What’s the Goo (Or Best Energy Bar) for You?
Gear Patrol Gets Powered Up
(5)
By Gear Patrol Reader Kirk Ward
When walking into your favorite running, biking, or sporting goods store, you’re usually confronted with a variety of powders, gels, bars, etc. that promise to make you RUN FASTER, GO FURTHER, LIFT A SMALL AIRPLANE, CLIMB MT. EVEREST (cue Powerthirst YouTube clip). The claims can get confusing, so we’re here to break down what’s best based on the type of activity you’re into and when you should injest your chosen enhancer.
If any of you are like me, you can’t eat much before a race for fear of inducing a dreaded side-stitch cramp. For those of you lucky enough not to deal with this, I envy you. To help make sure your body has enough energy for your race without loading up your stomach, look into taking one the following before the beginning of your race or activity.
Hit the jump for my recommendations and to add your own.
GU Energy Gel
GU Energy Gel packets are small and easily portable, containing a 100-calorie shot of electrolytes and caffeine to help give you a boost before you start physial activity. Taken 15 minutes before the gun, GU will give you the extra pep to start out on the right foot. You can visit GU’s website to understand the intricacies of how GU helps, but the bottom line is that it’s 100 calories made up of carbs, natural fructose, and caffeine, so it won’t sit on your stomach while you’re on the move. Be forewarned, they are a little thick, sporting a consistency between liquid and pudding. For the more hardcore, GU has recently come out with Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel.
When to take: Before activity, During activity
Favorite Flavors: Lemon Sublime, Chocolate Outrage
PowerBar PERFORMANCE Bar
We’ll get this out of the way early on, yes the consistency of Powerbar’s namesake leaves a lot to be desired, but they get the job done. As mentioned previously, sticking with around 100 calories will help to avoid side-stitches from digestion complications, especially if you’re going to be running. To do this with a Powerbar, you should only plan on eating about half of it as the entire bar will give you 240 calories.
When to take: Before activity
Favorite Flavors: Chocolate, Honey Roasted Nut
Cost: $15 per box (12 Bars per Box)
CLIF SHOT BLOKS & PowerBar GEL BLASTS
These are products are very similar in shape, benefit, and size so it’s fair to review them together. The basic appeal here is that these are small, jelly-like tablets are easy to pop in while you’re riding your bike or dodging fellow runners.
CLIF BLOKS come in packs of three for a total of 100 calories (30 per BLOK). I have found that they can become sticky and clumped together if left in the heat (like locked inside your blazing car) or out of their packaging for too long. If you are going to take these with you on a ride, try to leave them in their package until you are ready to eat.
PowerBar GEL BLASTS come in packs of six for a total of 130 calories (about 20 per GEL BLAST). As the GEL BLASTS have a liquid center and a are coated with a soft outer shell, they do not become sticky if they are out of their packaging which makes it easier to have them ready to pop in while on a bike.
CLIF provides a wider range of flavors, while PowerBar sticks with two.
When to take: During activity
Favorite Flavors: Lemon (PowerBar), Mountain Berry (CLIF)
Cost: Clif Shot Bloks $30 for 18 pack, Gel Blasts $19 for 18 pack
PowerBar ENERGIZE Bar
One place that the PowerBar ENERGIZE bar differs from their PERFORMANCE bar is the consistency. Softer and easier to chew, the ENERGIZE bars are aimed more toward light, fruit tastes and mimic the consistency of a “solid smoothie,” as seen through the three flavors available. A good use for these is on a long bike ride, where you can take a big bite and let it sit in your cheek, leeching off of it for extended periods of time while replenishing your energy stores.
When to take: During activity
Favorite Flavors: Berry Blast Fruit Smoothie
Cost: $16 for 12 bars
ACCELERADE Powder
You may think that ACCELERADE is built just like the other sports drinks, and that if you’ve had one you’ve had them all. That’s where you’re wrong. ACCELERADE is a sports drink, but it’s built for both endurance and recovery by supplying you with a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Do you know how much protein those other sports drinks have? None. Getting adequate protein back into your body after a long run or ride will help you to maintain or replenish muscle that may have been lost.
When to take: During activity, After activity
Favorite Flavors: Fruit Punch, Lemonade
Cost: $30 for 4lbs
CLIF Bar
I’m not going to lie to you about CLIF Bars; I just think they taste good. Whenever hungry after a run, bike, game, whatever, I’m hopeful that I’ve packed a CLIF to munch on. The flavors are great and diverse while the bars are big enough to tide you over for a while. With a solid 240 calories and 9g of protein, you’ll definitely feel like you’ve got something on your stomach after polishing one off.
