Perpetuem Endurance Drink

Cost: $12
Contact: 800-336-1977, www.hammernutrition.com

After several years and several thousand miles of testing, Hammer Nutrition has released an endurance drink called Perpetuem. It is a drink mix intended for workouts lasting longer than two hours, but it can be used during any workout or race.

With 87 percent of its calories coming from 54 grams of carbs, Perpetuem will help you lay that damn Energizer bunny to waste once and for all, and it's six grams of soy protein will reduce muscle tissue loss during exercise and help speed recovery.

Perpetuem also contains the amino acid L-Carnitine, which transports fatty acids to muscles where it's burned for energy production. Low levels of L-Carnitine result in available stores of energy laying dormant, therefore causing muscles to break down their own structure for fuel--not what an endurance athlete wants to happen one hour into a race.

Perpetuem uses a natural sweetener called Energy Smart and doesn't add any simple sugars. It is naturally derived from fruit and grain sources, and then converted from a simple sugar to medium chain carbohydrate. What does this mean? You body will process Energy Smart like a long chain carbohydrate so it's easier on your liver and you can process more of it faster.

Perpetuem recommends that you add 35-69 grams of the mix to 12-24 ounces of water for each hour of prolonged exercise. At that rate you will get at least eight servings out of the featured product.