The MTN Panorama Tour’s energy and recovery solution, brought to you by USN

Sports nutrition comes down to two basic things – performance and recovery. You can’t perform at your best if you haven’t recovered properly and this is especially important in stage races such as the Panorama Tour.

Humans only started participating in endurance sports events in the past 150 years and in great numbers only since the 1970s. In the big picture this is a tiny amount of time and there is no way the human body has been able to adapt to handle these demands on a regular diet.

And of course while you should be eating a balanced diet to ensure your body and mind function optimally on a daily basis, this is not always possible, leaving you with deficient system that can generally cope with a sedentary lifestyle, but which can become compromised when you place it under pressure to perform in a training ride or race. A stage race like the Panorama Tour is even more stressful on the body and mind.

That’s where sports nutrition plays a key role, and USN, the leader in sports nutrition, has formulated a range of endurance supplements to boost your performance and speed up your recovery.

It’s never a good idea to try out new supplements at an important event, so use the next few weeks leading up to the race to work out which supplements work best for you. Here is a general guide to the USN endurance range:

BEFORE

ENDURO SPORT

Pre-exercise carb-loader

Efficiently loads the right types of carbohydrate energy for optimal performance. Also contains electrolytes and antioxidants. Most effective when used in the final few days before an important race; and daily during a stage race.

CRAMP BLOCK

Cramp and lactic-acid buffer

Loads the body with electrolytes to help reduce muscle pain and cramping during training and racing. Most effect as a daily supplement in the days leading up to a race and during a stage race.

VO2 MAX

Oxygen and energy booster

Loads the body with essential phosphates to help boost oxygen efficiency in red blood cells. Also dilates the bronchial passages for easier breathing and helps reduce lactic acid-induced muscle burn.

 

DURING

CYCTOPOWER HP

High-performance energy drink

Supplies fast-acting carbohydrate energy to fuel muscles and maintain blood sugar levels during training and races. Also helps improve concentration, delay fatigue and replenish electrolyte stores.

 

VOOMA GELS

Instant energy-boosting gels

Conveniently supplies a fast-acting energy boost in the form of short- and long-chain carbohydrates and helps prevent dehydration and muscle cramping. Available in five tasty flavours (two with caffeine).

CYTOGEL

Specifically formulated to supply a rapid caffeine-loaded energy boost for very high intensity or very long duration events. Also helps prevents dehydration and muscle cramping. Available in two flavours.

 

AFTER

RECOVER MAX

Rapid recovery drink

Quickly replenishes a depleted system with a blend of high quality carbohydrates and proteins. Also replaces amino acids and electrolytes to minimise dehydration and speed up full-body recovery.

PURE GLUTAMINE

Optimal recovery supplement

Supplies pure premium-grade L-Glutamine to weary muscles. L-Glutamine is the body’s most essential amino acid and supplementation significantly speeds up recovery and improves muscle conditioning.

EPIC PRO ALL-IN-ONE

Ultra endurance energy & recovery formula

A premium, unique energy and recovery drink that promotes extremely rapid electrolyte, glycogen and amino acid replacement. Significantly speeds up full body recovery, which starts while you are riding! For stage races, use as an energy and recovery drink - to be consumed before, during and afterwards for optimal results.

For more detailed information on these products, visit www.usn.co.za and click on Endurance & Recovery under the ‘Products’ tab.

 

The choice of champions

USN is the choice sports nutrition brand of Burry Stander, the Under-23 mountain bike world champion, who recently finished 3^rd overall at the Giro del Capo road stage race and 2^nd overall at the Absa Cape Epic; and Team Medscheme, South Africa’s top professional road team, which won the 2010 Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour. Click here to see more on which USN products they use and recommend.