Nutrition is always going to be a highly personal choice. Some athletes can get by on water and a few gels, while others need high calorie liquids and solid bars. All three of our editors use very different nutrition strategies. While this gives us ample opportunities to try different products, it does make stocking the break room a huge pain.

A few weeks ago we received packages from both GU and Osmo. GU sent us their new Chocolate Peanut Butter as well as a mystery flavor, and Osmo sent us their PreLoad hydration mix to try in the hot Florida sun.  We got to use both products over the past few weeks of early summer training. Read on for our thoughts.

Gu Chocolate Peanut Butter and the ‘New Flavor’

For years we said that GU should combine their delicious Chocolate with Peanut Butter into a single packet. After all, who wouldn’t want a peanut butter cup that staves off bonking? So when we heard that GU was finally listening, we were ecstatic. Once our excitement died down to palatable levels, we reached out to GU to request a sample. And a few days later, we had an entire package of gels sitting on our desk.

The flavor is everything we were hoping for—a chocolate base with a strong flavor of peanut butter in the background. This is a gel we look forward to using. So needless to say, Chocolate Peanut Butter will find its way into our transition bag for every race going forward.

But Chocolate Peanut Butter wasn’t the only flavor we were excited to find in our package from GU. There was also a plain silver gel packet simply labeled ‘New Flavor.’ Our interest piqued. We asked GU what mystery treat they had sent us. It turns out that Salted Watermelon is the newest official Rock ‘n’ Roll on-course flavor from GU. This may just be our favorite GU flavor of all time. But unfortunately for us, GU only sent one of these gels. The taste can only be described as Jolly Rancher-esque with just a hint of salt.

Osmo PreLoad

Osmo is unique in that it makes products specifically formulated for the body chemistries of both men and women. We had the chance to try their PreLoad Hydration for Men (Pineapple & Lemon flavor). Osmo calls this a special application “hyper-hydrator” intended for intense efforts, ultra-endurance events, or exercise in hot conditions (which is basically any workout in Florida from April – November). Osmo recommends drinking this the night before your workout, as well as 30 minutes prior.

When drinking the PreLoad mix, the first thing you notice is its high salt content (1620mg of sodium in one serving). With that in mind, we would definitely recommend drinking this chilled (the colder the better). Although chilled or not, it really works. Prior to drinking the PreLoad, we would frequently hit a wall from the intense heat—especially during late afternoon workouts. But with the PreLoad, the wall has essentially disappeared. We are not nearly as thirsty or dehydrated post-workout.  So if you are someone who finds themselves dehydrated after intense workouts, this is a product worth checking out.