Below are the questions we get most often. Click on a question and you'll jump to the answer. If you have other questions not listed, please email bill@oscycling.com and he will get an answer for you soon.
Q1. How much of an OS pouch should I use in one bottle?
Q2. I like it stronger, what if I use more than one pack?
Q3. That seems like a lot; what if I use only half a pouch?
Q4. I don’t like much flavor in my sport drink, but know I need the calories. If I split a pouch between two bottles that I carry on my bike, will I still get the same benefit?
Q5. Can I mix Re-load with milk?
Q6. Pre-load has the same ingredients as Re-load. Can I mix Pre-load with milk?
Q7. I love the taste of Re-load especially with milk. What else can I mix it with it that would be tasty and nutritional?
Q8. I‘ve always used gels. Is it good to use a gel if I’m drinking OS Endurance or OS Sprint?
Q9. What about eating energy bars with OS Endurance or OS Sprint?
Q10. Why don’t you guys make a gel?
Q11. Why doesn’t OS contain herbs, synthetics and other juju I see in other sport drinks?
Q12. I always carry two bottles. Should I mix OS Endurance or OS Sprint in both?
Q13. Is it better to start drinking OS Endurance or OS Sprint prior to training or a race and then drink every 15 mins like some other drinks recommend?
Q14. I find that if I drink Endurance or Sprint during training, I’m not very hungry when compared to not using OS. Why should I drink the OS Re-load?
Q15. OS is kind of mild tasting compared with other drinks I’ve tried. Why don’t you make it stronger?
Q16. What does the name OS stand for?
Q17. Other drinks I have tried and read about have a lot longer list of ingredients. Why do OS products only have one or two? Don’t I need more nutrients?
Q18. At about $2.00 per bottle, isn’t OS kind of expensive compared with other drinks?
Q19. Is it safe for diabetics to use OS?
Q20. I really like the taste of OS Pre-load or OS Re-load; can I drink them during training instead of OS Endurance or OS Sprint?
Q21. I’m a runner and compete in a lot of organized races. I don’t want to carry a bottle while running, so how can I benefit from OS drinks?
Q22. I ride in time trials and am trying to improve my speed and endurance. What can OS do for me?
Q23. My legs often ache the next day after a hard training effort. Can OS drinks help with that?
Q24. My spouse says I’m worthless for the rest of the day after a long ride or workout. Can OS drinks change that?
Q25. Which is more important, physical training or nutritional preparation?
Q26. I mixed up a bottle of OS Endurance and then had to cancel my ride. How long will it keep?
Q1. How much of an OS pouch should I use in one bottle?
A. The OS pouch is designed for all of the contents of one pouch to be emptied into a 24 oz. bottle, then add water to the top of the bottle. Close the top and shake to mix the dry powder completely in water. This will create an osmotic mixture of OS and water. Osmotic mixtures are precisely designed for fast and optimal absorption of calories into the body. If you use less than one pouch in a 24 oz water bottle, then you will have a hypo-osmotic mixture of OS meaning that when drinking this mixture you will absorb fewer calories than optimal. If you used one OS pouch in a smaller bottle, 18 oz bottle for example, then you will have a hyper-osmotic mixture of OS, meaning that when drinking this mixture your stomach will need more water before digesting the mixture possibly causing dehydration and keeping the mixture in your stomach longer than necessary.
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Q2. I like it stronger, what if I use more than one OS pouch per bottle?
A. Stronger also means over-concentrated or hyper-osmotic, which means that the mixture will sit in your stomach until more water is added to balance the mixture. MORE IS NOT BETTER FOR PERFORMANCE NUTRITION! Using precisely the right amount to create an osmotic ratio in water as mentioned above is how you optimize your energy absorption rate. Drinking over-concetrated sports drinks will also cause dehydration and dramatically slow you down. The same goes for GELS and SOLID FOODS. Without knowing how much water to add to GELS and SOLID FOODS it is hard to get these energy sources digested properly. Therefore, GELS and SOLID FOODS are not optimal energy sources during any athletic event such as cycling or other endurance sport. GELS and SOLID FOODS can take up to an hour or longer to digest causing your body to work harder than necessary to get the calories you need during a race.
