I recently got my hands on a new nutritional endurance product. Cardiostrong, an innovative nutritional company out of Iowa City, Iowa has started producing their own line of gels and sports nutrition for endurance athletes. Throughout training for a long-distance event, such as marathons or Ironman events, I like to experiment with new products so that I can continue to optimize my performance.

So far, I have tested their Vanquish Sustained Energy and Electrolyte Gel. I tried the Raspberry flavor and took it in the middle of a two hour bike ride this week. I was happy to taste a mildly sweet flavor with a little hint of bitterness. This was refreshing to try after having downed hundreds of GU energy gels that pack more flavor than they do energy. 

When comparing the Vanquish Gel next to competitors from big box brands by Gatorade and Powerade, Vanquish blows away both companies. Unlike those highly marketed companies, Vanquish Gels contained all of the same electrolytes plus magnesium and calcium, which are crucial in energy production. In addition to all of the electrolytes, important Vitamins B-12, C, D, and E are plentiful in Vanquish. I was really impressed with the composition of the B-complex in these products. B-vitamins are essential to maintain normal metabolic processes and maintain energy production and are often overlooked in sports nutrition. Also, as many of us have been doing more indoor workouts, the little extra Vitamin D in these products could give you a big boost!

After my first test of one of Cardiostrong's products, I will continue to try a few more flavors and also their HydraMax Elite Ultra-Endurance Hydration Beverage. Hopefully, we can squeak out a few more beautiful days this winter so I can continue to test this new product! 


Below is a rundown of their nutritional detail as provided by their website for some of their products.