I think my electrolytes consumption usually pretty modest; on long hot training days, i may consume 2-3 Gatorade bottles (before / after + a lot of clear water). i think i do a little bit of water retention since the next day I’m a little heavier (1-2 lbs). I never tested how my sweat rate, but I sweat a lot and there are plenty of salt marks on my gear.
Look like my up coming IM will be pretty hot! I know that my stomach could get pretty selective by the middle of the run. So i was thinking of grabbing few extra salts tablets while on the bike.
While i appreciate it’s not something you want to do on regular basis… what could be the consequences of overdoing it with electrolytes on race days?
(until my ‘garmin’ tell us our salt level, we are doom to over or under doing nutrition… instinct is telling me that over doing it is better for salt)
It’s called hypernatremia, or dangerously high sodium levels. I wouldn’t worry about it with Gatorade though. There’s basically not enough mols of sodium/potassium in Gatorade to drink too much. You’d have to be taking something like Pedialyte or another very concentrated drink to be in any danger.
It’s called hypernatremia, or dangerously high sodium levels. I wouldn’t worry about it with Gatorade though. There’s basically not enough mols of sodium/potassium in Gatorade to drink too much. You’d have to be taking something like Pedialyte or another very concentrated drink to be in any danger.
Interesting, what about if I used something like Base Salt (standard dose every 20-30 mins)?
i over did it while experimenting, first sign was simply clenching my fists and feeling waaay too much fluid buildup. never did take blood pressure, but probably wasn’t good. i didnt die.
Personally I have found that I don’t really take electrolytes during training even in the heat maybe one serve in a drink bottle when I am doing a long rides maybe? I do increase salt intake in my general food consumption and maybe a Gatorade or the like thrown in if I stop at a gas station. The only place I ever didn’t have enough and suffered cramping was at Kona as I discussed in that thread. I take either salt capsules or some electrolytes in my drinks but certainly don’t over stress like I had to adjust too in preceding Konas. I fly to work in the NW of Australia and is very hot in summer so take a sachet of the electrolytes work provides generally every day or I can get cramps. Someone may correct me but I’m told the salt intake helps with the digestion when consuming a lot of gels???
Just read through that and now feel more lost than ever, lol.
Not enough salt, cramp. Too much salt, dehydrates you, cramp… Not enough salt, maybe cramp, yep. Too much salt doesn’t dehydrate you unless it’s WAY WAY WAY WAY too much salt. An amount that would be very hard for any exercising person to take in, without first getting severe stomach pain. Salt water dehydrates because it’s 30,000mg/L. (20x the high end of sodium concentration I’d typically recommend.) You’d need to add about 1/4 cup of table salt to a small bike bottle to achieve the same concentration.
Do not do this. The results will not be deadly. But you might wish they were.
How did folks like Mark Allen, Dave Scott, Natasha B., etc etc survive these IM races without having salt pills, base salt, EFS, etc???
sugar & Table Salt go a (very) long way.
I invite you to go purchase some highly concentrated magnesium oil or electrolyte drop supplement. 45 drops will bring on a nice relaxing state, almost like melatonin. You can even rub the oil into your sore muscles and it will be absorbed through the skin. It’s the best supplement very few are taking.
Buuuuuuuuuuut, I also invite you to take 100 drops and shit yourself.