RACING TIP: if you see someone eating GELS, BARS or SOLID FOOD on the bike, it is the perfect time to plan your attack. You have a good thirty minutes or longer to attack as they will not have processed the GELS, BARS or SOLID FOOD and if you are drinking OS, you will have a distinct energy advantage.
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Q3.That seems like a lot; what if I use only half a pouch?
A. You can use just half of an OS pouch in a bottle, but you won’t get the full benefit of osmotically optimized calories from a full OS pouch. For a training ride by yourself a half of an OS pouch is fine. If you are in a race, remember that your body can not absorb more than you are buring. Therefore, you need to optimize your caloric intake to maintain highest possible energy levels while competing. Don't cut your fuel supply precisely when you need it most.
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Q4. I don’t like much flavor in my sport drink, but know I need the calories. If I split a pouch between two bottles that I carry on my bike, will I still get the same benefit?
A. Yes, you’ll intake the same calories if you split the OS pouch into two bottles, however you can not adjust your intake of water based on the conditions. The energy ratio will be fixed. It is better to carry one bottle of OS Endurance or OS Sprint and one bottle of pure water. This allow for the most flexibility to optimize both nutrition and hydration at the same time. These are two separate variable - nutrition and hydration. We have optimized the nutrition for you in one OS pouch. Hydration should be managed separately based on the conditions of temperature, humidity and your resulting sweat rate.
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Q5. Can I mix OS Re-load with milk?
A. Yes, preferrably not while riding or racing. OS Re-load just after a training event is perfect not only for the rich creamy taste, but it adds more calcium. Some users report adding a little ice cream, too, for an OS milkshake. Some add cold coffee left over from the morning for a little caffeine kick with a mocha taste. The combinations are only limited by your imagination.
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Q6. OS Pre-load has the same kind of ingredients as Re-load. Can I mix OS Pre-load with milk?
A. OS Pre-load can be mixed with milk, however you will need more time to allow the OS Pre-load and milk to digest. OS Pre-load and water digests the fastest giving you the least to worry about just prior to your event. Milk can curdle in your stomach causing you to get sick if you start your event with undigested milk in your stomach.
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Q7. I love the taste of OS Re-load especially with milk. What else can I mix it with it that would be tasty and nutritional?
A. Soy milk tastes just as good, if you prefer that. Some users report using a little ice cream, too, for an OS milkshake. Some add cold coffee left over from the morning for a little caffeine kick. How about throwing the above in a blender with a banana and ice cream to make a smoothie? The combinations are only limited by your imagination. We’ve never tried this one, but one customer told us that the best thing that goes with an OS Re-load is a Guinness®. We don’t think he’s mixing it, but chasing OS with a beer. This customer must be from England. We can’t attest to the recovery benefits of that combination, but it's intriguing to say the least.
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Q8. I‘ve always used gels during training and racing. Is it good to use a gel if I’m drinking OS Endurance or OS Sprint?
A. The contents of most gels are similar to OS Endurance and OS Sprint. Compare the ingredient lists. Gels, however, are not optimal as an energy source as it is hard to judge how much water to drink to activate the ingredients in a gel. Adding gels to OS Endurance or OS Sprint will only reduce your ability to absorb calories not increase it. Gels cause stress on your body as you generally dehydrate yourself when using gels by not drinking enought water. How much water is enough and how do you know if you drank enough to optimize the gel ingredients? This is precisely why we at OS do not produce gels. It simply is not a good way to efficiently digest calories. We design all of our OS products so that you do not have to worry about this problem. You can get optimized calories with OS Endurance or OS Sprint, meaning that you can not absorb energy faster. In addition, gels just add cost, plus the inconvenience of having to rip the top off the gel is akward and then you contaminate the environment by tossing the used gel pouch to the ground.
