DOES IT WORK? A review from Roadcycling.co.nz

PowerAMP – Rapid Hydration is about providing the ideal hypotonic electrolyte re-hydration drink.   Developed by Hayden Washington-Smith and Olly Ng their range of hypotonic sports drinks target everyone from competing in elite cycling to endurance events, triathlon to CrossFit and other high intensity events or sports in hot conditions.

So what’s the point?  Hypotonic sports drinks are popular in professional cycling circles because of their ability to rapidly hydrate the body in a way that water on its own is not able to.  Over long training rides or races, a fluid diet that consists solely of water will have benefits, but rather than rehydrate the body water serves more to slow the dehydration process.  This may be less of a problem over shorter distances, but over rides that can drag out to 4, 5 and 6+ hours more is required.

The body not only loses water but also vital electrolytes such as Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Phosphorus and it is the added losses the body suffers during exercises that PowerAMP – Rapid Hydration looks to address.  From Astaxanthin which correlates to improved endurance and recovery time, to Malic Acid that reduces muscle tenderness, to Citrate Salts which crucially increases the absorption of fluid and other electrolytes, and Multi-Component Carbohydrates which improve power performance, athlete’s running time and time to fatigue; PowerAMP had taken a vast number of factors into consideration in the development of their product.

While there are products internationally available, Hayden and Olly looked to introduce a high quality product to the New Zealand market; so how did they do?

Our experience

The PowerAMP – Rapid Hydration Pineapple flavoured drink got put through its paces down in the Manawatu where I teamed up with Stephen Stannard, Thomas Stannard and Madi-Hartley Brown to tackle the course of the 2019 Gravel and Tar Classic.  I anticipated at least 4 hours in the saddle and a very challenging day out and I wasn’t disappointed.  Check out our experience below:  – REVIEW VIDEO

Typically, with refuelling as with rehydrating I’m a bit of a purist by background.  I’m a food guy to refuel and a water guy for hydration.  But what I appreciate most about the PowerAMP is that the team there have certainly made me stop in my tracks.  It didn’t take long for me to realise that their Rapid Hydration was taking effect well.  While I would usually take two bottles of water on a long ride I simply thought that my gradually becoming worn out was a natural after-effect of a long ride and was to be expected.

When I saw that the PowerAMP – Rapid Hydration simply made a 500ml serving of drink I was a bit skeptical as to how far it would go and how beneficial it would be over the course of a whole 4 hours; where I would usually comfortably consume two full 750ml water bottles.  However, when taken in tandem with my water that I also had to hand the combination proved extremely effective.  It’s not that I felt more energised over the course of 110km, I still fatigued, but it was the rate of fatigue that slowed dramatically.  I felt more able to keep pace with the group for longer, I felt sharper for the duration of the ride and significantly . . . . I could walk quite comfortably at the end of the ride!

In terms of taste I was pleasantly surprised.  My prejudice regarding sports drinks in general meant that I was anticipating something either sickly-sweet or too salty.  Instead what I found was that the Pineapple flavoured drink provided a subtle moderate taste that complimented the ride nicely.  There’s nothing worse, after all, than an unpleasant after-taste stuck in the back of the mouth during a ride; but the PowerAMP – Rapid Hydration provided a very well balanced taste that neither tasted too dilute or overpowering.

There’s no suggestion that the PowerAMP – Hypotonic Sports Drink is there to replace good fuel and nutrition during the ride.  Taking on board food and water still went hand in hand with the PowerAMP – Hypotonic Sports Drink.  What PowerAMP have done is provide an effective nutritional partner for the long rides that is extremely beneficial and supportive.  Hats off to Hayden and Olly for developing the PowerAMP Sports range.