Daily Value not established.
Other Ingredients: Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Sorbitol, Stevia, Wheat Germ Oil*
*Patent Pending

A 13 tablet tube is $4.95 (at Hammer's Website). I picked up the Grape and Grapefruit flavors. Both flavors are decent. In 22oz of water, the Grapefruit seems a little stronger taste, but neither is overpowering. They leave the water light and drinkable. I will definitely be continuing to use them.

Carb Gel - GU and Hammer Gel

My stepfather, who is an avid cyclist, introduced me to Carb Gel recently. I had heard about them before, but didn't really bother to learn what they were for. During a visit to Phoenix, he sent me home with a bag full of GU and Hammer Gel also some Honey Stingers. Of the 3, the GU and Hammer Gel sat best with my stomach, the Honey Stinger on an empty stomach was not great. The other 2 seemed to be fine in that regard. It may be because the primary ingredient in the Honey stinger is honey which is different than the other 2. For this reason, I'm gonna talk about these 2:

These little pouches contain around 100 calories of carbs. Most of the carbs in both products come the complex carb maltodexterin which is supposed to not give you a sugar rush and crash. Some flavors of GU contain caffeine and some don't the ones that do contain 20mg and the Jet Blackberry GU has 40mg caffeine, the Espresso and Tropical flavors or Hammer Gel contain 25mg.

So far this has been my experience with them: I've put in several 9+ mile runs using these and have been very happy with my energy level. Both products recommend that you take 1 serving 15 minutes before your workout and one every 45 minutes during. At $1 to $1.50 a pouch, that could get expensive. You can mix it with some water and put it in a nutrition flask and spread it out more, that is what I've been doing and it works great. The Hammer gel also comes in 26 serving bottles for a lot less per serving, but then you have to mix it in another container.

Overall, if you are doing endurance sports like running, biking, etc. and find that you run out of juice, you might want to take a look at these gels as a quick source of energy that isn't going to sit bulky in the pit of your stomach for the next 5 miles.