I need to figure out my salt intake plan and curious what you guys are using. Do you take pills/tablets? How much? Mix it with your feed bottle or take them seperate? Trying to establish a starting point.
None. Have never felt the need for it. Whatever sodium comes with my sports/energy drink seems enough, but I barely sweat so YMMV.
Also, sodium and cramping has been shown to have no relationship.
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Also, sodium and cramping has been shown to have no relationship.
This^^^
I do however sweat a fair amount, so just a little extra electrolyte in one of my bottles is plenty IMO. But I use sports drink as part of my nutrition plan, so I’m usually not drinking much straight water unless I have GI issues.
This. Read the scientific research. None needed…
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Wendy Ingram would disagree with you. She lost her salt tabs on the day of Crawlfest.
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Actually, it’s Wendy Ingraham. And of course there’s always someone who will disagree with almost anything, but that doesn’t make it true. Her purely anecdotal claim that the loss of her salt tablets caused her cramps is hardly based on anything other than conjecture.
No one knows what causes cramps. There is, and always has been conjecture, supposition, and n=1 conclusions, but the scientific, unchallenged fact remains, no one knows what causes cramps.
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I use SaltStick caps when I race. I sweat a lot (in my most recent sweat test I dropped 3.8 lbs or almost 60 oz. in an hour). I am also a salty sweater. SaltStick has 215mg of sodium per tab, which isn’t a crazy amount, so I take one every 40-45 minutes when racing. They also have fair amounts of potassium, magnesium, and calcium. I’ve found using these, especially in hot races, has helped me tremendously. They definitely aren’t going to hurt you.
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I like to use Salt Stick pills. Keeping it separate from my nutrition/hydration allows me to change my sodium intake easily based on the conditions of the day.
None - other than some osmo preload that I’ve been experimenting with pre race, for very hot races.
I’ve noticed no difference but I’ve not noticed anything negative either.
It should also be noted sweat volume or white residue on your clothing are not indicative of sodium depletion .
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None. Have never felt the need for it. Whatever sodium comes with my sports/energy drink seems enough, but I barely sweat so YMMV.
Also, sodium and cramping has been shown to have no relationship.
While I don’t supplement with salt either, it has been shown that a salt tablet under some peoples tongues will stop some cramps quickly because their brain thinks there are salts available.
While the salt levels in their body don’t increase, their brain perceives that there is some more available and then allows their body to function normally. It’s been shown to work with sugars too.
**What’s your raceday salt intake plan? **
None. 30+years of endurance sports training and racing. 9 Ironmans, many other races. Thousands of miles of cycling and running, and I’ve never taken any extra salt/sodium other than what occurs in things like Gatorade or bananas.
If you are experiencing cramping, the most likely causes are going too hard for too long, and beyond what your training would consider doable for you.
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Are you cramping already? Practice is where you figure these things out. Don’t wait until race day. Try a starting point of ***none ***on a long hot day. If normal nutrition doesn’t have you cramping, then none needed.
If you do cramp, there are many possible causes but one thing to try is to buy the smallest, cheapest bottle of Salt-Stick (or some equivalent) you can find and try. Do another day and take maybe 1 or 2 per hour Does it make a difference?
There’s no shortage of pub-med cowboys out there who are overly certain they’ve got the complete picture of the science involved. If they’re right, then trying some will not help you and you’ll only be out the cost of one small bottle.
It should also be noted sweat volume or white residue on your clothing are not indicative of sodium depletion .
Incorrect, since the sodium is now on the outside of your body rather than the inside, but I agree with the sentiment that it would not be enough to cause cramping. One only has to realize that since it’s only the working muscles that cramp, it’s clearly not lack of sodium that causes cramping. While not fully understood, as mentioned, exercise induced cramping is related to muscle fatigue. Improved fitness lowers the incidence of cramping.
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Right, but that depletion isn’t indicative a need to supplement more, that’s where I was going. So many people assume because they are heavy sweaters with a lot if residue then their blood sodium levels are falling to a point where they need to be aggressively supplemented.
I need to figure out my salt intake plan and curious what you guys are using. Do you take pills/tablets? How much? Mix it with your feed bottle or take them seperate? Trying to establish a starting point.
It’s not just about salt.
Electrolyte Replenishment
I tend to look at things a bit more simplistic. Everyone agrees that you lose salt when you sweat. It’s generally a good idea to replace what you lose. That’s true for calories, water, vitamins and most everything nutrition related I would guess. I can’t see a rational argument that having decreasing levels of salt is good for racing. So with that in mind, I want to keep salt levels close to normal. Nothing is lost but potentially something is gained. I’ll go with the potential gain. For those who use salt in some form, what rate per hour have you found to be best generally?
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**What’s your raceday salt intake plan? **
None. 30+years of endurance sports training and racing. 9 Ironmans, many other races. Thousands of miles of cycling and running, and I’ve never taken any extra salt/sodium other than what occurs in things like Gatorade or bananas.
If you are experiencing cramping, the most likely causes are going too hard for too long, and beyond what your training would consider doable for you.
The going too hard/beyond your training is the current politically correct answer, but the bottom line is no one really knows what causes cramping. Undoubtedly that’s a major factor, but it’s more complex than that. In three decades of endurance sports, I have yet to cramp on a day that wasn’t hot, whether I overdid it or not. And my wife is having a ton of problems with cramping now that she’s a bit older, it was never a problem 25 years ago. We haven’t yet completely figured it out, but when you get in the pool and cramp in your first 100 yards it’s not overdoing it. An electrolyte supplement seems to help (politically incorrect) and caffeine intake and hydration levels seem to be factors as well.
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I think my sportdrink has a little salt in it.
And I’m pretty sure my breakfast usually does…I think.