caffiene

[foilgal22]

help me please! i am as some people call it "not a true fencer" i have to drink a can or 2.... of code red mountain dew before i fence otherwise i do horrible. i tried once and went 1 of 6 which i have never done b4 and then when i try to drink a little i can't stop drinking it. ne ideas? please help!

[Iwant2bafencer]

I was hooked on Reg. Mountain Dew a couple of years ago. To get off of it I tried to drink a rootbeer or a sprite in its place. Kind of tricks the body in saying look it's caffine when it's not. Or I'll have a Dr. Pepper every now and then, and just slowly weened off that way.

[AndrewH]

Easy, all you need is BAWLS!

Although, I would recommend not drinking soda at all before fencing because the carbonation/sugar can really upset your stomach when you start moving.

Also, caffeine is a banned substance. (In large amounts, yes, but Code Red is notorious for having lots).

Conclusion: Try to get out of the habit, but in the meantime, pick up a case o' BAWLS:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/drinks/2818/

[AndrewH]

Originally posted by Iwant2bafencer
I was hooked on Reg. Mountain Dew a couple of years ago. To get off of it I tried to drink a rootbeer or a sprite in its place. Kind of tricks the body in saying look it's caffine when it's not. Or I'll have a Dr. Pepper every now and then, and just slowly weened off that way.

Dr. Pepper is caffeinated. And if you're drinking Barq's rootbeer, that's caffeinated too.

[Tireur]

Although, I would recommend not drinking soda at all before fencing because the carbonation/sugar can really upset your stomach when you start moving.

Must have a weak stomach..........

[DHCJr]

Sunkist Orange is also caffinated and even the UnCola 7-Up has a caffinated 7-up.

[Kodiak Kid]

I tried drinking a highly marketed energy drink (Red Bull?) just before starting DE's one time. It was fine. Got a pretty good buzz too. Only problem was... I couldn't turn it off!!! I lost my second bout and was still zooming around the room for the next hour. I stick to water these days. Much more predictable.

[frenzl]

jolt has most caffine but regular MD - i think- tastes best

also remember that these will dehydrate you so drink some water too

[Haze]

sorry a bit off topic I guess.

they didnt sell mountain dew in the UK for very long - at least, I havent seen it for quite a few years.

I found out the other day how you feel after you drink too many apple VK's though. (for someone with my size and usual alcohol intake, too many is 5)

those that dont know, VK (vodka kick) is an alcopop, vodka ~5% combined with lots of caffiene and sugar (and warnings on the back that it is not suitable for diabetics and those sensitive to caffiene). All the things my body doesnt like me taking in, and all in the same bottle.

Result = drunkeness, asthma symptoms, heart beat so fast and hard you feel really tense and ill, hard to describe. Then I drank some water. Then some more water. Water good. Caffiene bad.

(though the nice "we dont serve tapwater here" people help lots with that one)


Aside from these little, er, discrepancies, I tend to try and avoid things containing large amounts of sugar or caffiene (though not doing so well at the moment, stupid degree).

[foilgal22]

thanxs so much for the help, i think i'll try more powerade or gatorade before going to water though. though one compitetion i had 7 cans of code red and won it, lol. i have a competition this weekend i'll have a different drink, can't wait to c if it works, thanxs again all u great fencers.

[Thomas]

Easy, all you need is BAWLS!

BAWLS is the shiznet.

[npkeith]

No, no, no. If you want a caffienated soda to take to fencing tournaments, there can be only one:

Whoopass

Come on! You can now tell someone you are going to open a can of whoopass on them and mean it.

[The0ne]

stick to gatorade, it's a lot better for you!

[Tireur]

stick to gatorade, it's a lot better for you!

Might as well drink sea water, that's what it tastes like.

[Black Jeebus]

I drink Propel the "fitness water" by Gatorade. I don't have a problem with energy, I have a problem with staying hydrated.

[Tireur]

I drink Propel the "fitness water" by Gatorade. I don't have a problem with energy, I have a problem with staying hydrated.

Won't just "water" take care of that? Does it have to be "designer" water.......

[MyraTrue]

Propel isn't water. *shrug*

I will haul along a bottle of powerade or the likes, but I tend to drink more water than anything else.

I actually had a cup of coffee before a tournament once, when I was utterly exhausted. It was not good the second time around (But then again, I'm one of those fencers who gets nervous and gets nauseated, which is a BAD thing mixed with no tollerance to caffeine: WEEEE!!!)

Getting off of caffeinated soda is a toughie. I think I most agree with the others who said try a non-caffeinated soda, so you can at least "pretend" its the same thing. But believe me, your body won't believe you. But it might help you cut back until you can drop it (or just cut back- nothing wrong with some caffeine). Watch out for the caffeine headaches tho.

[Soldier]

Originally posted by The0ne
stick to gatorade, it's a lot better for you!

Gatorade and Powerade are horrible. All those "essential electrolytes" and what-not that they advertise are basically just heavy doses of sodium, which is why it tastes like seawater. The two main things your body needs in athletic situations are sodium and potassium - they keep your nerve cells working. However, we get plenty of sodium in our diets already, and the aforementioned drinks really don't have much potassium.

I personally like Fruit(subscript)2 0's, by Dannon. They're just water, with a tiny bit of flavoring to them. Very good stuff, especially when you can't stand the taste of water.

And yes, it does have a taste.

[AndrewH]

Originally posted by MyraTrue
I actually had a cup of coffee before a tournament once, when I was utterly exhausted. It was not good the second time around (But then again, I'm one of those fencers who gets nervous and gets nauseated, which is a BAD thing mixed with no tollerance to caffeine: WEEEE!!!)

Coffee is also a diuretic (sp?) i.e. it makes you want to go to the bathroom- and that liquid is coming from somewhere. In the end coffee will actually dehydrate you.

And about the whole gatorade/electrolye thing... yes, we do get plenty of sodium on a day-to-day basis. But during intense athletic activity where you're sweating a lot, you are losing a lot of sodium through sweat. Too little sodium and you go into a certain type of shock, the name of which I forget right now. Not to say that if you don't drink gatorade, you'll pass out. But the sodium intake is definetly needed when you're having a long day of fencing.

Also, gatorade has (simple) sugars which speed up the Krebs cycle, producing more ATP. ATP is energy incarnate, it's what fuels your cells.

But if any of you are Bio majors out there, feel free to correct me on any of this. Just my understanding of things.

[Haze]

Originally posted by Soldier
...and the aforementioned drinks really don't have much potassium.

This brings me back to a previous topic related to long, non-cylindrical yellow fruit...