Originally Posted by
CanadianBiker32
would it be a good thing to consume a large amount of salty foods just prior to a large and long endurance cycling event? to retain water?
An event that involves 6 to 8 hours of riding?
would the days prior be a good thing to increase the levels of salt?
thanks
No, not before -- but during...
Your body is marvelous at maintaining it's "homeostasis" -- meaning that it keeps electrolytes such as sodium in a "balanced" tight range. It will try to keep sodium in the 135 - 145 range -- and your kidney's will filter out any excess (which it doesn't do quickly enough to prevent a blood pressure spike after say a can of Campbell's soup and ham & cheese sandwich).
But, as you probably know, your sweat contains a LOT of sodium. So, on a long, hard, hot ride where you are sweating (even if you aren't dripping with it) your body is losing sodium and can become depleted. So, replenishing during the ride may be required because the muscles (including the heart) require the correct level of sodium to function properly.
That was one of the primary purposes to the original "sports drinks" -- to replenish the sodium, potassium and other electrolytes lost through sweat. They weren't designed to improve performance but rather to prevent a deterioration of performance due to an electrolyte imbalance. Unfortunately, many of those have been overwhelmed with the highly marketed "energy drinks" -- which are not the same.
On short rides you may not need anything.
On longer rides you may need to replenish fluids.
On even longer rides that produce a lot of sweat you may also need to replenish electrolytes...