Tennis Technology Tuesday
“Fireball.” That was my absolutely favorite comment I received via Facebook after posting “The 2020 Ultimate Stocking Stuffer List for Tennis Players” last Friday. For inexplicable reasons, that comment reminded me of this clip of Vasek Popisil chugging a brown liquid from a bottle during a change over earlier this year. In that case, the substance being consumed was not his “on-court liquor of choice” — which I recently learned is a widespread phenomenon — but rather Maple Syrup.
I am not a huge fan of energy gels. They are expensive, taste terrible, and frequently upset my stomach. Additionally, I often worry that manufactured gels might contain caffeine or other substances that I don’t want to unknowingly consume.
I have used Maple Syrup as an energy gel substitute for a few years now. Unlike Popisil, I have never swigged directly from the bottle. Now that I have seen that behavior modeled, it is a darn good idea. Maple Syrup produces a quick surge of energy, yet it is low enough on the glycemic index that it has yet to produce a sugar crash for me personally.
I was pretty excited when individual packets of Maple Syrup first appeared on the market. It more shelf-stable and lightweight when compared to toting an entire bottle of Maple Syrup around. More recently, brands have emerged that package it into pouches that are clearly intended to complete in the energy gel market. The Untapped brand was my first purchase in this market segment. I have never had any reason to experiment with an alternative. It’s great stuff.
As a bonus, this is a relatively low risk product to try. If you discover that Maple Syrup doesn’t agree with you as an energy gel, there are always pancakes.
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