Alternative to gels?

Pudding.

Yeah I think Gu makes some "energy" jelly beans.

there are energy blocks (or gums), that have an almost winegum-consistency to them an actually taste alright. they come in packages of 6ish and have about 30 calories each to them. pricewise it's no difference. I prefer them over the gels, as these always taste too artificial. Check out your local running or biking store for options.

I like the Hammer's Gel vanilla flavor (don't know if you've tried that brand). GU makes an bar that has a consistency similar to Gummy Bears (though not quite as good). But still fairly tasty. There are "energy" jelly beans. There are also various energy bars, cookies, etc. The Power Bar oatmeal cookie bites are actually pretty darn good. Then there's always simple sugars in the form of tootsie rolls, gummy bears, etc. Take those with some B vitamins (perhaps in a drink) and it's basically the same as gels (though it won't have the protein you'll find in cookies, bars, etc.).

Is it the taste or consistency of the gel you have trouble with?

I also suggest hammer nutrition as a decent gel taste wise. You could also try honey and maple syrup but you need to figure out something to put it in.

You could pay a dollar for a 1 ounce bag of "energy jelly beans" or you could probably get a pound of regular ones for $2 and get the same result.

Buddy Ballsack wrote:

You could also try honey and maple syrup but you need to figure out something to put it in.

I once got honey sticks (basically straws filled with honey that are closed off at the end) at a race expo, but found them difficult to open on the fly. A great option is Honey Stinger gel, which is pure honey with some electrolytes (some varieties are flavored, have added caffeine, etc.).

Honey Stinger also makes very tasty fruit chews that don't get stuck in your teeth as much as Clif Shot Blocks. Sharkies energy chews are very good--small, not too sticky, all natural ingredients.

Styling mousse...

Buddy Ballsack wrote:

Is it the taste or consistency of the gel you have trouble with?

Consistency.

Thanks for the mention of the chews, I wasn't aware of them, I'm going to go to my local bike shop and see what they stock.

I've used these in a marathon. Hard to pack very many with you though.

http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_shot_bloks/

I hated every gel until I tried the liquid shot

http://www.personalbestnutrition.com/cgi-bin/pbn/685.html

They're way thinner than anything else i've tried. Love it!

Clif's Shot Bloks are the most popular chews I see around, but I have always been partial to Powerbar's Gel Blasts (like a gusher, chew on the outside with some liquid in the middle to keep your mouth from drying out). The new raspberry flavour with caffeine is terrific, as is the lemon.

Plenty of chews, beans, and whatever and they all have MUCH more sugar than the basic gels. Hammer Gel, 2g of sugar. Clif Bloks, 12g. Anyway, yeah, they work but be aware that they are NOT nutritionally equal.

cyron10k wrote:

Plenty of chews, beans, and whatever and they all have MUCH more sugar than the basic gels. Hammer Gel, 2g of sugar. Clif Bloks, 12g. Anyway, yeah, they work but be aware that they are NOT nutritionally equal.

That's not equal because Hammer uses more complex carbs, not simple sugars. Try the stats for Gu or Powergel, there is much more sugar. I am looking at chocolate power gel right now and it is 10g sugar (28g carbs), and vanilla clif shot gel is 8g sugar (25g carbs). 10g to 12g to me is pretty much a wash, especially since the bloks have so much more volume and will be more filling in your stomach.

I'm not sure what volume has to do with it. The caloric content being basically similar, the biggest difference is where the calories are derived from. I'd take Hammer gel over any of the other gels just because it has less simple sugars than most other products, especially the chewy kinds.

I just see all kinds of people come into our store and buy the Bloks thinking its the same as the Gel without looking labeling. But hey, if you can't stomach the gels, use what works. No worries.

go back to the sports drinks- already balanced for fluid and carbohydrate in the appropriate concentration.