Avid runner, mountain and road bike racer Michael Folan knows a thing or two about sports drinks, as he’s had a lot over the years. He played NCAA Lacrosse and Hockey as a youth through College, and is a 10-time Ironman finisher, and runs Marathons, as well as the occasional adventure race.
He’s also one has helped develop customized nutrition solutions at Infinit Nutrition. But it is a lot more than just delivering great tastes! Michael talked to KineticShift about the sports drinks.
KineticShift: Is this just the age of customization? If cyclists can build aunique bike why not a unique drink?
Michael Folan: Agreed, every athlete is unique. From a 100 pound female to a 240 pound guy. One drink does not fit all people. Taste is huge because it has to taste great all day in some cases. INFINIT gives all athletes the platform to create a custom-blended nutrition solution that will have exactly the right amount of calories, electrolyte and taste how THEY want in an isotonic solution. We are a very simple product. Just drink your stuff and ride your bike for as long as you want with no food, gels or salt pills. Simplicity generally leads to less problems and is very appealing.
KS: How do you warn mix-masters they might have a drink that has too many calories or caffine?
MF: As espresso connoisseurs there is no such thing as too much caffeine.
But seriously we have limits on the amount of caffeine (200 mg per bottle) so people don¹t explode. As far as overdoing the calories, the main thing is that you must keep a solution isotonic, meaning that it cannot be too dense or your body will process it like food and it can lead to gastric issues and dehydration. We actually have a calculator that ensures that you will have zero problems with your mix. But as always, if it¹s not perfect, we will re-make it at no charge. We guarantee everything we do with a full money back guarantee.
KS: And you will work with users to help make the drink that is ideal for them?
MF: Absolutely, it¹s easy. There are three easy ways to start, all backed by our guarantee.
One is to buy one of our pre-set formulas. These are tried and true formulas.
Second is to fill out a simple questionnaire online that will create a mix for you.
Third (and most brainless) is to sign up for a free nutritional consultation right on the homepage. We then contact you. We ask you questions, and create the perfect mix. After setting up thousands of riders we are good at it. We take in to account your flavor preferences, your body size, sweat rate and history of cramping even how long you are riding. You need no knowledge of nutrition, we do it for you.
KS: How is flavor addressed? Will adding too much of one element create too strong of a taste?
MF: Flavor is unbelievably important! Most drinks are way too strong and/or sweet. They taste just fine in your bike shop. However after the bottle gets warm, or after you have been drinking it for three plus hours it¹s awful. That leads you to not drink and not get enough calories and electrolyte.
Because we are all endurance athletes, we understand that what tastes good on your couch in NOT what tastes good 4 hours into a 90 deg day. Our flavors are much less, our sweetness is lower and we have a salt background that makes it very drinkable when the liquid is warm. That is huge.
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KS: Let’s say I find perfect balance, how can I ensure it will be so next time?
MF: Each athlete’s formulas are saved in their account. Many have a couple of formulas saved. An example is one for long distances one for the short stuff, maybe one with caffeine and one without. You can go back and re-order saved formulas. Or you can tweak anything by playing with the sliders to refine your mix to perfection.
The key to what we do is simplicity. Everything you need in Isotonic solutions and it tastes exactly how you want. If you give an athlete more than one thing to do at a time they will generally mess it up. With INFINIT you drink and peddle you bike. It¹s virtually impossible to mess that up.
Thank you Michael for talking with us