when is electorlyte replacement needed

[SadieKate]

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.

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.

[Wahine]

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.

[aicabsolut]

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.

[Wahine]

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.

[aicabsolut]

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.

[nscrbug]

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.