Training & Nutrition - Proper use of electrolyte pills

I did a century last weekend w/ 10,000 feet of climbing. The afternoon was very hot, 90F+, and the club had electrolyte pills available at all rest stops. I had never taken them before, so I took 2 per hour for about 3 hours (in addition to diluted gatorade), and holy sh*t, they made a difference. Not only during the hot part of the ride when I was pushing it, but especially after the ride was over and I was driving home. Usually I'm a bit disoriented, slightly dizzy, etc., after a long hot ride, but I was able to chat on my cell the whole way home and felt pretty darn good when I got home. I helped my wife make dinner and I usually just flop on the couch after a nice long shower. I never get muscle cramps, so the difference I noted was greater energy at 80+ mile mark and later that night I felt great.

My question is when should I use these? I sweat tons and experience the sweat coated white helmet strap look everytime I go out. Is it beneficial to take these even during normal temperature rides? 70F+ ?

Are there any risks associated with taking the the recommended dosage of 1-3 per hour of exercise? thx, Tom

I have never heard of these pills before, but now I am interested in trying them. After a long, hot ride I have to take a long nap and feel out of it for the rest of the day. What brand of pill did you use and where can I find them?

http://www.trisports.com/hanuen.html


They work like a champ!

If you sweat a lot these can help and keep you from cramping.. I have used the Medi-Lite tabs which is supposed to be equal to a quart of gatorade in electrolytes.. Here is a link:

http://www.bikejerseys.com/medtab.html

I have heard that this stuff is good - http://www.eletewater.com/.

I have not used it personally but will use some on the next big ride.

I use these on all of my long rides. When it's hot out, I normally take about 1 or 2 every hour or two. When it's no that hot, I take one whenever I stop for water or snacks. The tablets are just sodium and potassium, you would really have to overdo it to overdose, I don't think you need to take more than 2 or 3 per hour. If used properly, there's no side effects or harm in using them, they're just replacing the electrolytes that you're sweating out. In fact, if you are drinking large amounts of water (rather than sport drink), these tabs will help protect you from Hyponatremia (diluting your bodies sodium level by taking in too much water). You may be interested to know that calcium also helps keeps cramping down, you can use the 500mg tablets or Rolaids, Tums etc. I have found that on hard rides (centuries with 10,000'+ climbing or doubles) that if I take 1 or 2 electrolyte tabs, 1 Advil and a Tums at each rest stop, it really keeps cramping to a minimum.

In super hot, super humid conditions, you could be losing up to 1000 mg (1 gram) of sodium per hour. So, it would be very hard to take too many of those pills.

2 - 4 per hour... the ones I use have 100 mg sodium, so I'm still depleting under extreme conditions.

ICE COLD V-8 VEGETABLE JUICE IS A WONDERFUL RECOVERY DRINK! IT'S TOTALLY SALTY!

I use E-Caps (http://www.e-caps.com/). I take one every ten miles when it's hot out and I find that they do help, although I did get a couple of cramps on my ride today after 50 miles. I think I'll try that Tums idea!

I carry Endurolytes (http://www.e-caps.com/za/ECP?PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD.ID=4037&OMI=10082,10047&AMI=10082) on longer rides, in a little pill container that E-Caps gives away with an order.

I take 1-2 capsules every time I empty a water bottle. It makes a huge difference in how my legs feel, both during and after a ride.

Hi,
follow the way of the cheapskate. Get a bottle of potassium pills at Walmart for $2. Now get a bag of mini-pretzels (real pretzels are fat free, sometimes I'll grab some prezels that have a little fat, but try to find the fat free ones). You now have basic electrolyte replacment, and carb replenishment.... for 3 bucks.

Jelly Belly makes jelly belly beans with electrolytes- damn good stuff and totally tasty! You can get them in small packs and carry them in emergencies. They were giving them out at the Jelly Belly booth at the races today. I could not stop eating them, they were so good. Now, if they could refrigerate them, they'd make millions (probably will either way).

Koffee

I have never heard of these pills before, but now I am interested in trying them. After a long, hot ride I have to take a long nap and feel out of it for the rest of the day. What brand of pill did you use and where can I find them?

If you live in a more northern, cooler climate, you might have difficulty finding them. I found ONE place in the town where I live that sold them, and they only had two bottles. They told me that if they ordered any more, they would just sit on the shelves and have to be tossed when the expiration date came and went. There just isn't the demand for them here.

The electrolyte tablets I bought (by default because they were the only ones in town) are:

Essential Electrolytes by NutriBiotic
http://store.nutribiotic.com/pgi-productspec?0560

On them the instructions say:

"For maximum electrolytic response, adults take 1 to 3 capsules before, and 1 to 3 capsules after, performing any athletic or strenuous activity."


A popular one in the US is eCaps, Endurolytes (Heard of Hammergel and Sustained Energy? Same company):
http://www.e-caps.com/za/ECP?PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD.ID=4037&OMI=10082,10047&AMI=10082

Their instructions say:
"1-3 capsules 30-60 minutes prior to exercise; 1-6 capsules each hour during exercise; 1-3 capsules after workout"

Hi,
follow the way of the cheapskate. Get a bottle of potassium pills at Walmart for $2. Now get a bag of mini-pretzels (real pretzels are fat free, sometimes I'll grab some prezels that have a little fat, but try to find the fat free ones). You now have basic electrolyte replacment, and carb replenishment.... for 3 bucks.


Up here in Canada, it would be very hard for you to find potassium pills. You can buy potassium as an ingredient in "light salt" or with other vitamins and minerals in a "multi" pill, but if I am not mistaken it is illegal to sell straight potassium here.

Potato chips can act as a complete electrolyte replacement too - they've got both potassium and sodium, and also calories. However there are times (and I've encountered those times a few times recently) where a cyclist might not feel at all hungry. When cyclists reach that point, chances are they are experiencing one of two things: bonking or electrolyte depletion (or a combination of both). If you can give a cyclist in a state like that some electrolyte pills, and then a beverage like Ensure or Sustained Energy with some calories, the cyclist might recover enough to start eating solid food again.