People that need salt are the ones that eat 5000 mg of salt in their regular diets, so they need mega salt when they are working out. Eat a good diet, drink a good iso drink and you’ll never need additional salt.
Plus the OP was talking about a 60 mile training ride…not very long.
They help a lot! Both with fluid retention and cramps.
People that need salt are the ones that eat 5000 mg of salt in their regular diets, so they need mega salt when they are working out.
Physiology phail. That has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read on ST in a long while.
JChap is right. Just stop now before you kill someone.
John
I used to train with GU, Gatorade, bars, etc. On hot days, longer rides 50+ miles, or climbing rides…I would always end up with the white dusty salt marks on my face and gear. This was due to massive sweating–cramping in my muscles was not rare.
I now use Infinit for my training and racing mix. Never have white salt marks, and I can’t recall the last time I got a muscle cramp.
It has made a huge difference for me. I would say, give the salt a chance in whatever format you decide. Use it in training to work out any kinks. If you do not see any reliable changes, stop taking it.
Most sports drinks do not even contain enough sodium to absorb the fluid in their own container.
Lots of good info/research on saltstick’s website…
Albert
No! You get enough salt in your reg diet. Nobody should ever have to supplement their salt intake.
Seriously?
Seriously.
Right back at you…
Troll alert!
I’m with Noakes’ research (cited above - there are even more recent examples) of how people DON’T need salt, or certainly anywhere near as much as they need it. The concept that it’s somehow dangerous to not to so is highly, highly over-rated. Yes, a tiny percentage of folks get hyponatremia in races, but he’s studied it (to death) and it’s rarely well trained folks and almost invariably a function of over-drinking water above thirst.
Rapp obviously is kicking butt with his salt regimen so it’s absolutely worth looking at, but one still has to remember that a key aspect of salt regualtion is that you can literally intake as much salt as you want as long as your kidneys are healthy AND you have access to enough water to dilute it back down to correct osmolality. Your thirst (one of the most powerful reflexes in the human body) will dictate this, and make you drink exactly enough water to offset your salt intake. It’s shockingly precise. The limiter is racing is how much water you can drink - if you over-salt, you’ll have to drink tons of water to match, and if you’re going all-out, that can lead to GI issues. You’ll also have to pee more if you’re oversalting since that’s how you dump all that extra salt+water.
So as awesome as Rapp’s results are, it doesn’t mean that if you go out and add that much salt to your racing compared to not salting, that you’ll see a gain in your performance. For sure, it also doesn’t mean that a typical IM athlete needs that much salt to be safe on the course.
I’d def experiment with sodium intake to see what works best for yourself, but the one concept that’s been repeatedly mentioned here that I completely disagree with is that it’s dangerous to ride a 60 miler, even on a hot day with no sodium. I also agree with Noakes’ research which he’s done ad nauseum which pretty convincingly shows it’s not dangerous to do a low-sodium intake even for ironman competitions. Whether you need more sodium to hit peak performance is something you’ll have to experiment with.
People that need salt are the ones that eat 5000 mg of salt in their regular diets, so they need mega salt when they are working out.
Physiology phail. That has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read on ST in a long while.
JChap is right. Just stop now before you kill someone.
John
http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2010/02/02/salt-bad-race/
Read the last paragraph.
Kill some one, little Over reaction…
People that need salt are the ones that eat 5000 mg of salt in their regular diets, so they need mega salt when they are working out.
Physiology phail. That has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read on ST in a long while.
JChap is right. Just stop now before you kill someone.
John
I’m glad someone else chimed in. I don’t know if he will kill someone, but honestly your advice is terrible and the logic behind it is flawed. Maybe you could PM Jordan and tell him if he cut out all the salt in his diet (which he doesn’t have) that he wouldn’t need all that salt on race day.
How long does it take you to do these 60 milers? Also how often do you do them and what’s your weekly training is like?
Depending on your answer, you can probably find a solution. It is possibly that your body is not used to the heat, you are not eating enough or you are not in condition to do these 60 milers and still have enough in the tank. Few years ago, I couldn’t even stand after a 15 mile ride… now that is only a warm up for me. Last week I did 80 miles and had enough in the tank to play with the kids and work on the house. I could’ve ran too. That’s without any salt. But also the temp was only in the 60s-70s.
So what I am saying here is salt might not be the magic pill that you are hoping for.
my experience is that I feel better with salt tabs. I aim for ~1000mg/Na per hour for racing or training in the heat. BTW, I’m 157#. If I’m not doing one of those 2 work outs then I back off on the salt. I drink water to thirst and have a fuel plan for racing that I’ve tested many, many times in training. If my legs are sore or crampy then I take an extra salt tab if I’m low on energy then I eat something. That said , I did IMLP and barely made any urine at all during the race. I drank plenty of water, but I probably over did the salt that day.
Its pretty individual. I ride with a friend whose stomach goes haywire with 800mg/hour. I have not data as to whether the average daily salt intake is what drives that variation. My buddy who takes less salt appears to eat more regularly than I do, just based on what he says compared to what I do.
So a long answer to say, try it out and see what your body prefers.
While I usually carry a chicken-fried steak with cream gravy in my back pocket on the bike providing me with all the sodium I need, others seem to dislike this method. Most people pick and choose specific carbohydrate and electrolyte sources to consume from bottles, gels and tablets while on the bike or run.
Yes, as long as I’ve been able to sprinkle some salt on top “to taste”. :).
You don’t need to add salt to your diet either. But you might do it unconsciously anyway. A 1999 Israeli study found that exercise increased the preference for salty foods. So that’s why you crave potato chips after a long weekend endurance session.
This.