When should I use Ironman Perform™ sports drink?
Athletes who take part in heavy workouts that extend beyond an hour, or who exercise in the heat or humidity and experience significant fluid and electrolyte loss demand a sports drink made with ingredients designed to improve performance benefits. Ideal for use before and during high-intensity endurance training and competition, new Ironman Perform™ sports drink delivers the thirst-quenching fluids, carbohydrates and key electrolytes athletes need to stay hydrated and fueled to help reach their full potential.
What are the key advantages of using a sports drink like Ironman Perform vs. plain water?1, 2
There are a number of advantages:
- Beverages containing carbohydrate are recommended for exercise events lasting longer than one hour to help sustain blood glucose level during exercise.
- Athletes typically consume more fluids when their hydration beverage is flavored.
- Consumption of beverages containing electrolytes and carbohydrates can help sustain fluid and electrolyte balance and endurance exercise performance.
- Fluids containing sodium and potassium help replace sweat electrolyte losses. Sodium also stimulates thirst and fluid retention and carbohydrates provide energy. The type, intensity, and duration of exercise and environmental conditions will alter the need for fluids and electrolytes.
What is the role of sodium in a sports drink and how much sodium does Ironman Perform sports drink contain? 1, 2
Sweat rates for an activity will vary according to ambient temperature, humidity, body weight, genetics, heat acclimatization state, and metabolic efficiency. Depending on the sport and conditions, sweat rates can range from as little as 300 to 2,400 mL per hour. In addition to water, sweat also contains substantial but variable amounts of sodium. The average concentration of sodium in sweat approximates 1 g per 1,000 mL, although concentrations vary widely. There are modest amounts of potassium and small amounts of minerals such as magnesium and calcium lost in sweat.
Sports dietitians and practitioners typically suggest that athletes training or competing in intense endurance events consume between 500 and 1,000 mg of sodium per hour to replace sweat electrolyte losses. Sodium helps maintain your drive to continue drinking fluids when exercising, and helps you retain the fluid consumed, which is crucial to meeting your fluid needs.
Each bottle of Ironman Perform sports drink contains 475 mg sodium, a key electrolyte lost in sweat.
1 American Dietetic Association; Dietitians of Canada; American College of Sports Medicine, Rodriguez NR, DiMarco NM, Langley S. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Nutrition and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009; 41:709–731.
2 American College of Sports Medicine, Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, Maughan RJ, Montain SJ, Stachenfeld NS. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007; 39:377–390.
How does Ironman Perform sports drink help prevent muscle cramps?
Skeletal muscle cramps are associated with dehydration, electrolyte deficits, and muscle fatigue. Muscle cramps are more common in profuse sweaters who experience large sweat sodium losses.
Fluids containing sodium and potassium help replace sweat electrolyte losses. Sodium also stimulates thirst and fluid retention. Sports dietitians and practitioners typically suggest that athletes training or competing in intense endurance events consume between 500 and 1,000 mg of sodium per hour to replace sweat electrolyte losses.
Ironman Perform helps athletes do just that and in turn, prevent muscle cramps, as each bottle of Ironman Perform contains 475 mg sodium, a key electrolyte lost in sweat.
How does Ironman Perform sports drink offer faster energy delivery?
Ironman Perform sports drink delivers leading-edge muscle fueling via a unique 2:1 glucose to fructose carbohydrate blend shown in studies to deliver 20–50% more energy to muscles than glucose alone. Fructose and glucose have their own separate transport systems: one allows glucose to be absorbed, and the other allows fructose to be absorbed. Taking in more glucose won’t give your muscles more energy, because the transporters are working at full capacity, which creates a glucose traffic jam. That extra ingested carbohydrate just stays in the gut, which slows delivery of fluids to the bloodstream and increases your chance of experiencing GI distress during exercise.
By consuming products that deliver a blend of glucose and fructose, you take full advantage of the separate transport systems for each type of carbohydrate. That results in 20–50% more energy delivery to working muscles.
Two transport systems increase the total rate of carbohydrate absorption, which leads to more carbohydrate available to be burned as muscle fuel. With more energy being delivered to and utilized by the muscles, your limited reserves of liver glycogen and blood glucose last longer.
For long-duration, all-out efforts, take advantage of maximum energy delivery to muscles with the new Ironman Perform sports drink.
What are the other advantages of using Ironman Perform sports drink with C2MAX blend?
C2MAX blend is designed so fewer carbohydrates remain in the gut, compared to products with glucose alone. This greater efficiency of use may result in less chance for gastrointestinal discomfort during exercise. C2MAX blend also may help speed fluid delivery from the digestive tract to the bloodstream, which is critical to maintaining hydration during exercise.
What is the science behind PowerBar’s C2MAX blend?
The unique high octane carbohydrate formulation found in new Ironman Perform sports drink is based on groundbreaking research published in the February 2008 issue of Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. The study showed that consuming an optimized blend of glucose and fructose carbohydrates allowed athletes to perform better, increase fluid delivery and experience less perceived exertion following exercise. PowerBar, through the Nestlé Research Center, continues to support a series of follow-up carbohydrate performance field trials with lead research author Dr. Asker Jeukendrup and his team at the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham. The aim of these trials is to apply this breakthrough science to the development of new sports nutrition tools, such as new Ironman Perform sports drink, for endurance athletes.
Has Ironman Perform sports drink been tested with athletes?
Yes, testing was performed throughout the product development process with members of PowerBar’s Team Elite™ sponsored athletes, including elite triathletes, for performance and taste.
Does Ironman Perform sports drink contain high fructose corn syrup?
No.
Does Ironman Perform Sports Drink have gluten containing ingredients?
Ironman Perform Sports Drink does not contain any wheat, barley, malt, rye or oat ingredients.
I noticed a staining of my plastic water bottle when using it for Ironman Perform sports drink, what is the reason for this?
The ingredient beta carotene, a highly pigmented compound naturally found in foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin, has been linked to color staining, very much like pure carrot juice can stain a drink bottle or any plastic container.
Is the plastic used in the bottle for Ironman Perform sports drink BPA free?
The Ironman Perform sports drink bottle is made of recyclable plastic, which is not made with BPA.
How do PowerBar® Endurance sports drink and Ironman Perform compare?
The key ingredients of an effective sports drink are electrolytes (particularly sodium, the key electrolyte lost in sweat), and carbohydrates. PowerBar® Endurance Sports Drink and Ironman Perform are very similar in all of these key ingredients. Both contain the same carb blend, C2MAX, which is a 2:1 glucose to fructose blend found to deliver 20–50% more energy to working muscles than glucose alone and improve endurance performance by 8%. Both offer 190 mg of sodium per 8 fl ounce serving as well.
If you are looking for a powdered alternative to Ironman Perform, PowerBar Endurance sports drink is a good choice.
How will I know how long I have after purchase to consume my Ironman Perform sports drink?
Each Ironman Perform bottle is stamped with a “best by” date.