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DirkRocks
Posts: 34 Member
in Debate Club
Sports Drinks or H20....are there any any real benefits to those pricie Sports Drink Hydrators?
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Sports Drinks or H20....are there any any real benefits to those pricie Sports Drink Hydrators?
Only if you're doing some major endurance work to replenish electrolytes...the sugar is also good for recovery after a big endurance event as well...for your average workout, nope...but even then, when I do a long ride I prefer to have coconut water...nature's Gatorade.7 -
Sports drinks make me more thirsty. I will stick to water while I work out!1
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There are benefits if you actually need the added ingredients.
My general rule of thumb is water only for cycle rides of up to 2 hours.
If I need electrolytes as well (hot day or very intense exercise) I will either put an electrolyte tablet in my water or go for a low calorie sports drink.
If I need energy and electrolytes (long or hard ride) then I tend to make up my own high calorie sports drink from a powder, lower cost than buying ready made and also more portable.
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The amount of electrolytes in sports drinks are a joke. It's mostly sugar water, so if you need the sugar, go for it. I make salt water using lite salt (sodium and potassium) for when I need an actual replenishment.5
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^^ this. I only Drink Sportsdrinks for tons of fast access sugar calories on long runs.0
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »The amount of electrolytes in sports drinks are a joke. It's mostly sugar water, so if you need the sugar, go for it. I make salt water using lite salt (sodium and potassium) for when I need an actual replenishment.
Very true. My wife has to put special focus on eletrolytes and some of the higher concentrations of eletrolytes tend to come from NUUN tablets, Nutriforce Balanced Hydration or Emergen-C packages. On top of that, she needs 10,000 mg of sodium a day.1 -
Sports Drinks or H20....are there any any real benefits to those pricie Sports Drink Hydrators?
If you lost enough water and other nutrients through your sweat, there's a benefit to getting them back. But you don't need to buy the expensive or crappy ones. Nuun tablets are like 1/5 the cost of Gatoraid and 1/20th the calories.1 -
I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?1
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I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?
Yes. Electrolytes are composed of sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium and calcium. It's why if you are an active person, having a higher sodium diet is beneficial. Also, if you have a diet balanced in sodium/mag/pot, bloating shouldn't be an issue.1 -
I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?
The main reason (perhaps unnecessary) that people take them is that they are in the midst of exercising -- often specifically in hot weather -- and eating a meal isn't really an option.2 -
Water - add some fruit for flavor or one of the many flavor enhancers if you need.
Sports drinks are overpriced sugar water and only needed if you underwent a major workout. Save your money - drink water.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?
The main reason (perhaps unnecessary) that people take them is that they are in the midst of exercising -- often specifically in hot weather -- and eating a meal isn't really an option.
Ok thanks I'm now understanding more, but would you need to drink them during or straight after your exercise or wouldn't you already be getting enough from food throughout the day?1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?
The main reason (perhaps unnecessary) that people take them is that they are in the midst of exercising -- often specifically in hot weather -- and eating a meal isn't really an option.
Ok thanks I'm now understanding more, but would you need to drink them during or straight after your exercise or wouldn't you already be getting enough from food throughout the day?
It depends on what you're doing...you're really not going to deplete your electrolytes during your average daily workout or something and a solid diet is all you need...
You are likely going to deplete your electrolytes on, say, a 50+ mile bike ride in 90*+ weather and will likely have to replenish during the ride and immediately after to avoid cramping, etc
You don't really need to worry about if for the run of the mill workout/regular exercise...it's endurance training and events that it becomes an issue.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?
The main reason (perhaps unnecessary) that people take them is that they are in the midst of exercising -- often specifically in hot weather -- and eating a meal isn't really an option.
Ok thanks I'm now understanding more, but would you need to drink them during or straight after your exercise or wouldn't you already be getting enough from food throughout the day?
That's debated. The concern is that you are low due to heat and extra sweat and do need to replace them ASAP. I know there are recent studies that indicate that your body reduces the loss of electrolytes when you are sweating a lot, so it's probably not a worry, but I see no harm in taking precautions. I usually don't take them, but since having an issue in the run leg of a tri during a very hot day (where I at least felt like the heat was getting to me badly -- felt chilled -- and electrolytes seemed to help more than water), I tend to take nuun or salt stick caps with me when doing a long run or ride in the summer.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I don't know anything about electrolytes, but can't you get them back from the foods you eat, or do you not get enough in foods?
The main reason (perhaps unnecessary) that people take them is that they are in the midst of exercising -- often specifically in hot weather -- and eating a meal isn't really an option.
Ok thanks I'm now understanding more, but would you need to drink them during or straight after your exercise or wouldn't you already be getting enough from food throughout the day?
Most road bikes fit two water bottles. It's common practice to fill one with water and the other with an electrolyte drink, a lot of cyclists like water + a nuun tab.
This summer, I biked up and down Cascade River Road, I've been wanting to do it for years. It was a very hot day, the first heat wave of the year, probably 90 F at the top and no shade. I was on the bike for 4 hours 23 minutes. I don't like having a lot of food in my stomach when I ride, it just feels bad, but I drank throughout the ride. I had a light breakfast that day and skipped lunch.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/11985112980 -
I don't drink sugary drinks, but I'll drink a sugar-free one if I want. I don't know if it helps with sports but sometimes they taste good to me. I don't want to undo a bunch of work I've done exercising by drinking a ton of calories though.1
I needed a bottle of water after, same with those v and monster drinks, yuk! 
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