Powerbar Alternatives

[Les Snyder]

this might be slightly off topic for the forum, but since it happened at Kyle's match...

anybody care to share what kind of snacks you use to keep your energy up for a 12 hour match like the NC 3gun.....I ended up the one shooting the rifle stage at 8pm and sure could have used a little boost for my vision.... we had a soft sided cooler on the cart filled with GatorAid and water along with the CamelBak... tried a couple of PowerBars..... the bars turned to goo once they came out of the cooler, and were a pain to consume between setting and pasting. I usually eat peanut butter crackers down here, but tried the PowerBar for the first time ... a couple of guys on the squad were eating FigNewton type bars, but would like to stay away from the sugar... get enough with the Gatoraid..... we have a pistol match tomorrow and will give good ole trail mix a trial... I try not to eat range food until after shooting, but a 12 hour match is a little unique... any help is greatly appreciated

regards Les

[twix]

Les,

I was burnt up today after only two stages in the heat (RO'ing and shooting). Big Dave gave me some "Goo". I squeezed it straight into my mouth from what looked like an over-sized ketchup packet. Didn't taste bad, wasn't messy and definitely gave me a boost.

PS I am a middle-aged and overweight, not a highly tuned instrument of "A" zone destruction.

Tom Bergman

[George]

The best results I have had at grueling matches to date have been had by eating a good cereal with maybe some yogurt and/or a piece of fruit for breakfast. Then during the shooting day I confine my food intake to eating up to a half dozen banannas as the day goes on and a peanut butter jelly sandwich for lunch that I make in my hotel room. I have also found that a red bull & a candy bar about 5-10 minutes before a stage will pump me up at the end of a long day. If you do it too soon before a stage you can get the shakes as the sugars burn off, but the red bull sugar upswing if used properly will always get you up & moving fast for a stage when the funk has set in. I usually stay away from all range food, meat & other heavy or spicy stuff untill after I have finished the shooting day. I like a steak or other meat protein heavy dinner before a match. It helps me get to sleep fast after dinner in strange locations and protein loads me big time for an agressive match approach the next day (carnivores rock in the animal kingdom). I use a combination of non-cola soda's and plain water in profusion for hydration.

Regards,

[John Dunn]

Peppered beef jerky. Always picture myself as Sam Elliot or Tom Selleck when I'm eating that stuff, and the visualization probably does more for my shooting than the protein!

[Scooter]

Don't buy Powerbars. They were great when they first came out, but now there are so many other companies that produce competing products that are much better. Back about a decade ago, that was the only thing around. My favorite is Cliff bars. This had nothing to do with the fact that the cycling team I was on was sponsored by them and they gave us a lot of them for free. We did get to do some testing for them on new flavors. By far Cliff bars taste the most like normal food. They have everything from carrot cake to chocolate brownie.

Gu is good stuff. Lots of sugar and lots of caffeine. Just make sure to drink water with it. They work better for shorter events.

If you have a Camelbak, you should be wearing at all times except when you are shooting. You will notice that you are constantly drinking when you have the bag on your back. If you have one of the larger Camelbak like the Mule, go buy a second bladder like the 70 oz. one. Fill that up with Gatorade or some type of energy drink. Then just alternate drinking from each bladder. If you stay hydrated, you will feel a lot better. I spent 3 days RO'ing the California Police & Fire Games in 100+ degree weather. My Camelbak was on my back the entire time. I was drinking 70 oz. every 2-3 hours. I was feeling better than some of the cops who were only out there for half a day.

[Guest Larry Cazes]

Lots of 50% H2O and 50% Gatorade constantly during the match. I confine my breakfast to some yogurt and fruit before amd make sure to have a light sandwitch for lunch for some carbs and protein.

[EricW]

A little tip about Goo, Gu, or any other "energy" product.

For Pete's sake, try it out BEFORE game day. A guy gave me a packet of Goo before a mondo swim practice once. All I can say is thank God for wetsuits, without which, I would have flat-ass drowned. That stuff wiped me out. I don't react to massive caffeine/sugar hits well. There's no way I could shoot after using that stuff. I'd just have to pack up and go home. It was that detrimental to me.

I think I remember Brian saying that he's using the Goo with good results, though.

Your mileage may vary.

[BigDave]

I'm no dietician, but getting into cycling recently has peaked my interest in endurance nutrition. From what I've read, it boils down to this: sugars and refined sugars are bad, complex carbohydrates are essential, and protein to a lesser extent. Now, the other thing I've read is your body can only store up so much carbohydrate derived energy, meaning it can get depleated rather quickly, depending on your level of activity.

Goo's/Gel's - Recently I think I've tried them all under stressed conditions. Gu, Cliff Shot and Power Gel are all on the sweet side. Contrary to what I first thought, this isn't just a sugar packet. The majority of this is complex carb's, and a bit of refined sugar, with electrolytes. There are caffinated forumla's, but those tend to make me jumpy. Now, there is another called Hammer Gel. This is the oddball of the gel group, in my opinion. It is not even close to being as sweet as the other three, because it has no refined sugars. It also seems to be the most researched and engineered. To me, it doesn't taste quite as "good" (for someone with an affinity for sweets, mind you) as the others, but I know it works as good, and perhaps a bit better. What I have noticed is that there is a bit of a slope coming down after using these products, but Hammer Gel doesn't give that effect to me.

My one experice with a major, all day match, all I had to eat during the match was a Cliff Luna Bar and one shot of Power Gel. The whole day I drank from my 100 oz CamelBak and drained it twice, which was 50% Gatorade (which is also light on the sugar, which is opposite of what I first thought, something like 5g/8oz, I think). What seems to work best for me, and worked that day is to keep as much "hard to digest, lets draw blood from my head to gut so it can process this bbq I just got from the match lunch wagon" stuff out.

These are just my observations, you milage may vary...

[Og]

Hey Les,

What I have found that works for me is the Myoplex bars (at GNC). When you combine gatorade, water and the Myoplex bars you have a pretty good combination to keep you going. If the match is long on time and short on lunch I also fill in the empty spaces with a few Fig newtons and peanut butter crackers but the Myoplex bars are the main meal. To keep you're bars from melting you can fill you're camel bak or Hydrastorm(for those who like to patronize businesses that actually support our sport) with ice water and tuck a couple or three bars down inside the insulated cover next to the bladder and this will keep them from melting.

Og

[Les Snyder]

thanks guys.... will look around and give those products a try... those that know me assure me that I need to miss a few meals...just bad karma on the timing for the long range rifle stage(Og... again thanks for the e-mail reply.... I actually bought the CamelBak from Blackhawk before they came out with HydraStorm) regards Les