TrainedByJP Sustain 1800 g

What is TrainedByJP Sustain?

Sustain is a powdered exercise drink, to be sipped during training, supplied in a 1.8 kg tub, or 60 servings of 30 g. The flavours we stock: Orange & Mango and Berry Burst.

What sets it apart is the carbohydrate make-up, which the manufacturer calls the Tri-Carb Complex: 25 g of carbohydrate per serving, split across three sources with different absorption rates — cyclic dextrin, palatinose and fructose. The idea is to spread the intake over time rather than concentrate it on a single pathway.

Added to this are a coconut water powder, glycerol monostearate and Himalayan pink salt. The product contains no stimulants: this is not a pre-workout, it is fuel. The rest of the British range can be found in our TrainedByJP aisle.

What is in a 30 g serving?

* Column calculated from the 30 g serving declared by the manufacturer. The energy value is given only in kilocalories and only approximately, and the full nutrition table — fat, protein, salt, sugars — is not published. We will not invent it.

The figure that shapes the product is the 25 g of carbohydrate per 30 g of powder. In other words, more than 83% of the sachet is fuel, which leaves little room for anything else — flavouring, citric acid, beetroot colouring, sucralose. That is consistent with an exercise product.

The split is worth pausing on, because it is what you are buying. Cyclic dextrin empties from the stomach quickly and supplies energy without heaviness. Palatinose, or isomaltulose, is a slow-absorbing sugar that spreads the intake out. Fructose, finally, uses a different intestinal transporter from glucose: combining the two makes it possible in practice to absorb more carbohydrate per hour than with a single source. That is the real technical argument behind this formula, and it stands up.

What we cannot assess: the amounts of coconut water, glycerol and pink salt are not published. On an exercise drink, sodium content is nonetheless the second most important piece of information after the carbohydrate — it is what decides whether the product covers your sweat losses. Without that figure, we cannot tell you whether you need to add electrolytes alongside it. The manufacturer suggests as much itself, depending on the heat and how heavily you sweat, which suggests the intake stays modest.

How do you use Sustain?

Serving: 30 g. Liquid: 750 ml of cold water. Timing: during the session, starting 15 to 20 minutes after it begins. Frequency: one bottle per long session. Duration: none, this is an exercise food.

The 750 ml volume is not merely indicative: it is what makes this product a bottle rather than a shake. You sip it in small mouthfuls across the whole session, and it is that way of drinking it that lets you take on 25 g of carbohydrate without digestive discomfort. Downed in one go, the same liquid would cause problems.

The manufacturer gives three specific protocols. Sessions of more than 90 minutes: continuous consumption in small sips. High-intensity training: start 15 to 20 minutes after the session begins. Endurance sports: spread it across the full duration of the effort.

One instruction to respect: take Sustain separately from your EAAs or your protein. The manufacturer says so, and it is justified — a carbohydrate drink and an amino acid drink in the same bottle do not digest as well as you would hope. If you take EAAs during exercise, alternate rather than mix.

The 1.8 kg tub covers 60 servings. At three long sessions a week, that works out at around five months. Store dry, and close it properly.

Who is Sustain for, and who is it not for?

It suits efforts that last, first and foremost: a long bike ride, a run of more than an hour and a half, trail running, a high-volume strength session, a team sport with two training slots. That is where 25 g of carbohydrate during exercise genuinely changes something. The fact that it contains no stimulants also makes it usable in the evening, unlike a pre-workout.

It contains GLUTEN, the barley starch being the source. That is a decisive piece of information and one rarely highlighted in this category: people with coeliac disease must avoid it. The product is also made in a facility that handles milk, soya and eggs.

It is not recommended for children, or for pregnant and breastfeeding women. The manufacturer also urges caution in cases of diabetes or disordered carbohydrate metabolism: that makes sense for a drink delivering 25 g of carbohydrate in one go, and this question is one for your doctor.

It is not for a session of less than an hour. For an ordinary weights session, your glycogen stores are more than enough, and drinking 100 kcal during training simply adds 100 kcal to your day. Nor is it for you if you are in a strict calorie deficit, for the same reason.

What you should not expect from it: any kick. With no caffeine and no stimulants, you will feel nothing immediate — what you should notice is not falling apart in the second hour. This is a product judged on the end of the effort, not on the first ten minutes.

Sustain or cyclic dextrin on its own?

That is the real trade-off, and it turns on price as much as on the formula.

Cyclic dextrin bought on its own costs distinctly less per gram of carbohydrate, and it is the best-established exercise carbohydrate in the category: rapid gastric emptying, very good digestive tolerance, no pronounced sweetness. It is the better choice if you want to control your own dose, if you prefer a single-ingredient product, or if budget matters — you can add your own salt and your own electrolytes for a few pence.

Sustain brings two things a dextrin on its own does not have. The first: fructose, which uses a separate intestinal transporter and allows more carbohydrate to be absorbed per hour over a long effort. The second: palatinose, which spreads the intake and avoids the spike-then-slump. Add the taste, the coconut water and the salt, and you have a ready-made drink, which a plain powder is not.

If your effort lasts less than an hour and a half, the gap between the two will not show, and maltodextrin or waxy maize will do the job for far less. Beyond two hours, the multi-source formula comes into its own.

Frequently asked questions

Why three different carbohydrate sources?

Because they do not use the same pathways. Glucose and fructose travel via separate intestinal transporters, which means combining the two allows more carbohydrate to be absorbed per hour than relying on a single source. Palatinose, being slower, spreads the intake over time. Over a two-hour effort, that split has a real benefit.

Do you really need 750 ml of water?

Yes, and that is what separates an exercise drink from a shake. At 750 ml sipped across the session, the carbohydrate concentration stays low and the stomach copes. In 300 ml downed in one go, the same 25 g becomes uncomfortable during exercise.

Does it contain gluten?

Yes. The barley starch that forms the base of the cyclic dextrin supplies it, and the manufacturer declares it as an allergen. People with coeliac disease must avoid it. This is a point on which this formula differs from most cyclic dextrins in the aisle, which are usually made from maize or tapioca starch.

How many servings are in the tub?

Sixty servings of 30 g for 1.8 kg. At three long sessions a week, that covers around five months. It is a size that only makes sense if you regularly string together efforts of more than an hour and a half.

Can it be mixed with EAAs or with protein?

The manufacturer advises taking them separately. Mixing a carbohydrate drink and an amino acid source in the same bottle slows gastric emptying and increases the risk of discomfort during exercise. If you take both, alternate the mouthfuls rather than the bottles.

Does it contain enough electrolytes for a session in summer?

We cannot say: the amounts of coconut water and pink salt are not published. The manufacturer suggests adding electrolytes itself, depending on weather conditions and how heavily you sweat, which suggests the baseline intake stays modest. On a long effort in real heat, plan for a supplement.

Is it suitable for an hour-long weights session?

Not really. Over an hour of weights, your glycogen stores comfortably cover the effort, and drinking an extra 100 kcal brings nothing beyond 100 kcal. This product comes into its own beyond 90 minutes, or on continuous endurance efforts.

Where can you buy TrainedByJP Sustain?

The flavours can be ordered from this page, and we ship throughout France and Europe. On a 60-serving tub, you had better be sure of the flavour: at 750 ml per session, a taste you tire of quickly becomes a problem.

At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is a product we discuss by starting with one simple question: how long does your session last? Under an hour and a half, we recommend something else, and often something cheaper. The rest of the exercise carbohydrates can be compared in our sports nutrition aisle.