Despite going in the wrong direction with the low-calorie G2, Gatorade is back on track with their latest addition, Gatorade Tiger.

At first I thought this new formula would make me as strong and fast as a tiger, but it’s actually named after Tiger Woods. Becoming a top pro golfer doesn’t sound bad though, so I decided to test this out…

The big change with Gatorade Tiger is that it contains 25% more electrolytes than normal. I’m all for an increase in electrolytes, but what does that have to do with golf? Do golfers even break a sweat?

A better question though, is “does the minuscule electrolyte addition make any difference?”

The sodium content in Tiger is 135 mg (vs. 110 mg in Gatorade) and the potassium is 40 mg (vs. 30 mg in Gatorade.) So that 25% increase translates to 25mg more sodium and 10mg more potassium per serving. That small increase, the slightly new flavors, and a picture of Tiger Woods is all we get with Gatorade Tiger. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s worth a shot.

Gatorade Tiger Taste Test

The Gatorade Tiger flavors consist of Quiet Storm (grape), Red Drive (cherry), and Cool Fusion (lime). While those flavors seem typical, they are slightly new and different variations on the tried and true flavors. Continue reading for the full details…

Red Drive: First of all, Red Drive smelled good and then tasted even better. It is actually a cherry/citrus blend, and it’s probably the best blended flavor I’ve ever tasted! It’s much better than the Gatorade X-factor series of blended flavors.

If I can remember correctly from my childhood, Red Drive tastes a lot like Hawaiian Punch! It’s not quite what I expected from Gatorade, but it’s good! It’s nice and sweet, you don’t notice the extra salt, and it has a clean aftertaste, too.

Quiet Storm: This seems to be a grape/citrus blend, although grape is definitely the dominant flavor. It reminds me (yes, another childhood memory) of when I would mix orange and grape Kool-Aid powders together to make an awesome flavor!

As with Red Drive, the good taste and clean aftertaste make this Gatorade’s best grape flavor. It’s a bit lighter than the regular Grape, so if you crave super strong, sweet grape flavor, stick with plain ol’ grape. But I’m certainly a fan of this.

Cool Fusion: This is a lime flavor, but it’s unlike other Gatorade lime flavors because it is key lime. It’s kind of different and a little sour, but I think I’ll still drink it occasionally. It doesn’t taste much like a key lime pie, but it does taste a lot like the key lime pie flavored yogurt.

I found this to be best for during or after a workout when your senses are heightened, because then you really get to taste the flavor. While I still prefer the lime version of Gatorade Rain, this is worth trying, especially if you want to try new flavors.

Overall I was most impressed by the cherry/citrus blend used in Red Drive, so I’ll be drinking that quite a bit this summer. Even more impressive, though, I think they figured out that the clean aftertaste of Gatorade Rain was a great idea and are applying it to all these new formulas too. At least I hope that clean aftertaste will continue to spread through the Gatorade lineup!

My final verdict is…

I like the flavors, especially Red Drive, and of course I love the clean aftertaste. I’ll be adding this into my “favorite Gatorade flavors” rotation for sure. If you are anxious to try new flavors, these are good ones!

(But I still hope Gatorade can come up with some more flavors that are actually new. I mean, how many “grape” variations can they have?)

I’ll even replace the current flavors with their Tiger counterparts, i.e. instead of drinking Fruit Punch, I’ll take Red Drive. Instead of Grape, I’ll take Quiet Storm. The new flavor and texture is worth it! And cyclists could use more electrolytes, so that makes it even better!

Official website: gatorade.com/gatoradetiger

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Here’s a fun video for your Saturday afternoon viewing pleasure. It features a young boy on a mountain bike demolishing the pro peloton in what looks like the Tour de France:

I actually saw it on TV the other night as a Gatorade commercial. Apparently the pro cyclists are just drinking water while the kid made the smart choice!

It was an intense, energy-packed test, but it was fun, and I have finally finished my FRS Healthy Energy reviews. It sure took a lot of time (and money) to get everything tested in a variety of situations, but I have finished, and all my reviews are posted.

Here are all the individual reviews if you need to get caught up:

• FRS Liquid Concentrate
• FRS Powder
• FRS Cans
• FRS Health Chews

Now I will share my final opinions and findings…

FRS… does it taste good?

I wasn’t necessarily surprised that FRS tasted pretty good, but I was surprised with the texture. Overall, FRS has more of a fruit juice taste and texture, unlike most all energy drinks. It still packed a punch, but FRS could be considered an “energy juice.”

As I mentioned in the FRS liquid concentrate review, it tastes just like orange juice. It’s exactly like if you mix up some frozen orange juice concentrate. It’s a great drink to have when you get out of bed in the morning, especially if you like orange juice.

