Trouble Staying Hydrated -Heavy Sweater - Suggestions

[nikvdw]

I have always been a big sweater. I have recently been doing longer rides, say 2-4 hours. I finish my bottles in about an hour and a half....1L

Can your guys tell me what my L per hour should be or something similar on say a 70 degree F day?


What do you do on these long rides?


How much does it affect my performance if i am short?

[bac]

I have always been a big sweater. I have recently been doing longer rides, say 2-4 hours. I finish my bottles in about an hour and a half....1L

Can your guys tell me what my L per hour should be or something similar on say a 70 degree F day?


What do you do on these long rides?


How much does it affect my performance if i am short?

The general rule is that your body can only absorb between 25-40 oz of H2O and hour. Any more is just going to go out the overflow. :) However, you really need to weigh yourself before and after your ride to determine how much (if any) hydration loss you are experiencing.

On longer rides, when I cannot get water from another source, I use a camelback. I mountain bike also, so using a CB is no big deal for me. Some of the roadies think is doesn't look "cool", but I've never looked cool, so I'm not losing anything! :)

Good luck!

... Brad

[State]

dude, get the big water bottles. They hold 32 ounces, almost a liter each. If I am going on a ride and I won't be able to refill, I have one of those profile design behind-the-seat holders so I can carry 2 more bottles with me. That is a lot of water.

If you get dehydrated not only will your perfomance suffer but you are putting yourself at risk for heat exhaustion, which is a very serious problem.

[Machka]

The general guideline is one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on the weather and how hard you're working.

On a 2 hour ride, you might aim to go through 1.5 - 2 of these bottles for a total of about 1 - 1.5 litres.

On a 4 hour ride, you might aim to go through 3 - 4 of these bottles for a total of about 2.2 - 3 litres.

These numbers are not exact and may vary depending on your size, the amount you sweat, the weather, etc.


Note that drinking right before your ride can factor into these number. If you drank a 500 ml or 750 ml glass of fruit juice, for example, maybe about 20 minutes before your ride, you can count that into your first hour of riding. And at the end of the ride, if you've been running a little low on liquid for the last hour or so, as soon as you come in, pour yourself a glass of water, fruit juice, sports drink or something to immediately top up your liquid.

And during the day generally ... that 8 glasses of water thing is still a good guideline.


Also check the articles on water and hydration here: http://www.ultracycling.com/siteindex.html

[PDay]

I read an article recently that said that for every 3% body weight you lose in water, you receive a 20% loss of performance. If youre 160 lbs, thats only 4.8 pounds! Now thats not really that much water to lose on a hot day if youre riding for 2-3 hours.

[BMX_MAN]

Just intake less sodium!
Sodium retains water from your body (keeps it in for a shorter period of time)

[Machka]

Just intake less sodium!
Sodium retains water from your body (keeps it in for a shorter period of time)

NOT a good idea ... that's the first step on the road to hyponatremia.

Definitely read the articles under the heading Hyponatremia

http://www.ultracycling.com/siteindex.html

And sodium causes the body to retain water ... in other words it keeps the water in your body for longer periods of time.

[superdex]

um, stop and refill them?

I'm a heavy sweater, and depending on the conditions, I'll go through anything from 1/2 bottle an hour to 2 bottles an hour. It just depends.

[BMX_MAN]

NOT a good idea ... that's the first step on the road to hyponatremia.

Definitely read the articles under the heading Hyponatremia

http://www.ultracycling.com/siteindex.html

And sodium causes the body to retain water ... in other words it keeps the water in your body for longer periods of time.

How cold is it were u ride?

[Machka]

How cold is it were u ride?

I ride in temps from +40C to -40C .... it doesn't make any difference to the validity (or lack thereof) of your statement.

[ericgu]

I have always been a big sweater. I have recently been doing longer rides, say 2-4 hours. I finish my bottles in about an hour and a half....1L

Can your guys tell me what my L per hour should be or something similar on say a 70 degree F day?


What do you do on these long rides?


How much does it affect my performance if i am short?

A few thoughts:

1) Are you wearing too many clothes? Generally, except on hills, you shouldn't really feel sweaty.

2) How big are your bottles?

3) Have you weighed yourself before and after? You may be drinking more water than you need.

[NomadVW]

I'm in the same boat, and on some of the hot days this summer I've gone through 3 bottles an hour. I sweat like mad and know the feeling of the OP. You simply need to make drinking water or energy drink convenient. Some might call it fred, but when I'm doing hard training, I don't want to stop - so in hot weather I put the profile aqua rack on the seat post and hit the roads with 4 water bottles. That's almost always going to get me through 2 hours except in blistering weather.

Sweating is good, but refilling is important.

[genejockey]

+1 on weighing before and after.

On long rides (70 miles) on hot days (90+), I have consumed 4 x 24 oz bottles of Cytomax and 1 x 24 oz bottle of water in the course of a ~ 5 hr ride, and STILL lost 3-5 lbs. That's close to 1 1/2 gallons of sweat.

Just keep drinking, and not just water!

[nikvdw]

First of all, refilling is hard when your 10 miles from civilization. Secondly i tried something new this time, drinking a glass or two pre-ride as well as keeping a trusty gallon waiting for me at the car should i need to top off a ration.

Last weekend i spent 4 hours on my cyclocross bike in an unknown park, on an 85 F day. We went thru 4.5 liters for two, clearly short on the number you guys describe. I started cramping a bit, but frankly i grunted thru it and made it to the car and doused myself with a gallon on my head and down the gullet.

I will try the bigger bottles and a camelback which i retired after my shoulder surgery and back problems. Its coming off the shelf now......

Thanks for your responses....

[socalrider]

I also sweat quite a bit.. I make sure to drink plenty of water / nuun before a ride.. at least 32 ounces.. You can also use items like Nuun or E-caps endurolytes to keep your electrolytes in good order..

Nuun can be found at many bike shops / rei or online at http://nuun.com/ endurolytes can be found at http://www.e-caps.com/za/ECP?PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD.ID=4037&OMI=10082,10047&AMI=10082