Eichel + Red Bull

[bcsaberks]

My take if you need an energy drink ,Monster/red bull etc either you're not getting enough sleep or your diet is lacking some basic nutrients. I'm 50 and I've never needed a boost. The kids now days live for this shite. Its all programming . Red Bull did it smart through their adrenalin sports ads. Sucked them right in. I do wish I had invested in Monster early though.

This thread has turned into My Caffeine Testimony, pretty damn funny, but this is more of the discussion I was after.  I think science's take is now "if you aren't using caffeine with sports, you are leaving money on the table" so to speak.  It's not just about being more alert/awake, muscles show less fatigue and stuff.  WADA has limits, and there's probably some questionable studies funded by the industry, but I think Eichel publicly slugging that red bull was a moment.

[LastPommerFan]

That's...genius.

 

 

Seriously! I've been doing it all wrong.

 

 

Another sweet caffeine hack I've learned is in the late afternoon, when I get to that circadian low where I feel like I could totally fall asleep. If I have a bunch of stuff to get done that evening, I make a coffee, cool it down with milk or ice, and just chug it. I then immediately lie down for a 20 minute nap. When I wake up, I'm like superman.

This thread has turned into My Caffeine Testimony, pretty damn funny, but this is more of the discussion I was after.  I think science's take is now "if you aren't using caffeine with sports, you are leaving money on the table" so to speak.  It's not just about being more alert/awake, muscles show less fatigue and stuff.  WADA has limits, and there's probably some questionable studies funded by the industry, but I think Eichel publicly slugging that red bull was a moment.

 

Marathons give out 2 kinds of calorie gel at the feeding stations, one of them has caffeine. My coach referred to it as the legal PED.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Whiskey Bottle of Emotion

[darksabre]

I'm a 2/3 pot of coffee a day guy

 

Grind my own bean every morning... I find a hot cup of coffee in the morning to be truly euphoric.... I would not even think about living with out it.

Same here. I just enjoy that first cup too darn much. Good coffee is just one of those comforting things in life for me.

 

I don't drink as much on the weekends as I do during the week. But I drink nicer stuff on the weekends.

[chileanseabass]

I think I've probably had 2-3 sips of coffee in my whole life.... nasty.  As for tea, maybe two cups in 35 years.  Can't stand that either.

[SDS]

I've had about 4 sips of coffee in my 30 years. Never made it past a single sip. Awful! Truly awful!

 

I drink about 6 cups of tea per year. Maybe 2 sodas per month. And about 8 bottles of water per day.

 

Pretty much everyone I work with lives on energy drinks. Red Bull, NOS, Monster, 5 hour. I don't get it.

 

Yep. I don't drink that much water simply because I don't want to piss my pants all day, but the rest is true for me as well... If coffee tasted so good why do people dump so much sugar and other into it?

[Thwomp!]

Don't drink coffee.  Did for awhile, but then all of a sudden even small amounts would make me feel jittery and nauseous.  Now I can't even really stand the smell of it.

 

I do tend to drink too much soda (diet mt dew!) and I've gotten into those Crystal Light packets mixed with water (which now come with caffeine in them!), and the Mio stuff with caffeine.  I have about an average of one energy drink per month and generally drink them only when driving long distances.  

 

Basically I do seem to need caffeine, but can't handle/stomach coffee so I find other means.

[MattPie]

My feelings on tea are about the same as yours on coffee. Taste buds are weird. 

 

As to the other stuff, I haven't had a pop in years and years, totally cut it out of my diet. And energy drinks are also terrible, no clue how people stomach those things.

 

But coffee? Ben Franklin has been quoted as saying that beer is how we know God wants us to be happy. I respectfully disagree with Mr. Franklin...coffee is how we know.

 

If I had only ever had black tea from tea bags, I might agree with you. I was a defacto tea drinker after I gave up soda because coffee makes my stomach angry (cold, hot, weak, strong, all the same). Once I started started drinking green and white teas, and using loose tea instead of bags it was a revelation. I'll drink "standard" tea (Lipton, etc.) when I'm out or whatever, but it doesn't hold a candle to the good stuff. Think pizza hut wings vs. any place in Buffalo.

 

Anyone else catch NBCSN show Eichel swigging Red Bull in locker room pre-game on Tues?  

 

Now, that stuff is way to sweet for me personally, but I find it interesting he's taking caffeine before games. Plenty of studies say caffeine is beneficial to sports performance, though typically it's endurance related, not sprint.  My personal experience with coffee + bike is very good.  And as a parent of 2 teenagers in youth sports, I've recently considered encouraging them to use it for games/meets via their liquid of choice (energy drink, mt dew, iced coffee (no dairy)).  On the other hand, given the anti-caffeine environment around youth, it seems a bit taboo.

