Wednesday, June 30, 2010

CarboPro1200 Review

I have been trying a lot of combinations of supplements and nutritional products to determine what works best for me during my training. I thought, why not pass this knowledge onto others. So, here is my first Supplement Review.



CarboPro 1200 is an energy and electrolyte supplement to be used before and during physical activity. It is especially useful when you are doing long distance events requiring you to be active for hours at a time. I have been looking for a energy and electrolyte replacement drink that would not require me to take in a lot of fluids and would be easily digestible. I came across CarboPro 1200 and after a lot of debating, I finally decided to try it. My main concern about trying it was that it is just under $14 per bottle. Each bottle provides 6 servings. I have now used it during four 20+ mile training runs and really like it. Below are the reasons why I will use CarboPro in my next ultramarathon:

The Good

  1. 200 calories in 80ml serving. This includes 50 grams of carbohydrates, 2,400 mg of amino acids and sodium and potassium. Carrying one bottle with me provides me fuel for several hours of activity. In fact, through my first four 20+ mile training runs, I have yet to use an entire bottle.
  2. Tastes great and easily digestible. It actually tastes fine and you drink such a small amount at one time, you probably would be able to drink it even if you didn't like the taste. I much prefer it to gu or other gels as it is quick to swallow and you don't have an aftertaste left in your mouth.
  3. Since you only consume 80ml at a time, it is easier to monitor your fluid intake. I prefer to drink mostly water during long workouts, and if I start to drink sports drinks or mix energy replacement supplements with my water, I don't get the thirst quench I get with drinking straight water. This allows me to take in the majority of my fluids as water yet still keep me fueled and maintain electrolyte balance.

The Bad

  1. It's a bit on the pricey side, but I guess you get what you pay for. And if you compare it to the nutrition available in most gels, you would have to consume 12 gels to equal one bottle of CarboPro 1200, which would normally run you $12-$16.
  2. You will most likely have to stop running or whatever activity you are doing to measure out the 80ml serving, in addition to finding a way to carrying the 16oz bottle with you. I am working on a solution to carrying pre-measured "shots" so I don't have to stop running to refuel. I'll post an update once I figure this out.
Let me know if you have any specific questions about CarboPro 1200 and I will try to answer them.

Product URL

2 comments:

  1. Brian, maybe you could use the FuelBelt - each flask is 8 oz, which is about 3 servings of 80 ml. This product sound really great, good review.

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  2. Thanks Kovas.. that's a good idea. I have a FuelBelt already, so I'll give that a try and see how it works out.

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