Banana

£0.30, fruit shops everywhere. ●●●●●
Good old-fashioned natural food and what all energy products are trying to recreate in their caffeine or carbohydrate pumped products. Combinations of carbohydrates and B vitamins in bananas give a huge energy boost. You can put your mind at rest that it won't send you bouncing off the walls on an energy overload – plus it's cheap, biodegradable and tasty!

Go Bar

£1.20, www.scienceinsport.com ●●
The energy bar is disguised as a delicious caramel tray bake, but actually has the texture of styrofoam and the taste of one of those cheap banana sweets you bought as a kid. Although it claims to be the equivalent of about two whole portions of fruit from your five a day, it is physically hard to eat, meaning you burn off half the energy chewing the thing.

Maxim Carbo Cake – Chocolate

£7.33, www.dotbike.com ●●●
Yes, that's right – chocolate cake! It seems too good to be true, but this special is loaded with carbohydrate. Although the process of baking is more time consuming (it's designed to be made a day in advance and eaten two hours before exercise), it's a much tastier option. Spread nutella on it to make it more appetising, if that doesn't defeat the purpose.

Smart Energizer Gel

£1.09, www.scienceinsport.com ●●●●●
Completely functional and convenient, no need to chew at all and can be easily strapped to your arm when cycling. It's made with something they call 'unique GO-Gel technology'. You simply squirt down the liquid in a functional manner – not dissimilar to the way a car guzzles down petrol. The gel is very sweet and pleasant tasting, similar to raspberry jelly but more liquidised.

Quick Energy

£1.99, www.energyshot.org ●●
The shot, unlike others, is targeted at the average office worker and aims to combat office skiving and Facebook fatigue to ensure a productive day … or perhaps just more Facebooking. Extremely strong tasting – like necking a shot of Calpol or that odd tasting mouthwash from the dentist. Despite the taste, it definitely gives you a mental kick and physical buzz. Which is the point I suppose.

High5

Energy Bar £1.09, www.highfive.com ●●●●
Compared with other bars, High5 is a more organic and natural product. With natural derivatives, grains and fruit pieces, it looks and tastes similar to a flapjack than most of the competition. Not only that, but it is actually quite pleasant to eat. Claiming to be 98 percent fat free and high in carbohydrate, the bar is small in size and not as heavy and unmanageable to eat as others.