Also very much like juice were the FRS energy drink cans. This is the weird one, because the last thing you expect from a can is juice. But once I got over the weirdness of shaking a can without worry of the carbonation, I realized the canned drinks taste great. Well, at least some of them do. The all natural lemon lime was great, and the low cal wild berry was good. The orange and low cal peach mango were alright, but the one to avoid is the low cal orange.

Overall though, the cans provide the best taste and texture.

However, would you drink juice while riding? Or even right before a ride? I wouldn’t. That’s why I’m actually happy about the powdered drink mix and its thin texture. Since you mix it in water, it has a thin, water-like consistency that reminds me of basic sports drinks like Gatorade.

The powder doesn’t mix perfectly, but it mixes pretty well, even in cold water. Of course there is still powder floating around and it looks a bit chalky, but it’s easy to drink. I have no problem chugging a glass of it before I head out the door.

Even cooler for use during a workout would be the FRS health chews. These little “chews” look like Starburst candy and taste similar, although they are even closer to Airheads (the taste and texture is exactly like Airheads bars!) The flavors match the rest of the FRS line, so they’re pretty good in their own right.

So in the end, I was happy with the taste of almost all the FRS products.

FRS… what about the energy boost?

Yes indeed, I can confirm there was a very nice energy boost.

First, let me emphasize (once again) that drinking FRS does not give you superhuman strength. And it probably won’t give you enough energy to perform an extra set of sprint intervals.

Sure, it will give you the energy to workout a little harder and a little longer. But the real benefit is the all day energy. Normally if I do a long, hard workout under the hot sun, I’m forced to spend the rest of the day on the couch. Not so with FRS. Because even if my muscles are exhausted, FRS still gives my mind that much-needed energy.

When I use FRS, I can perform a hard workout, rest for a few minutes, and then (like magic) I still have energy to get through the day. That is what impressed me the most and is the #1 reason I’d recommend this.

But to get the energy, you have to choose the right FRS product for you…

I think the liquid concentrate is a good idea in the mornings, not only because it tastes like orange juice, but because it provides a light energy boost that lasts all day. I didn’t notice an energy rush, but after using it, I never got tired during the day. (Especially if I had a couple energy chews later on during a workout.)

Drinking FRS from a can would probably be best for a time during the day when you need a boost. A can will provide plenty of energy and it’s pleasant to drink. I’d avoid it during a workout, but it would work as a post-ride beverage.

Before or during a workout, I would go with the powder. The energy boost is great, and I also think it provides more of a psychological boost because it tastes more like a typical energy drink. Plus you can easily mix it in a water bottle.

If you need another boost, go with the energy chews. They give you a quick boost - there must be a lot of energy concentrated in that little square! If you have an FRS drink before a workout and then two of these during it, you’ll be bouncing off the walls!

Really? It’s good for energy? What about recovery?

No kidding here, it was a serious energy boost, all day long.

The one thing to remember is that I’ve only used this stuff for about a month. If I keep using it every day, who knows if it will give me the same energy boost in a couple years.

In my experience, any energy drink will feel the most powerful the first two times you use it. It happened with FRS, but the subsequent uses still provided me with lots of energy. (So I think I’ll be happy for years.)

As you get used to FRS, and if it were to lose its appeal, take a little break, and come back to it. Who knows, you might miss it after just a day! I like to switch it up every once in a while anyway. Look at it this way - If I didn’t try a variety of these energy drinks, I never would have found FRS!

As for recovery benefits, I’d agree it aids recovery, too. For light to moderate workouts when I have FRS during the day, I’ll feel great the next day. If I have a super hard day, multiple hard days in a row, and/or lots of stress, I’ll end up pretty sore still. But a day of rest and more FRS usually has me back on track.

FRS… is it actually healthy?

I was getting energy and other benefits, for sure. But is it worth going with FRS for the energy if it’s not healthy?

Luckily I don’t have to choose, because the all natural FRS offers the best of both worlds. FRS is packed with quercetin, catechins, green tea extract, fruit juice, B vitamins, minerals, and other goodies.

One minor drawback is that FRS contains caffeine. It doesn’t contain much (usually equivalent to 1/3 cup coffee,) but I know some people who can’t have caffeine at all, so they’ll miss out on FRS. The added caffeine is there as a metabolic enhancer to aid in absorption of the other key nutrients in FRS, which sounds like a good reason, but something I might research some more.

(I thought with all the green tea already in there, why do they need the extra caffeine added in?)

But the one thing that does concern me is the use of the artificial sweetener sucralose. I try to avoid any artificial sweeteners, as they are chemicals and not sugars, so I prefer the all natural FRS formulas over the low-calorie ones. Although I’m in the small percentage of the population that will take the sugar and extra calories with joy!

My final plan for FRS is…

If you are looking for something to drink every day to improve your health and provide all-day energy, start your day with a glass of FRS orange concentrate. It gives you a subtle but long-lasting energy boost and it tastes like orange juice. That’s what I’ll be doing each day.

