when is electorlyte replacement needed

After reading the Sunday ride report and seeing how far Roxy road, (YEA Rocky!!! :D) and her bodies reaction. I was wondering, what is the distance that most of you start taking electrolyte replacement drinks, or sports drinks, or food on your rides. I only take water with me. I will sometimes drink one of the g2 Gatorade's after I get home if I have sweat a lot, which I always do, but not sure that it's really a requirement of my body, or just me wanting a Gatorade. I do sweat rivers, I'm usually soaked when I get home, and that is just riding 10 or so miles. Shoot I am sweating before I go out the door. I sweat when I'm getting ready after a shower. Sweat is a perpetual thing for me. LOL

Anyway, I was just wondering, I know all you experts and long distant riders know the answer to this and I should, but don't.

Thanks in advance

I will always have something with electrolytes on me when I go out for a ride. For quick after work spins under 2 hrs I don't often consume them, but if I need the calories in the drink or food, then I will anyway. In the summertime, I always have copious amounts on hand. I'm a very salty sweater. I leave a race or a long training ride completely crusted in salt. While I've heard conflicting things about electrolyte replacement and cramping and overexertion and whatnot, I know that for me, taking in a lot helps me, particularly in hot weather. One bottle almost always has an electrolyte drink. The other water. Plus, I carry gels, sport beans, shot bloks, etc.

What I know is that for me, as I'm susceptable to heat exhaustion, I need some sort of electrolyte solution. My stomach doesn't like gatorade very much. And I'd rather not do the mail order thing (that's just me), or run to a store out of my way for just one thing. So I look for solutions in my grocery store.

I live in hot muggy country, where sweat just stays on your skin if you're sitting still. I always pack a bottle of water and a bottle of sports drink for any ride more than a couple of miles. Pretty much, if it involves my road bike, 2 water bottles are required. If it's my town cruiser, I'm cruising the neighborhood, staying very local and may or may not take a water bottle - but I'm also near civilization, and moving much slower!

I do not like getting heat exhaustion, so do what I can to avoid it. :cool:

I think the answer depends on your body so there is no "right" answer.

Personally?
I ALWAYS carry food, and I ALWAYS carry one more bar than I think I'm going to need. This is mainly due to the diabetic history of my family and my tendency to run out of sugar and be in deep trouble when I'm exercising (hyperglycemia more or less).

I used to only carry water, but since it's been hot over the summer I've been craving salt after rides (hint: if you are craving Gatorade, chips, etc. your body is telling you you need salt, you should listen). So I got some HEED to try and now carry one bottle of HEED and one of plain water. I'm noticing a huge difference, so I'll probably keep that up even when it cools down a bit.

My typical rides are 45-75 miles.

see if you can find NUUN at a local LBS. It's a sugar free sports drink-- for electrolytes.

I use Elete (eletewater.com) no flavor, no calories. I use it everytime I walk or bike, just a capful in my bottle or camelback.

It is very easy to take in extra electrolytes without calories by using products like Endurolytes, Elete Water, SportLegs, etc. These come in power, pills, liquid.

Some people may need extra electrolytes even for just an hour ride in very hot weather. Since your stomach can only absorb a limited number of calories per hour, these products are a great method to bump up your electrolyte intake without unnecessary additional calories.

Each of these products has a different balance of each type of electrolyte. My husband noticeably feels better when using Elete due to the higher magnesium levels.

For rides of 2 hours or more, I also always carry one bottle of water, and one bottle with an electrolyte drink, and alternate between the two.

I'm currently a big fan of the new Camelbak Elixir.

As for specific products, my team is sponsored by Clif, so I tend to go with their stuff. I probably should use the extra sodium things now and then, but I don't really like the taste. Instead, if I know it's going to be a hot and brutal day, I will snack on Jelly Belly sport beans before the ride or during a stop. They are kind of a pain to eat on the go, but they do seem to have more sodium per serving than a lot of gels and chews. I'm not worried about the calories, so I generally don't buy nuun tablets or other low calorie or calorie free electrolyte things, but I will often use smart water in my plain water bottle. It doesn't have sodium, but I think the other electrolytes (calcium, potassium, magnesium) are beneficial. It's a good option for me when I leave the house and I'm not sure if I'll be refilling with any electrolyte drinks during the ride. I don't like Gatorade or other stuff that you typically find at gas station stops.

For a lower calorie drink, I like the new Clif pre-bottled electrolyte stuff. I usually have those pre-event or as part of my recovery.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

For a lower calorie drink, I like the new Clif pre-bottled electrolyte stuff. I usually have those pre-event or as part of my recovery.

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I tried the new Clif drink (Quench) but didn't like the taste. But then, I do like Gatorade (orange or lemon-lime).

