Magnesium gels...

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amaferanga

Veteran
Location
Bolton
Superb? What exactly did they do that regular food doesn't do?
 
OP
OP
Monsieur Remings
Location
Yatton UK
Superb? What exactly did they do that regular food doesn't do?

Yes, superb; in this case, something that worked and relieved the fatigue in my muscles, in part I'd surmise, due the magnesium content but I'm no expert. I could have taken peanuts, or some raw spinach I guess but having cereal first thing in the morning with rice milk, I think, constitutes real food (rich in magnesium).

But, call me strange, halfway up the Tourmalet I'd rather have something more convenient like an energy gel. They obviously work because there wouldn't be a market for them if they didn't.

You... er, obviously don't approve?
 

amaferanga

Veteran
Location
Bolton
Yes, superb; in this case, something that worked and relieved the fatigue in my muscles, in part I'd surmise, due the magnesium content but I'm no expert. I could have taken peanuts, or some raw spinach I guess but having cereal first thing in the morning with rice milk, I think, constitutes real food (rich in magnesium).

But, call me strange, halfway up the Tourmalet I'd rather have something more convenient like an energy gel. They obviously work because there wouldn't be a market for them if they didn't.

You... er, obviously don't approve?

Oh I use gels for racing when it's simply not possible to eat real food (since in a race of a couple of hours there's no feed zone), but I don't for a minute think that any gel is better than normal food. I just don't buy into all the marketing bs. The reason your average Joe cyclist buys them isn't because they work better than real food, but because all the marketing bs convinces them that they are somehow better (and because the pros use them so they must be better huh?). Interestingly, when I picked up a discarded Sky musette from the national road race champs recently I didn't find any gels in it, only a phili and jam bread roll and a ham and phili bread roll....
 

Arsen Gere

Über Member
Location
North East, UK
+1 for the high 5 zero's.
I only use gels during longer races, nothing wrong with proper food. Tea cakes with jam,flapjacks and sandwiches for me. I mix gels and jelly babies during marathons.
If it's just magnesium you want in a convenient form you can eat Tums or Rennies. You can try that in isolation and see if it works for you. I'd try the high 5 zeros if I were you.
I've been trying to get them to produce a frutose/dextrose/electrolyte tablet like a sweet you can chew, they'd be lighter and you can control levels during a race. I tried crunching bits of the high 5 tablets during the marathon section of my last ironman and they helped fend off cramp, I could feel it in my calfs and quads, I'd chew a quarter , get to the feed station and take a good drink and the cramping sensation would go. I would not do this on a regular basis because they burn and if you inhale the dust it hurts and makes you cough.
 
I went up the Tourmalet on High 5 zero (+ water) and a couple of rice and fruit type cheapo French cereal bars. Had a lovely Tourmalet Salad at the restaurant at the top as well^_^
 
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