 

Curious if this is generational, and if sports science is now pretty clear, fire it up for all sports.  Gotta assume Eichel has good (the best?) nutritional consult around him...

 

I think I understand what you mean there, but I found it funny. "Caffeine, chemicals, corn syrup, all good. Milk? NFW for my kids!!" (No judgement, I'll have an energy drink or two when driving late at night and drink a ton of tea)

[TrueBlueGED]

Yep. I don't drink that much water simply because I don't want to piss my pants all day, but the rest is true for me as well... If coffee tasted so good why do people dump so much sugar and other ###### into it?

Why put seasoning and condiments on food? Even that which is naturally great can be improved upon!

[inkman]

Since my son was born, I've pretty much been sleep deprived every waking moment.  I average 6 hours of sleep but wake up at least 3 times a night, so maybe 3-4 quality hours.  If I didn't drink my 20 ounces of coffee in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon, I'm nodding off all day.  Also, don't talk to me before I have finished my morning coffee.  I will ###### kill you. 

Edited November 13, 2015 by inkman

[DirtDart]

Then you have unnecessarily denied yourself. I mean how does anyone born after 1960 not see a Bond film?

I have seen them. absolutley can't stand watching a Bond film, let alone anything withing the last 15 years. Edited November 13, 2015 by DirtDart

[josie]

 

Did you go through any withdrawal symptoms? I ask because if I don't get a half pot of coffee in the morning and the early evening I get a headache, and I've never consumed nearly as much as you did.

I definitely did. I still do, if I don't get that one cup every day. Crazy headache, sick stomach, shaky. Definitely a dependence. Coming off that much caffeine wasn't easy, it was a gradual decrease. 

 

I have two addictions in life – my wife and my phone. Not necessarily in that order…

Awwww

 

 

I always drink my coffee black. Even when I was consuming that much, it was almost always black, with espresso. I brushed my teeth constantly like a maniac to avoid horrid coffee breath, but it was still hell on my gums/enamel. Do not recommend. I think there's a reason all my artwork from that time was kinda messy... my hands shook too much to paint a straight line! 

 

I can't drink Red Bull anymore. I get physically ill about halfway through a small can of it. My cardiologist said I might as well just mainline some drugs next time rather than go back to the amount of caffeine I was putting in my system. 

[biodork]

once drank 15 wodka / red bull, my hart went into overdrive lol :D

 

Drunk as hell and couldn't sleep, since then I quit drinking that stuff.  Also don't like the smell of it.

Blech... did Red Bull and vodka one night only when at a Comedy Club because I was tired but still wanted a drink.  Never again... that night did not end well for me.  And agreed that the smell is horrid!

 

Another sweet caffeine hack I've learned is in the late afternoon, when I get to that circadian low where I feel like I could totally fall asleep. If I have a bunch of stuff to get done that evening, I make a coffee, cool it down with milk or ice, and just chug it. I then immediately lie down for a 20 minute nap. When I wake up, I'm like superman.

 

Marathons give out 2 kinds of calorie gel at the feeding stations, one of them has caffeine. My coach referred to it as the legal PED.

I've heard of the coffee nap hack, but only tried it once or twice myself.  I usually get home too late in the evening to do it unless I know I'm pulling an all-nighter.

[North Buffalo]

Yep. I don't drink that much water simply because I don't want to piss my pants all day, but the rest is true for me as well... If coffee tasted so good why do people dump so much sugar and other ###### into it?

Depends on the coffee, some of it crap, DD and most diner coffee is little more than colored water, I recommend Pete's Sumatra, and my favorite is Fog Buster by Pierce Bros a sweet Dark roast but not bitter. PS I drink it black if it is any good. Starbucks often is too burnt, but Pike's place not bad imo

[pi2000]

Gave my 11-y/o son a red bull before his peewee game Sunday.   I told him Jack Eichel drinks it before games.    He played his best game of the season, he was flying up and down the ice.     That said, I did not give my 9 y/o an energy drink before his 7am game, and he was terribly sluggish (maybe i should've spiked his water bottle?).   

 

Back in the early 90's when I played in college, energy drinks weren't a thing.    We were just naturally jacked up for games, it didn't seem like we needed any extra boost.    Some guys drank coffee a few hours before, but that was it.   Even at the pro-level (I played one season in Florida), it wasn't a thing.  

 

When I moved to California and transitioned from hockey to triathlon, I did use plenty of caffeine enhanced energy gels, and that did make a difference, although once you start taking them, you need to keep up the intake so you don't crash.   It worked well for shorter sprint/olympic distance races, but there was less of a benefit when doing the ironman distance events.    There's also some studies that show too much caffeine can dehydrate your body leading to cramping and so forth, so it was important to monitor electrolyte intake (salt tablets, etc..) as well.    

 

These days if I have caffeine after noon, I'll have trouble fall asleep so I stick to decaf or half-calf for the most part.