There’s a place a few hours from me that will do an in person sweat test from PH, but it’s about $200. Just curious if it’s worth it?
I guess. But once you know the number, you’re done. Pretty straight forward. I think they use it as a way to sell you their products but they do consult fueling strategies with different products as well. Figure out the salt loss and then your water loss, and you’re good to go. Numbers will be higher in the heat and lower in the cold.
This is my question. I’m guessing that your sweat rate (And what’s in it) will change based on race location and what you’ve eaten. I’d wonder about other factors like sleep, training volume, etc. etc. So unless you’re doing it often, it’s a really biased input.
But if you’ve got the money, it’s fun to geek out!
It’s not sweat rate. It’s salt from the sweat they test. That typically doesn’t change. Once you know you know. The sweat rate you just use a scale.
I had it done at the Chicago location. I live in Detroit. Was an eye opener for me, I had no idea I was losing as much salt as I was.
I guess. But once you know the number, you’re done. Pretty straight forward. I think they use it as a way to sell you their products but they do consult fueling strategies with different products as well. Figure out the salt loss and then your water loss, and you’re good to go. Numbers will be higher in the heat and lower in the cold.
I own one of their test machines, and I’ve done testing since 2019. I don’t know how other test sites work, but I personally don’t sell product. I give them their results, help them understand the report, and advice on how they can adjust their strategy with their current product they use, or advice on other products they could use in case sodium levels are high.
I never sell them anything, and 95% of the time I don’t hear from them again.
I guess. But once you know the number, you’re done. Pretty straight forward. I think they use it as a way to sell you their products but they do consult fueling strategies with different products as well. Figure out the salt loss and then your water loss, and you’re good to go. Numbers will be higher in the heat and lower in the cold.
I own one of their test machines, and I’ve done testing since 2019. I don’t know how other test sites work, but I personally don’t sell product. I give them their results, help them understand the report, and advice on how they can adjust their strategy with their current product they use, or advice on other products they could use in case sodium levels are high.
I never sell them anything, and 95% of the time I don’t hear from them again.
I by no means am against people trying to collect a few more federal reserve notes. I would actually encourage them to do so. Especially if the product is good. But I’ve never tried it. Just stating my experience.
I guess. But once you know the number, you’re done. Pretty straight forward. I think they use it as a way to sell you their products but they do consult fueling strategies with different products as well. Figure out the salt loss and then your water loss, and you’re good to go. Numbers will be higher in the heat and lower in the cold.
I own one of their test machines, and I’ve done testing since 2019. I don’t know how other test sites work, but I personally don’t sell product. I give them their results, help them understand the report, and advice on how they can adjust their strategy with their current product they use, or advice on other products they could use in case sodium levels are high.
I never sell them anything, and 95% of the time I don’t hear from them again.
I by no means am against people trying to collect a few more federal reserve notes. I would actually encourage them to do so. Especially if the product is good. But I’ve never tried it. Just stating my experience.
Yeah, definitely didn’t try to sound defensive, because I am not. I don’t test that much anymore, and I don’t promote it. People that will benefit from it will eventually find me.
I did testing back in 2018 with another company, Levelen I think was their name, and I found the results very helpful and in 2019 my racing improved.
I think it’s worth it, but I don’t think everyone needs it; most will be OK by taking somewhere around 1000-1200mg per hour, but there are a few, like me that do better with more sodium.
There’s also a lot of value in sitting down with someone and talking about hydration, I have found that most athletes know shit about hydration.
It’s salt from the sweat they test. That typically doesn’t change. Once you know you know.
Doesn’t your body regulate salt excretion rates based on variable things like hydration status?
It’s not sweat rate. It’s salt from the sweat they test. That typically doesn’t change. Once you know you know. The sweat rate you just use a scale.
Your body’s response to exercise will definitely change depending on a number of variables. Electrolyte loss and sweat rate can and will change.
I’ve done the sweat tests at different times of year and in different conditions to gauge and I can absolutely confirm my numbers changed.
Now to what extent these tests are accurate is a different conversation. But they were consistent.
Get a Nix biosensor and you can test yourself in varying conditions over and over. I’ve seen very consistent sodium concentration results, but extremely variable sweat and salt loss rates depending on the temperature and humidity.
It’s not sweat rate. It’s salt from the sweat they test. That typically doesn’t change. Once you know you know. The sweat rate you just use a scale.
Your body’s response to exercise will definitely change depending on a number of variables. Electrolyte loss and sweat rate can and will change.
I’ve done the sweat tests at different times of year and in different conditions to gauge and I can absolutely confirm my numbers changed.
Now to what extent these tests are accurate is a different conversation. But they were consistent.
What kind of variation did you observe? 5%? 10%?
It’s not sweat rate. It’s salt from the sweat they test. That typically doesn’t change. Once you know you know. The sweat rate you just use a scale.
Your body’s response to exercise will definitely change depending on a number of variables. Electrolyte loss and sweat rate can and will change.
I’ve done the sweat tests at different times of year and in different conditions to gauge and I can absolutely confirm my numbers changed.
Now to what extent these tests are accurate is a different conversation. But they were consistent.
What kind of variation did you observe? 5%? 10%?
I’ll have to look back; this was early last year. And I haven’t done jack since my 2023 race.
I’ve seen anywhere from a 10% to 20% decrease in sweat rate when running indoors vs. outdoors. In each case my sweat composition (mg of sodium per ml of sweat) was roughly the same at 1.6 mg/ml. I’ve tested myself a handful of times running (indoors and outdoors) and cycling (indoors and outdoors) and the sweat composition has been fairly consistent, with a pretty big range of sweat rates depending on temperature and other factors.
I’ve seen anywhere from a 10% to 20% decrease in sweat rate when running indoors vs. outdoors. In each case my sweat composition (mg of sodium per ml of sweat) was roughly the same at 1.6 mg/ml. I’ve tested myself a handful of times running (indoors and outdoors) and cycling (indoors and outdoors) and the sweat composition has been fairly consistent, with a pretty big range of sweat rates depending on temperature and other factors.
This is my experience too. My sodium rate is within 5% for the two tests I’ve done; one with Levelen, and the other with my equipment from PH.
My sweat volume on the other hand, varies significantly depending on activity, and environmental conditions.
I’m not smart enough to know what has caused some of my wild swings in sweat composition, but for my purpose I basically keep a running average based on a temperature range. Then, when I’m preparing my nutrition for long runs and rides, I can tailor my intake to have roughly the same composition of electrolytes and fluid. This has been a game changer this summer training in SE TX, as previously I was taking in about half the electrolytes I was losing.
That’s surprising to me. I would have thought diet could have a large effect.
This study showed a pretty significant https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/#:~:text=Conclusions%3A%20Three%20day%20altered%20sodium,exercise%20in%20hot%20ambient%20conditions. range between low sodium and high sodium diets.
What’s interesting the body temperature rising more quickly in the low sodium diet vs the high sodium diet. I hadn’t considered sodium loading as part of the Kona heat protocol before.
I don’t track my sodium intake but I’m quite sure there’s so much more that determines sweat rate and composition than just temperature and pace. My average sweat composition is 1.5, however it’s been as high as 1.8 and as low as 0.96. Conditions for those were extremely similar to other workouts where I was right around my average. Your body temperature comments are interesting. I also train with a CORE sensor and even during long runs in extreme heat and humidity I haven’t seen anything above 102.7F. Must mean I get plenty of sodium…
Perhaps Dr. Alex Harrison can chime in regarding preloading with electrolytes and how that might affect your sweat composition.