Gels have become indispensable in endurance sports. The concentrated load of carbohydrates has already saved many an athlete from a hunger knock. The most important tips on how and when to make the best use of gels. 

«Banana, isotonic drink, bar, gel, water!» is something you will hear the helpers at refreshment stations call out from afar. The agony of choice. Which should you take? Are you on the verge of suffering a hunger knock? Could you tolerate a banana now? An Isostar drink? Or would a gel be better? And how much should you drink with it? 

Athletes constantly worry about their nutrition during a competition. This is because if they don’t eat or drink enough, they will soon end up hitting the wall. And if their stomach is too full, they will end up suffering nausea as well as a drop in performance. The ideal nutritional intake with the best possible tolerability is literally a science in itself – because it very much depends on the individual. A practical solution emerged in America around 17 years ago: sports gels. Nowadays, they have become indispensable at competition refreshment stations all over the world. Whereas the taste of this sticky energy booster is open to dispute, one thing is clear: the carbohydrate concentrates have already helped many an athlete to achieve their best time. 

Contents: concentrated carbohydrates

All sports gels have one thing in common: they consist mainly of carbohydrates. These provide muscles with the «fuel» that they need for peak performances. If you don’t top up your carbohydrates during the load, your glycogen stores will become depleted and your performance will decrease until you face an impending hunger knock. 

1 to 2 gels per hour

The agreeable and necessary amount of carbohydrates not only depends on the individual but various factors such as the outside temperature, body weight, intensity, and duration of exertion. The Powerbar and Isostar manufacturers recommend the following amount during a competition: 1 kg body weight = 1 g carbohydrates per hour. Sponser calculates slightly more per competition hour (1.2 g × kg body weight), and Isostar slightly less (approx. 1 g x kg body weight). A 50-kg athlete would therefore need 50 to 60 g of carbohydrates per hour (1 or 1.2 g × 50). You also need to bear in mind that not only do the package sizes of the various manufacturers vary greatly (from around 35-90 g), but also the carbohydrate content of the gel (from around 20 g to 53 g). If you want to precisely calculate the timing of your carbohydrate intake, then you are well-advised to study the contents of the package. Recent studies have also shown that athletes can sometimes ingest up to more than 100 grams of carbohydrates per hour, if it comes in the right mixture of glucose and fructose. Powerbar propagates a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose, which according to nutritionists is a good and reasonable ratio, especially in competitive sports. 

Gel with water = sports drink

A gel should always be taken with water. The amount of water you need to drink with each gel depends on your tolerability. Around three to five decilitres of water per gel are recommended – which is sometimes not so easy when you have to tear open the gel sachet with one hand while holding a cup of water in the other. Many athletes already solve this problem beforehand by dissolving the gel in their water bottle, which ultimately has the same effect as a conventional sports drink.

The more ingredients, the trickier it gets

The composition of sports gels should be such that they are well tolerated, which is crucial to peak athletic performances, especially during long and intensive loads. Besides the carbohydrates, other substances are often added, which the manufacturers promise will have a positive effect, such as proteins, dietary fibre or vitamins, caffeine, magnesium, L-carnitine, and amino acids. 

The more dietary fibres and proteins contained in a gel, the slower the rise in blood sugar. This in return staggers the energy supply, which is desirable during ultra-loads. However, this too is important: the more ingredients a gel contains, the greater the risk of intolerance, whereby one substance can have a noticeable negative impact. An astonishing number of people suffer from fructose intolerance (fructose malabsorption), for example, and fructose is included in almost every gel. Therefore, the following applies: make sure you try out the gel beforehand! It is preferable to eat pure carbohydrate gels for loads of less than two hours because generating energy quickly is a priority. 

Often too little salt

Most gels contain sodium and potassium - i.e. salt - but for reasons of taste, in (too) small amounts. For loads lasting two hours or more, athletes should therefore find another way to compensate for their salt loss to avoid a drop in performance. One possible solution: salt tablets in your water bottle. 

Lasts «forever»

Gels are practically always free of preservatives. And because they are almost pure sugar mixes, they hardly ever spoil – just like honey. As long as the packaging is not damaged, you can eat a gel way past its expiration date. The only thing that could happen is the vitamins evaporate and the flavour of the protein mixtures changes.

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