If you want a big energy boost from something that tastes like an energy drink, go with the FRS powder (I’d go with lemon-lime.) While the FRS concentrate and cans taste more like juice, the powder will make a drink that still tastes good but doesn’t have that thick consistency like juice.

Want to avoid mixing anything? Get FRS straight out of the cans - the FRS cans offer good taste without the hassle, and they are available in a wider array of flavors.

Want to skip the juice altogether? Try the FRS energy chews, which are like little pieces of ‘energy candy’ that work great to fuel your bike rides, runs, and other workouts.

My own personal plan to get the most energy on a budget is this: drink a glass of liquid concentrate each morning, which gets me all day energy for $1.25 per serving. Then I’ll have a bag of the chews around for special occasions like big rides and important races.

Hopefully my reviews have helped you figure this out, but even better, you could try everything for yourself if you sign-up for the FRS free trial:

Free Trial link: www.healthyenergy.com/tryfree

BPA (short for “bisphenol A”) is in the news once again, with more and more studies showing the possible side effects of BPA consumption, which happens when BPA leaches out of a plastic water bottle and into your drinking water.

I haven’t been too worried about BPA, but now that most water bottle makers have been pressured into producing new bottles, and Canada has placed a ban on plastic baby bottles that contain BPA (with the USA proposing something similar,) it might be time to switch to BPA-free bottles.

Typical on-bike water bottles aren’t affected, but the heavy-duty polycarbonate bottles from makers such as Nalgene are getting hit hard with negative publicity because they do contain traces of BPA.

To adapt, companies are reformulating their plastic water bottles to use BPA-free plastics. Nalgene plans to focus on these new bottles and filter out the existing bottles that contain BPA, and CamelBak has also launched a new line of BPA-free bottles.

With this being a “Water Bottle Wednesday” I think we should take a look at these new bottles!

First, the Nalgene Everyday Bottles. If you are a current Nalgene user, these bottles will look familiar - they are tough, translucent plastic bottles that look just like their polycarbonate cousins.

However, the Nalgene “Everyday” line is made of Eastman Tritan copolyester, so the bottles are completely BPA-free! It is still super tough and dishwasher safe, too, as copolyester is very similar to polycarbonate, except that it does not contain BPA.

The 22 oz bottle is said to be sleek and slender so it will even fit into bicycle bottle cages. That doesn’t mean it will be easy to drink from while riding, but at least they’re keeping cyclists in mind!

These bottles can be found at REI, in stores and online:

Nalgene Everyday OTG Tritan Bottle - 22 oz.

Nalgene Everyday Grip-N-Gulp Tritan Water Bottle - Kids 12 oz.

Next, the CamelBak Better Bottles. The “Better Bottle” lineup is CamelBak’s entrance into the BPA-free water bottle market, and it uses the same Eastman Tritan copolyester plastic as the new Nalgene bottles, so it should be just as tough.

What sets CamelBak apart is that they offer not only the classic cap, a typical screw-on cap, but also the neat bite-valve cap, which makes it like drinking from a CamelBak hydration pack.

These bottles can be found at REI, in stores and online:

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle with Classic Cap - 32 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle with Classic Cap - 25 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle with Classic Cap - 16 oz.

Now check out the Better Bottle with a CamelBak bite valve style cap:

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle - 32 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle - 25 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle - 16 oz.

Want to do some more shopping? Then check REI, because they offer a wide variety of bottles for hiking, bicycling, and everyday use, and they have separated all the BPA-free bottles into their own category!

More shopping links: www.REI.com or go direct to the REI BPA-Free Water Bottles Category

How would you like to run faster and easier, and prevent injury at the same time?

You’d think if there was a miracle like that, it would be pitched every weekend on some crazy infomercials. But it’s not. (Or if it was, I must have been watching cartoons, because I didn’t see it…)

But it’s real, and it’s called “Chi Running” and it can be found online at www.ChiRunning.com. While Chi Running is not a miracle, it is, without doubt, revolutionary.

Runners (including myself) deal with a lot of injuries from the pounding our bodies take on a daily basis, and it’s not uncommon for people to quit running because they have been injured one too many times. I can’t even remember all of the injuries I sustained while training for my first marathon.

Because of all the injuries, I really cut back on my running and practically quit. But now I am testing the ChiRunning book and DVD, and I’m already sold on the concept. Since I’m doing more running this year, I’ll be able to really put this to the test.

However, since this isn’t an overnight miracle cure (like the things I see on those aforementioned infomercials,) you will have to wait for my results. After skimming the book and previewing the DVD though, I can say that I’d recommend these products to any runner, but I can’t discuss the details yet!

I guess the next best thing is to check out the trailer for the DVD or hey, maybe even buy a copy.

Or… wait for my full review!