Running with stamina gels - how helpful are they?
At some point in your jogging career, maybe at the starting or somewhere in the middle you will hear or read about endurance gels for running. Favorite amongst runners, running gels are largely used in long distance runs to give fresh endurance from carbohydrates and also to restore electrolytes, lost through sweat.
Form and usage of endurance gels
Endurance gels are concentrated, syrup like carbohydrates. Stamina gels come in small packets and provide approximately 250 calories per 100 g or around 100 calories per small pouch which is usually contains less than 50 g of gel. They are designed to be quickly and competently digested. Stamina running gels are squeezed directly into the mouth, every 25-45 minutes (depend on brand you use), taken together with water for quicker absorption. They come in different flavours and have sweet taste.
Why to use vigor gels when running
Endurance gels should be used when running long distances lasting around or more than 60 minutes. During running our body needs stamina, the main source of vigor for our body are carbohydrates. These are broken down into simple sugars such as glucose to provide vigor.
Energy gels provide instant stamina, as they are composed mainly from glucose, which is competently and promptly absorbed in our body.
Which running gels are most effective when it comes to performance?
The majority of producers of endurance gels support the description of their products with scientifically proven facts. PowerBar the producer of PowerBar gel for example uses C2Max carbohydrate mix that provides optimum combination and ratio of glucose and fructose to improve execution. As company claims this special ratio allows carbohydrate absorption up to 55% when consumed regularly. This affects the release of energy, which last longer and results in better execution by 8%. These results are based on study of 200 athletes. The product is advertised by Haile Gebrselassie who has been using PowerBar products since 1998.
Separate manufacturers provide dissimilar explanations and values for carbohydrates absorption and adaptability; however these are not significantly different. It is very difficult to prove adeptness of vigor gels; therefore the best strategy is to try deviating energy gels and look at your execution and use your own judgement.
There are a lot of studies that show that consumption of shared carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, maltodextrin) before and during physical activity help to better oxidation rates in our body and greater carbohydrates delivery.
In decision
Endurance gels are useful when it comes to stamina jogging. They provide fast energy and electrolytes during long distance running such as marathon race or half marathon. Every runner might react deviatingly to a particular brand of energy gels. It is recommended to test endurance gels during training sections and use known brand on the day of your race to avoid any gastrointestinal disturbances.
Always refer to producers own information on how use vigor gels during your running.