I usually stick with Gatorade and Gu gels during a ride. This summer I started using Gu Roctane, which has more electrolytes than regular Gu. It also costs more, so I've been alternating Roctane with the regular Gu. I've been feeling a lot better during rides this summer and I'm not retaining so much water like I used to, so I think the Roctane is making a difference.

I generally stick with water for rides of 90 minutes or less, and alternate between bottles of water and Gatorade for longer rides. For Gu, 1 pack per 10 miles usually works for me, although I always carry 1-2 extra just in case.

BWT as I've mentioned elsewhere, I really like Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guide Book, which addresses sodium and other electrolyte needs among its many topics.

What flavors did you try? So far, I really only like Limeade. Strawberry citrus is sort of tolerable but sweet. Fruit punch is too authentic tasting.

For the Quench, I tried Orange. It didn't have enough of the orange flavor to hide the sodium and whatever else was in there.

IMO if the salty flavor doesn't taste good, it's your body telling you you don't need it.

Sweat rate and sweat composition are very individual - and they change for any individual person with heat/cold acclimation. I'm still trying to sort it out for myself after years of struggling.

But I think in general, on a ride that's short or easy enough that you don't have to replace calories, and cool enough that you drink two bottles of water or less, you can deal with your electrolyte replacement in your regular diet.

It's still a good idea to carry a gel or two, or a packet of your favorite powder, just in case you get caught out and have to ride longer than you'd planned.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

IMO if the salty flavor doesn't taste good, it's your body telling you you don't need it.

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I've heard you (or someone else) say this before, and I initially liked the thought, but have come to disagree. I happen to like salty food; I salt nearly everything. Because of this, I likely don't need the salt, but drink electrolyte drinks for everything else in them. I'm so used to salt, though, so electrolyte drinks never taste salty to me.

I imagine that the opposite is also true. If someone regularly eats low quantities of salt, they may dislike the salt in an electrolyte drink. This does not mean that they don't need the electrolytes.

I always like the taste of my water with elete in it better than plain water when I am hot and sweaty. Hubs hated water with elete when he first tasted it, but now that he has started using it while riding, he loves it.

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Originally Posted by witeowl

I imagine that the opposite is also true. If someone regularly eats low quantities of salt, they may dislike the salt in an electrolyte drink. This does not mean that they don't need the electrolytes.

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Totally agree. I use very little salt so a lot of things taste too salty to me.

A little Crystal Lemonade Crystal Light fixes the taste of a lot of eletrolyte drinks. I love tart flavors, especially when I'm hot.

From a coach/racer stand point here's what I do and generally recommend for my clients:

Anything over 1 hour you need some caloric and/or electrolyte replacement. How many calories you take in depends on intensity of exercise and you body size but for moderate intensity most of my clients do well will 100 to 150 cal per hour. If your caloric replacement drink or food has electrolytes, great. If not you should be adding electrolytes too. Sometimes you don't need them but the risk of not getting enough electrolyte far outweighs the cost of not having enough. It's not really a problem for shorter rides etc but in endurance sport we are seeing a higher incidence of hyponatremia. This article link is actually quite good and explains it well.

What do I do? I use endurolytes at a rate of one per hour for any rides greater than 2 hours regardless of temp. I use up to 2 or 3 per hour for long, hot endurance events. This is in addition to Perpetuem mixed with some Heed. But I live in a hot area, often ride more than 4 hours at a time and am a salty sweater. And, I don't have any health issues where I would be concerned about getting too much sodium.

Hope that helps.

Why only 100-150 calories per hour? What kind of riding is the norm for your clients?

I tend to shoot for at least 200 per hour. Most of my rides under 90 min are intense interval workouts, but for chill rides, I guess I still take in 100-200 calories per hour because it's usually been a while since I ate a meal. Most of the food contains electrolytes, and I usually end all but recovery-type rides starving and, in the summer, craving salt. Even if I don't feel hungry, I will feel a bonk coming on (dizziness in the shower, etc.) if I do not get a full meal in soon afterward. I think if I could digest and use more calories during my rides, I'd consume them.

That's just a starting estimate for a moderate intensity ride. Most of my clients are women, they are not doing intervals typically because a lot of them are fairly new to riding or triathlon so the intensity of their rides are often lower. This would be adjusted depending on how they do. I personally shoot for 200 cal per hour myself but I'm 5'7", have a fair bit of lean muscle and exercise at higher intensities. For a more advanced rider with more muscle on them, I'd likely start at 200/hour.

I also recommend having some form of quick food on hand as emergency food in case you start to feel bonky. That extra gel I pack has saved me many a time.

:D That's great. My teammates make fun of my larger than average seat pack which needs to accommodate (among all the tubes and tools) my "emergency gel." I've needed it a couple of times, and I've also given it to others on the ride who were in desperate need.

I like HEED and GU20 as far electrolyte replacement goes, for longer rides (60+ miles). If it's a shorter ride (<50 miles), I can get by with a water/G2 combo.