When to take: After activity
Favorite Flavors: They’re all good, but the best are Blueberry Crisp, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut and White Chocolate Macadamia.
Cost: $31 for 24 bars
WATER
Agua. H20. Whatever the name you want to give it, water is the most important part to your preparations (and maintenance, and recovery). Make sure to load up on water throughout the day and you’ll never get to the dreaded point of dehydration. While sports drinks and energy packs can help as a supplement, water is Mother Nature’s way to keep you moving.
We’d love to know what you do to power up. Leave us a comment.
Kirk Ward has commented on at least one post (outside of contests), submitted several articles, and follows @gearpatrol on Twitter, and/or one of the crew members. He is also one of our biggest advocates, telling his friends about the site all the time.
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Great run down, Kirk. You are the reigning master of user submissions. I'm looking for someone to challenge you.
More to the subject, I'm a big fan of CLIF Shots. They are all natural and 90% organic; also, they have a slightly firmer texture than many other gels. That may or may not be a good thing for you.
I also like how original PowerBar gels offer you a variety of caffeine levels, I think ranging from 0 to 4x. Good for customizing your initial jolt.
I actually just had a CLIF shot yesterday when I got to the gym and didn't have anything in my bag, Strawberry flavor is highly recommended.
The CLIF bar definitely tastes the best out of all of them. I took a bunch
of these to Africa with me and the locals loved them!
I personally prefer Odwalla bars. They're the best tasting thing I've found are are pretty healthy and organic.
Be careful with the solid stuff such as Bloks if you have any crowns in your mouth. At a recent 50k I took in some Bloks at mile 21 and pulled out one of my gold crowns. Couldn't get it back on and ended up having to get a new one to the tune of $1,000.
Be careful with the solid stuff such as Bloks if you have any crowns in your mouth. At a recent 50k I took in some Bloks at mile 21 and pulled out one of my gold crowns. Couldn't get it back on and ended up having to get a new one to the tune of $1,000.
Thanks, that's great to know. Only chewing them on the left side of my mouth from now on….
Wow, good to know.
Ever tried Forze GPS? Weight management/appetite control bar brought to market by the Accelerade/Endurox guys specifically for endurance athletes. Shoot me an e-mail if you want to test them out.
Jennifer - I haven't seen them at the store but would definitely like to try some. Shoot me an e-mail at kirk.ward@gmail.com
mad bonus points for referencing powerthirst! good run down on the bars kirk!
Clif bars don’t look very appetizing, but they taste great.
I like Crank Gels myself. They are 200 calories and they are more liquid. I find them easier to digest in the heat. Second choice Accelerade chocolate. Prefer Gel Blast over Sport Beans because they remind me of Jujubees. All I need is a movie screen to throw them at.
Don't discount the kids version of the Clif's Z Bar which is marketed to kids. They taste great, are little lighter and less calories. Perfect for a light workout day.
David, funny that you mention those. A few months back, my wife picked up a box of those by accident. I think I enjoyed them, in the capacity that you described, just as much as my 2 year old did just eating them.
Great article Kirk!
Eating before lifting or other strenuous exercise is absolutely crucial. I actually didn't get to eat much yesterday during the day, and I was going to do a strenuous Olympic lifting workout. I was worried I wouldn't have enough energy to get through the exercises, so I stopped and grabbed a Powerbar Harvest (http://www.powerbar.com/products/9/POWERBAR_HARVE... The taste was actually pretty good, and despite feeling lightheaded before eating it, I felt pretty great afterward and made it through my routine without collapsing, always a plus!
Keep putting out great content.
-Steve
Hi Kirk,
I did find out some thing new in this articale (the info on accelerade) but was dissapointed with te rest of the article. It left me wondering how much you are getting paid from the big two. you did not talk about any of the other great bars out their at all .
Bubba -
I actually am not getting paid by anyone (unfortunately) and that's probably why the article is somewhat slanted. I was only able to base my review off of the bars/gels that I've used and as you see above in the comments, I'm open to trying new bars like the Forze GPS. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for bars.
Bubba, none of the GP writers, or guest writers, are paid for their posts. They're written of their own experience and encounters with products. We carefully vet that out before anything is published. I hunt down any non-demarcated paid placements with fervor. Thanks for the accountability though.
Kirk is a long time reader and community member of GP so I'm entirely sure he drinks the GP kool-aid (read: real world reviews by real men).
Agreed with Eric. Moreover, I just wanted to chime in and say that we'd love to hear about the "other bars" you are referring to. Our reviews come out of our own experience, which can't always cover every single product out there. That's why we always invite readers to chime in via the comments with their own product experiences. We need you guys to fill us in on what we are missing. So bring it!