RACING TIP: if you see someone eating GELS, BARS or SOLID FOOD on the bike, it is the perfect time to plan your attack. You have a good thirty minutes or longer to attack as they will not have processed the GELS, BARS or SOLID FOOD and if you are drinking OS, you will have a distinct energy advantage.
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Q9. What about eating energy bars with OS Endurance or OS Sprint?
A. See above regarding gels. Bars are more concentrated than gels and require you to drink more water to balance the osmolality in your stomach before the energy is released to your body. The longer that food stays in your stomach, the more blood that is required to help with digestion. When you’re training or racing, your muscles need all the blood flow they can get and they are not going to perform as well if more blood is diverted to the stomach. This means the bars sit mostly undigested in your stomach and can lead to stomach discomfort.
RACING TIP: if you see someone eating GELS, BARS or SOLID FOOD on the bike, it is the perfect time to plan your attack. You have a good thirty minutes or longer to attack as they will not have processed the GELS, BARS or SOLID FOOD and if you are drinking OS, you will have a distinct energy advantage.
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Q10. Why don’t you guys make a gel?
A. Gels are not an optimal source of energy as it is hard to gauge the amount of water needed to hydrate the ingredients. If you use OS Endurance or OS Sprint while training or racing, you just cannot optimize your nutrition better than this. We have designed our products so that you get the maximum benefit of fast absorbing calories and you do not have to think about how much water you are drinking. If you’re in a sport such as running, where carrying a water bottle is not possible, you can make a gel with the OS Endurance or OS Sprint mix. Using hot water, dissolve an entire pouch in 6 oz. of hot water. Obviously you have to do this far enough ahead of use so you can cool down the mixture. This makes a gel that is perfect for using in an organized run where frequent water is supplied. Carry the OS gel-like mix in gel flasks on a gel belt and take a slug when you see a water stop coming up. We discovered this technique from top marathon runners who are OS customers. They attest that they’ve had their best times when using OS. Using gels is not our recommended method, however you will still benefit from our high quality calories even if you didn't optimize the osmolality. Just pay more attention to your body's hydration needs while using gels so that you can adjust your intake of water as needed.
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Q11. Why doesn’t OS contain herbs, sythetics or other psycho juju that I see in other sport drinks?
A. Much thought and research was put into each ingredient used in all of our OS performance products. We only use high quality all natural ingredients in a precise amount that in combination deliver a real and measurable impact on nutritional performance. We do not think it is smart to add ingredients that only give you a placebo effect to make you think you are faster or smarter or whatever. Your body knows the difference even if your brain does not. In addition, each ingredient has its own osmotic ratio and generally speaking your body is sensitive to even small concentrations of herbs and synthetic ingredients. Herbs and synthetic ingredients will only slow your digestive process and delay your absoprtion of key calories. Keep it simple. keep it natural—drink OS.
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Q12. I always carry two bottles. Should I mix OS Endurance or OS Sprint in both?
A. No, you should think of hydration and nutrition separately. OS Endurance or OS Sprint will provide optimal nutrition during your event to give you maximum absorbed energy possible. However, hydration is also important and needs to be managed separately as the heat and temperatures dictate. Therefore, the best combination is one bottle of water and one bottle of OS Endurance or OS Sprint. If you expect to need more calories than one bottle of OS Endurance or OS Sprint, carry another OS bottle or pouch with you in your jersey. It is always a good idea to carry a spare OS pouch with you on long 100 mile plus touring rides in case you get lost. You might need to extra calories for the long ride home.
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Q13. Is it better to start drinking OS Endurance or OS Sprint prior to training or a race and then drink every 15 mins like some other drinks recommend?
