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Question for Rob Spedding...
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Rob,
Your article in the current RW shed some much needed light on the jungle that is sports drinks. I use sports drinks a lot and found your comparisons very useful. One or two questions occurred to me after reading it though which I hoped you might be able to answer.
What criteria did you use for suggesting what to use a particular drink for? A specific example for me is that I use Lucozade Sport and Isostar but not specifically and exclusively for pre-run, on the run or post-run hydration. What is it about Boots Isotonic that makes it so suitable for on the run rehydration, whereas Isostar is recommended for pre-run hydration and Lucozade Sport for post-run? Is it just the taste with Lucozade Sport which makes you think it isn't ideal for on the run hydration (this is what I use when running as I find the sachets easy to carry with me!)?
Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.
Your article in the current RW shed some much needed light on the jungle that is sports drinks. I use sports drinks a lot and found your comparisons very useful. One or two questions occurred to me after reading it though which I hoped you might be able to answer.
What criteria did you use for suggesting what to use a particular drink for? A specific example for me is that I use Lucozade Sport and Isostar but not specifically and exclusively for pre-run, on the run or post-run hydration. What is it about Boots Isotonic that makes it so suitable for on the run rehydration, whereas Isostar is recommended for pre-run hydration and Lucozade Sport for post-run? Is it just the taste with Lucozade Sport which makes you think it isn't ideal for on the run hydration (this is what I use when running as I find the sachets easy to carry with me!)?
Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.
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Comments
The drinks you've mentioned are all pretty evenly matched when it comes to their energy levels and the way that they deliver them. So the Use It For section is, if you will, simply a serving suggestion. It would have been possible to have had the same 'use it for' almost all of the drinks tested! But while testing them I did find that they lent themselves particularly well to the tasks I suggested them for. The Isostar, as it was pretty sweet, seemed to work well when I had it on my desk and sipped it during the hour or so before a run. Lucozade Sport was also good for this, but it's sharpness was refreshing when bursting for a drink afterwards, whereas the Boots drink seemed to be the lightest of the three and therefore easiest to gulp down while running. I know this isn't very scientific but, as I say in the article, taste is probably one of the most important things with sports drinks. The 'use it for' notes are a suggestion, so don't think you have to buy one of each for each task! If you're happy using them for different tasks, then carry on. Once you've found an energy drink you get on with and benefit from, then my advice would be to stick with it.
Cheers.