WASHINGTON, February 13, 2012 - Money is pouring into fitness and training industries at a higher rate then ever before. Athletes are spending tens of millions of dollars annually on the latest gear, shoes, conditioning, and training programs, all touting the latest trends and geared towards enhanced results.
Despite all the enhanced technology and focus, the hype generally excludes the core component of fitness and performance, our fuel! Nutritional products promising ‘cutting edge’ and high quality are actually pumped full of cheap sugars, artificial sweeteners, additives, synthetic nutrients, and highly processed ingredients.
This dilemma attracted the attention of vegan triathlete and Vega founder Brendan Brazier. Brazier found that most athletes, even top/professional athletes, were not reaching their full potential due to the shortcomings in sports nutrition. Most athletes were performing in spite of their diet, not because of a dietary advantage.
To correct this deficiency, Brazier developed the vision of Vega sport: A whole-foods based, three tiered performance nutrition system using synergistic ingredients to optimize nutrition and results from each product.
3 Stages- 3 Solutions
Athletes break event preparation into 3 stages: Pre-activity, during the activity, and post event.
Nutrition also requires three stages.
Vega sport breaks their line into 3 categories to aid each stage of the athletic process.
Pick your sport, pick your fuel
Prepare:
Pre-Work out Energizer: This is a powder that mixes in water to make a sports drink. This product is formulated to get athletes prepped, focused and energetically ready for a work out. It is balanced to provide both instant and slower burning fuel/carbohydrates. This allows for an immediate boost in conjunction with a lower glycemic carb source, ensuring there is no spike or crash in energy.
It also provides a caffeine boost with yerba mate and green tea sources. Those with a caffeine sensitivity may find these sources much smoother than other sources, providing an overall feeling of well-being. Sources such as guarana and kola nut can lead to jitters and nervousness.
Sustain:
Electrolyte hydrator: This is a zero calorie sports drink mix that athletes drop in a bottle of water to sip during a work out. It is designed to replenish electrolytes and minerals expended through sweat and it also aids in enhancing metabolism and keeping the body alkaline. This is an excellent alternative to Gatorade and other conventional sports drinks, and you can adjust the water to mix ratio for personal preferences on sweetness and taste.
Endurance Bar: This bar provides easy energy during a workout or on the go. They are on the “lighter” side so they don’t weigh you down mid-workout like other bars tend to do. They have an ample amount of protein for an endurance bar, and sport some spiffy superfood ingredients such as inchi seeds, quinoa, chia seeds, and acai powder.
Endurance Gel: An all natural energy gel/goo made with whole food ingredients formulated for on the run/mid workout digestion. The gel contains coconut oil, the only gel on the market with this ingredient, which is an excellent source of instant non-carbohydrate energy. These are flavored well, but again are a bit on the sweet side, with a comparable taste to other gels on the market, but considerable better quality.
Recovery
Performance protein: Protein powders are a cornerstone to any athletes arsenal. Vega Sports protein powder is a multi-sourced, high quality plant based protein blend that can fit the need of any athlete.
The powder contains 5,000 mg of Glutamine and the product on the whole is formulated to: Improve strength • Repair and build muscles • Aid in reducing recovery time between workouts.
The flavors are rich and all formulated well-choice of flavors can depend on if you plan to blend with other ingredients.
This product can be used any time you make protein shakes as a meal replacement.
Protein Bar: This recovery protein bar is similar to the endurance bars, but almost double the protein and chock full of omega 3 fatty acids. It is a great snack or meal replacement in a pinch.
Recovery accelerator: This is the product I found most exciting. An all plant based recovery drink based on 23 high grade ingredients like ginseng, maca, glucosamine and L-arginine. The recovery accelerator combines the essential ingredients to reduce inflammation, muscle soreness and joint pain, and reduce the recovery time between training and supporting immune system optimization.
This is designed to take about 20 minutes after a workout.
It’s a little heavier then the other mixes due to the ingredients, but mixes in with water and has a pleasant taste. It is an excellent product when you are frequently training and need to minimize recovery time.
Summary: These products are not designed to replace all food. Athletes need to eat proper whole foods, train hard, drink plenty of water, and get proper rest to obtain results. These products are great supplements to help fill in the gaps, boost our performance during activity, and give us balanced, nutritious meal replacements when we don’t have time to properly prepare. Those are the times that can make or break our performance and results. That is why these types of products are so important.
The Vega Sport products are a bit more pricey then their average conventional counterparts, although not by much. The superior ingredients and benefits well outweigh the extra cost, however, so consider it an investment in your body and health. If we take ourselves and our training serious, then we need to also consider everything we are putting into our bodies. These products were designed for this in mind.
The Vega Sport line is now being carried by Whole Foods, and various other health food stores. For a Store Finder, click here - or check out the Vega Sport website for more details on the products and ordering details.
Related Omkara World story: Vegan triathlete Brendan Brazier opens Thrives Foods Direct meal service
Adam is a Reiki Master, certified Health and Lifestyle counselor, Intrinsic Coach, Licensed Massage Therapist, 20 year practicing bramana initiated Bhakti Yogi, Spiritual advisor, visionary, jock and veteran of the “hardcore punk scene” all rolled into one. His clients have included celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, and professional sport team owners. Adam is the founder of Omkara World and produced the mind/body fitness DVD “Intelligent Fitness.”
Click Here for Adams Latest Project: Got OM?
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