A. Don’t overthink OS; simplicity is the beauty of the product. There’s no need to time your drinks or start early, but you can start early if you want to and you will gain the same high energy caloric benefit as if you finished the OS bottle on the bike. It is better to drink an OS Pre-load an hour or so before starting to give you some additional protein prior to training or racing and then drink OS Endurance or OS Sprint during the event for optimal caloric intake and highest energy output. Also drink water from another bottle to maintain hydration. We do find that giving your body a drink of OS every 15 minutes provides a more consistent caloric intake and lets your body respond faster so that you can be prepared for a competitor's attack.
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Q14. I find that if I drink OS Endurance or OS Sprint during training, I’m not very hungry as compared to not using OS. Why should I drink the OS Re-load?
A. It’s true, athletes report not being ravenous after training with OS Endurance or OS Sprint like they used to be with other drinks. That’s because these drinks deliver 355 and 457 calories respectively. That’s much more than any other easily digestible performance drink we’ve seen. Even if you don’t feel hungry after training, muscle repair and replenishment is vitally important. Drinking protein and carbs within 30 mins of finishing is proven to restore muscle glycogen and speed the repair of normally torn muscle tissue during exercise. This has two benefits: 1. Quickly preparing your muscles for the next training session or multi-day race events, 2. Decreasing or eliminating muscle soreness. This second benefit is widely reported to us by OS Re-load drinkers. One pro bike racer called us specifically to say that his wife told him he used to be worthless and on the couch after a long ride but now he seems to have energy to work on the honey-do list after riding. He credited OS Re-load for his rapid transformation and improved relationship.
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Q15. OS is kind of mild tasting compared with other drinks I’ve tried. Why don’t you make it stronger or sweeter?
A. We intentionally reduce the flavor and simple sugar components of our products to increase performance. As you exert during exercise your taste sense is heightened. Drinks that seem just right when you start get too strong or too sweet during training. That’s the reason you hear of so many athletes cutting an already minimal-calorie sweet drink with water. At that point it’s only good for hydration and not for fueling your body. OS Endurance and OS Sprint are engineered to have just the right intensity of flavor while exercising. They may seem light-tasting when you begin, but will never get too strong when training.
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Q16. What does the name OS stand for?
A. Osmolality-- the measurement of solid particles in a liquid. Your body knows the meaning of that word. It cannot/will not absorb food or drink until it adjusts the solids to liquid ratio to the range it needs. That’s part of its Operating System. We formulate OS Endurance and OS Sprint at the exact osmolality your body must have before it can absorb nutrients. The result is that your stomach has to do no digestion (that is, breaking down to the correct solid to liquid ratio) and passes the drink straight through to your intestines where nutrients are absorbed. Results: no stomach discomfort.
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Q17. Other drinks I have tried and read about have a lot longer list of ingredients. Why do OS products only have one or two? Don’t I need more nutrients?
A. Much thought and research was put into creating the essentials for our performance drinks. While interviewing many amateur and pro athletes, we asked them what their performance drink absolutely must contain. Without exception they all agreed on the following at minimum: 1. water, 2. easily digestible complex carbohydrates, 3. electrolytes and 4. protein before and after training. Some added a wide array of other additives they‘ve seen in other drinks, but they weren’t sure how those benefited them. Your body needs other nutrients, of course, but you don’t have to intake them while exercising. Why trouble your system with absorbing more complex, hard-to-digest ingredients when you get them from your normal meals? Keep it simple—drink OS.
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Q18. At about $2.00 per bottle, isn’t OS kind of expensive compared with other drinks?
A. To get the same amount of calories, you must supplement other sport drinks with a energy bar or gel. Combining those costs you’ll see that OS Endurance and OS Sprint are the most economical per calorie choice available to you.
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Q19. Is it safe for diabetics to use OS?
A. We have many diabetic customers that tell us they assimilate OS drinks better than all other performance drinks they’ve tried. With so little simple sugar, OS Endurance and OS Sprint have a more balanced affect to glucose levels as comared to the spike in energy caused by other sugary drinks.
