All the Custom Hydration and Fuel You Need From Infinit Nutrition

Hydration and fueling are massively important on your ride. Anything over an hour, or on especially hot days, staying hydrated and fueled is the difference between finishing strong or hitting the wall. Infinit Nutrition believes you can both hydrate and fuel using a single product, and have proven it at some of the highest levels, including Ironman Kona.

Infinit Nutrition was created out of a need to find a better way to fuel. In 2003, hydration and fueling weren’t quite the science it is today. Back then, it was filled with one-size-fits-all products that didn’t necessarily work for everyone. CEO Michael Folan created his first blends in his kitchen, and after he created a blend that worked for him, he worked on finding ways to make it work for others. That is where the Osmo-FIT System was developed. The custom blend process helps create a fuel source that has just the right amount of “stuff” (carbohydrates, electrolytes, amino acids, protein, flavoring, etc.) in it to cover your hydration and fueling needs in one product. 250-300 mosm/kg is considered optimal, completely isotonic (easily absorbed into your system without gastric distress). 300-325 mosm/kg is more on the hypertonic side and might not completely absorb into your system without diluting it with more water. Higher than 325 mosm/kg is hypertonic, and could cause gastric issues if additional water is not used. Additionally, all of their products use all-natural ingredients and no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners.

Personally, I’ve tried many products over the years. Hammer, Nuun, Accellerade/Endurox, Gu Rocktane, Scratch, and others, and they all worked, but it wasn’t until I found Infinit that I really felt like I found the total package that not only fueled me, kept my hydrated, but was also easy on my stomach.

I started with a few of their house blends, Speed for short, fast efforts, and Go Far for longer rides. Something about them just had me feeling more energized during my rides. They also have caffeinated products like TRiPWIRE and Jet Fuel, but due to a sensitivity to caffeine, I haven’t tried them.

After using the house blends, I got connected with Colin from Infinit to talk more about their custom blend offerings. He is part of their team of registered dieticians dedicated to working with athletes to help them create their perfect blends. These consultations can be done through email, but I recommend doing a call to really be able to have a productive conversation about your needs.

With the house blends, I found myself using three scoops to cover hydration and fueling instead of the serving size of two. Through talking with Colin, he asked about what I was currently using, the kinds of rides I typically do, how much I drink, eat, sweat, and how salty I am after a ride. It’s a really thorough questionnaire to help figure out the right mix of ingredients for my personal needs. We went through scenarios for short and long rides, and also covered my recovery needs. Here’s more info on those blends.

Speed – Idle’s Zoomies Blend

So part of the fun of creating custom blends is naming them. When I use this blend, I feel like my cat zipping through the house, so Idle’s Zoomies Blend it is. We started with the house blend, and Colin and I adjusted it from there. Here’s a summary:

• Flavor – Pink Lemonade – 50% – I prefer a lighter flavor, especially for longer rides
• Calories – Almost 75% (260g) – Since I’m a bigger rider (6′, 195lb), I use an extra scoop of the house blend, so we went higher.
• Carbohydrate Mix – 70% Simple/30% Complex – A higher ratio of dextrose over maltodextrin for a short-duration, high-energy mix
• Electrolytes – Just under 50% – I sweat, but I wouldn’t say I’m overly salty, so we kept it in the middle.
• Protein, BCAA’s, and Caffeine – 0% – Since this is for shorter efforts, I kept the protein and BCAA’s at 0%, and no caffeine for me.
• Boosts – For my latest order, I added the Beta-Alanine and Creatine Monohydrate to help buffer the lactic acid and go harder for longer on short, intense efforts.

The blend offers 260g of calories and 431mg of sodium. The total osmolality is 291 mosm/kg.

Endurance – Scott’s Crack For Long Days

My teammate named this one. When we were doing a long gravel event, he told someone I was pouring crack into my bottle because of how strong I was riding that day.

