Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Save up to 50% on your Sports Drinks! - Saving Time and Money Series


I am sorry, I had made a mistake last week by scheduling the breath technique drills during my annual trip to Long Beach Island, Surf City, New Jersey.  It is a lovely place and is my 23rd year and counting. 
This week I am going to be talking about how to save you money on your daily nutrition needs.  Sports drinks, protein shakes, and vitamin supplements can take a bite out of your budget.  As you may know, single servings of these drinks can be upwards of $2.00 (per scoop).  Who has the money for nutrition use on a daily basis with these unit prices?  In order to sew the hole back up in your pocket, I will illustrate a simple set of rules to follow when looking for your training nutrition.
 

Rule #1 - Research, Research, Research!
Constant research is a must when looking to shed a few dollars on your nutrition bills.  Try starting with Google Shopping.  Search for your favorite training and racing nutrition starting with the lowest price+shipping.  Let’s use EnduroxR4 as an example.  Just do a few calculations and find the lowest priced bottle per serving.  Try researching once every 1-2 weeks.  It only takes 5-10 minutes and is the most important rule to remember!


Rule #2Avoid Traditional Sites like GNC
While Vitamin World and GNC have been around for a good while, their prices reflect the added expense of employee knowledge.  Avoid these traditional stores for your purchases.  Weight lifting websites tend to carry a broad scope of products.  In the crossfires they sometimes pick up endurance supplements like Hammer Nutrition’s Heed, and previously stated Pacific Health’s Endurox R4.  In time these products don’t sell as well on the site and tend to be put onto clearance.   You’re not doing too bad when you get a large tub of a sports drink at 50% of the price!
  • Amazon.com – A great collaboration of smaller online stores
  • Smartbody Nutrition
  • VitaminFix.com
Rule #3 - Look into trying different flavors
Certain flavors of sports nutrition can go faster than others.  Calling out Endurox R4 again, Fruit Punch tends to be a top seller for the product line.  After finding Lemon-Lime on clearance, I found Lemon-Lime has a much smoother flavor for working out and settles in the stomach better.  Since the find, I haven’t switched back!  Try something new!

Rule #4 - Buy in Bulk, Take the Discounts as they come
You may look at your nutrition inventory and say, “I have plenty for the next 3-4 months, why would I need more?”  The answer: You don’t, but you Will.  If you find a stellar sale, Go For It!  Some sales (especially clearance), come up very rarely and should be taken advantage of.  Don’t worry about over-buying, most sports nutrition products [that are stored properly] last for years before they expire.  Just relax, you will eventually use it.


Rule #5 - Look to your friends who belong to Clubs
Many clubs have special sponsorships with different companies.  National Running Center gives a 10-20% discount to clubs who sign up.  Share an order cost with a friend to take part in these discounts.

Rule #6 - Call to Place your Order
After following Rule #1, you may find some stores give free shipping, while others do not.  Check to see who has the lowest supplement prices and give them a call.  Chances are that if you site “www.Example Site.com” has “Free Shipping at this price” they may be able to knock off the shipping expenses for you to secure your business.  Be proactive!  There’s nothing wrong with penny pinching.   

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