Important note: OS Performance Nutrition products may not be safe for all diabetics. We stress that each person must take responsibility for understanding the needs of their body and, in particular, diabetics may not be able to produce enough insulin to process glucose to generate energy and therefore may have a dramatic loss of energy even after drinking OS.
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Q20. I really like the taste of OS Pre-load and OS Re-load; can I drink them during training instead of OS Endurance or OS Sprint?
A. Both of these drinks contain protein that is beneficial and essential for replenishing muscle glycogen before and after training. Yes, it is ok to use protein while training; however it is less than optimal as your muscles cannot effectively utilize the amino acids from the protein until you are at rest. Whether or not ingesting protein during exertion is beneficial is widely argued and we believe that the decrease in osmolality prevents you from gaining maximum benefit from OS Performance Nutrition drinks.
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Q21. I’m a runner and compete in a lot of organized races. I don’t want to carry a bottle while running, so how can I benefit from OS drinks?
A. OS Pre-load and OS Re-load are big favorites of runners. Building and replenishing muscle glycogen with these drinks maintains good fitness and helps repair and prepare your muscles for the next training session or competition. If you’re in a sport where carrying water bottles is not convenient or possible, you can make a gel with the OS Endurance or OS Sprint mix. Using hot water, dissolve an entire pouch in 6 oz. of hot water. Obviously you have to do this far enough ahead of use that you can cool down the mixture. This makes a gel that is perfect for using in an organized run with frequent water supplied. Carry the OS gel-like mix in gel flasks on a gel belt and take a slug when you see a water stop coming up. It’s not perfect, but even if you don’t achieve osmolality, it’ll be close enough not to bother your stomach. Think of the extra fuel you can supply with OS mixed as a gel. We learned this technique from marathon runner customers. They attest that they’ve had their best times when using the OS gel-mix method.
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Q22. I ride in time trials and am trying to improve my speed and endurance. What can OS do for me?
A. OS Sprint is perfectly designed for this situation. When your time trial is one hour or longer your body will need a nutritional supplement while on the ride. OS Sprint with water will give your body the most high quality carbohydrates possible allowing you to have extra energy during the last half of the time trial when most riders are slowing down. Try it and you will see that it can improve your time trial times significantly.
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Q23. My legs often ache the next day after a hard training effort. Can OS drinks help with that?
A. Many OS users claim that OS Re-load has done away with the muscle soreness they used to experience after hard efforts. OS Re-load has an optimal mix of protein and carbohydrates to help your body replenish and repair your muscles quickly. It’s important to replenish with OS Re-load very soon after finishing, 30 mins to one hour, to gain maximum benefit. Elevating your legs and self-massaging your muscles is recommended as well. While elevating your legs, rub your muscles toward your heart to flush the veins and promote circulation. You’ll tell a difference later.
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Q24. My spouse says I’m worthless for the rest of the day after a long ride or workout. Can OS drinks change that?
A. Try OS Re-load. One pro bike racer called us specifically to say that his wife told him he used to crash on the couch all day after a long ride but now he seems to have energy to work on the Honey-Do list after riding. He credited OS Re-load for his transformation. He says he can tell the difference in his recovery state, as well.
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Q25. Which is more important, physical training or nutritional preparation?
A. Both are important. Physical training has been exploited by many athletes over the last ten years due to advanced training methods and disciplined physical regimens. Nutrition, however, is relatively untapped in terms of its potential to provide a competitive advantage. Good nutritional preparation and understanding that optimal osmotic absorption is the fastest way to replenish your energy will give you a significant advantage. Even many pro athletes do not understand the benefits of optimal nutrition. We at OS understand your need to go fast and we have optimized the energy supplement market with our product line. Consider us your nutritional coach.
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Q26. I mixed up a bottle of OS Endurance and then had to cancel my ride. How long will it keep?
A. Neither OS Endurance nor OS Sprint will settle out after being mixed. Kept refrigerated, it will easily still be good after a week. Since OS Pre-load and OS Re-load contain whey protein, they won’t be quite as stable. We recommend that you drink those the same day.
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