• Flavor – Pink Lemonade – 35% – Pink Lemonade was my go-to when I first started my custom blends. I originally started at 50%, which worked really well, but I decided to decrease it since I mainly use this blend on big days where I could be drinking 6-10 bottles.
• Calories – About 85% – Since this is made for longer rides and events, I went high with the calories since I tend to not eat enough.
• Carbohydrate Mix – 100% Complex/0% Simple – A higher percentage of slower absorbing maltodextrin versus fast-burning dextrose.
• Electrolytes – Just under 50% – I sweat, but I wouldn’t say I’m overly salty, so we kept it in the middle.
• Protein – About 50% – Protein is mainly used here to help curb hunger, which could lead you to want solid food, and is harder for your body to process, diverting hydration away from the muscles. I went with the brown rice and fava bean protein over the whey isolate
• BCAA’s – About 50% – Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine have been found to help delay fatigue by acting as a fuel to delay glycogen stores. They can also help block tryptophan, which can lead to mental fatigue.
• Caffeine – 0% – I always skip caffeine.
• Boosts – For endurance, I went with Microactive CoQ10 and Beta-Alanine. Microactive CoQ10 is a natural antioxidant and can help improve power output. The Beta-Alanine can help buffer lactic build-up on intense workouts.

This blend tops out at 299 mosm/kg, so just barely in the green range. At 311 calories a serving, it helps boost my calorie intake for long-distance events.

Scott’s Recovery Blend

For a recovery brend, we created two different blends to try, Vegan and Egg White. Each blend has 20g of protein per serving, though you can opt for double protein.

• Flavor – Chocolate – 100% – I love chocolate, and Colin suggested going with a stronger flavor.
• Protein – I’ve done this blend in two different ways, vegan and egg white. I’m vegetarian, but I do tend to be dairy-free. Egg whites offer a more complete protein over the vegan option, without using dairy-based whey isolate.
• Calories – Moderate – Colin asked what I typically ate after hard workouts. I usually can’t eat a meal right away, but I do tend to get a burrito or something like that, so we went with 225 calories, 20g of protein, and 36g of carbs. Low or High just adjusts the calories and carbs down or up.
• Boosts – L-Glutamine, MCT oils (fats), CoQ10, tart cherry, ground flax, and white curcumin – So, a lot of boosts here. L-glutamine helps to stop muscle breakdown and reduce post-workout inflammation. MCT oils act as a quick source of fuel for recovery. CoQ10 helps to reduce muscle soreness and fatigue. Along with CoQ10, tart cherry is another antioxidant that helps fight inflammation and soreness, and can also boost melatonin levels. Finally, ground flax is rich in Omega-3, another antioxidant that helps fight inflammation and improves recovery and muscle growth.

Do I Need Solid Food?

After working with Colin to create these blends, I was able to use the double scoop serving size for each of the workout blends. Since then, they have been my main fueling options for my 1-hour+ and multi-hour endurance rides. That includes seven hours of riding 135 miles in New Jersey and an epic 125-mile ride for UnPAved Susquehanna. For each of these rides, I bagged up individual servings in snack pack plastic bags and carried them with me. At each aid station, I’d dump a bag into my bottle, fill it with water, and I’d be back on my way.

I can’t say that I skipped food on every ride I have used Infinit on, but it was more for enjoyment than feeling like I needed it as fuel. As long as I stayed on top of my bottles, getting one 20oz bottle in per hour, I felt like I could keep going to the end. On hotter days, I’d use a larger bottle to add a little more water to my system to replace what I’m losing in sweat.

At the end of the ride, I’d have a shaker bottle waiting for me at the end with a serving of recovery protein. While the thought of eating a full meal after a hard seven hours on the bike is not very appealing, I always look forward to the chocolate recovery shake. Sometimes I would also grab a small chocolate almond milk to add in place of the water if I felt like I needed some additional calories. Either way, I feel like my recovery is better better after a long, hard effort than other products I’ve tried.

The bottom line is Infinit was able to help me create blends to cover my needs during and after my workouts. Almost three years in, and there have been some off-the-shelf products that work well, but are just not quite the same. If you want to try them for yourself, book a free consultation with Infinit’s Formulation Team to create your own custom blends. Better yet, use code INFINIT-Kingsley for 10% off your purchase of stock or custom blends.

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