Hydration drinks

Hi guys!

Whenever I go cycling, either around town or on a long biking trip with my family I am the one who always makes sure that we are hydrated well before we go. I also make sure that we take enough amounts of water or hydration drinks such as Gatorade. Hydration is very important for me because I easily sweat and I really sweat a lot whenever I'm doing vigorous activities.

What do you take with you when you are cycling? Do you prefer plain water or commercial hydration drinks?

 

I prefer plain water instead of Gatorade or Pocari Sweat or any other hydration drinks. But when our lemon plant has fruits, I usually add lemon drops to my drinking water to give it a fresh taste. But I seldom bring drinks when I ride especially inside the village. And when I join riding groups in the main road, I usually buy drinks during the pit stops and when I am sweating heavily, I prefer to drink soda.

 

You should listen to my lecture on this topic. Most of the time water is sufficient and actually preferred to promote fat metabolism. Hypotonic CHO beverages are useful when training is moderate to high....and over 90 minutes in duration. They also work well with solid food. However, eating solid food requires additional considerations, first the training load must demand it and second, the pace must be easy while eating it. Isotonic CHO beverages (like Gatorade) are best used as stand alone products, otherwise rehydration rate will suffer. I generally recommend checking your body mass pre and post ride to determine losses which, in terms of performance shouldn't exceed 2-3%.

 

I use to use Gatorade a lot when I use to race back in the mid 70's to mid 80's and continued to do so for years afterwards, but Gatorade changed their ingredients to dump in more sugar about 8 years ago, so now I use Cytomax in one bottle and plain water in another and I alternate between the two. Then I also take a small GU flask of black coffee with a teaspoon of honey (which makes the coffee taste weird but the honey promotes performance just don't use too much). Gatorade has come out with a product called Perform which is being well received so I may go back to Gatorade, or at least try it. I also like Nunn Active Hydration tabs because I can find those at my grocery store cheap.

You have to be careful when buying these sort of products because most of it is hype and you pay a lot of money for something that can be done for a lot less money. Like the coffee thing I do instead of getting those little vials of fast energy that cost $1.50 and more for one swallow is just insane when their main ingredient is caffeine, which you can get the same amount of caffeine in coffee for less than 5 cents and fill a GU flask instead of just a swallow.

Read this, this is a debate with one person going for the pro side of the argument and the next person doing the con side, it's worth the read, I agree with the con side. See: http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitness/the-sports-drink-debate-31526

Of course a pro cyclist is going to have different needs, but they work closely with nutritionists and doctors to dial in exactly what their body needs when they need it.

You can also make your own energy drink and save a lot money, like this: in about a 24 ounce water bottle combine:

1. 2 level tablespoons of maltodextrin powder.
2. 4 level tablespoons of white sugar.
3. One pinch of salt (less than ¼ teaspoon)
4. Squeeze of lemon or lime juice for taste (optional)
5. 24 ounces of water.

 

The above formula recommendation is not quite correct and additional considerations must be accounted for. Ratios of sucrose/maltodextrin should change depending on concentrations to account for glut one saturation and fluid osmolality. Also, sodium chloride should not be the primary source of sodium if the concentrations are high enough to support high drink rates (up to 1.5 liters/hour). Chloride is a known gut irritant. The problem (cost) with most sports drink manufacturers is the middle men (I.e bike and nutrition shops) who require at least 50% markup to have it sit in their shelves.

 

There are a lot of those type of diy mixes on the internet, just google it and select the one that you like most. I don't make my own, I buy store bought stuff. With the Cytomax, or the Nunn, I get mine online when there is a sale; again there are a lot of these powder mixes out that one could buy, but if you study this stuff you'll find that everyone has about the same ingredients and the same ratios, once you know this you can find cheaper alternatives. Some of this powder stuff will throw in vitamins which makes it sound like it's better than others, but studies have shown that vitamins have no effect on your performance.

Yes the middleman effect is a costly effect. I actually found Cytomax about $10 cheaper at a health store then I did from a LBS! Of course I get mine online where it's even less, but if I run out and need it before an order can be placed I just go to the heath and vitamin store.

 

I prefer fresh lemon juice instead of Gatorade or any other hydration drinks

 

I will make sure I take a lot of water and electrolyte pills. They help me a lot. I have a pretty good hydration set which I have been using for sometime now. You guys can check it here http://amzn.to/2qkE7Aq .

 

With electrolyte pills or drinks some people have to be careful if they're subject to kidney stones because the salt will enhance stone production.

 

I prefer water or lemon juice.

 

Hello there, drinking Gatorade will help you replenish fluid and electrolytes that lost when we sweat. Water is also good for your health.

 

I rather like High5 EnergySource. Cheaper than Gatorade and it contains a mix of sugars and starches for a quick lift followed by a sustained burn, plus electrolyte. I also like their gels and bars. For longer rides and races such as 24hr mtb events their High4 4:1 drink (which contains some protein) is magic.

Gatorade, containing just simple table sugar, tends to give you an insulin spike followed by a flat which can leave you feeling pretty awful if you're driving hard in say a race or fast group ride. Same will occur with any drink that is straight sucrose (table sugar). You need starches as well.

Other brands which I've found work well are Endura, Hammer Nutrition, Torq. SIS is also good, but I don't like the aspartame - makes it too sweet. I don't have any commercial interest in these, just a satisfied customer. Regarding Endura, it contains magnesium which is great for cramp avoidance, but you need a few weeks to acclimatise before using it in a race.

If you want to know how much to have and when, on rides of any length, I have a cheat sheet you may find useful. Hopefully this won't be regarded as spamming - just trying to provide useful content. http://www.simplycyclingtraining.com

If I'm breaking any rules, please delete.

 

Well, studies shows that consumption of a carbohydrate drink during rides lasting over 60 minutes is an effective way to boost endurance . By providing the working muscles with additional fuel you can delay fatigue, with some research suggesting up to a 20 per cent improvement in performance during exercise lasting 90 minutes or more. Most athletes prefer drinking a carbohydrate drink, if your doing a vigorous activity i recommend you choose a carbohydrate drink.

 

Just read this book. It pretty much dispels all of the myths and bad science propagated by the "hydration industry".

 

For my health condition, I always prefer normal water to any form of dehydrating drink for I have come to realize that taking any thing apart from water can make me get addicted to that and whenever I don't take that, I might end up feeling weak and not motivated enough to ride. This is the core reason I have chosen water as a source of keeping my body warm and moist before I ride anytime.

 

I prefer water and I think it is more than enough for me when I go biking. My problem with drinks like Gatorade is that they are too sweet and contain a lot of sugar which is also not good for your health. Water also has 0 calories so no problems for additional calories to burn.

 

Gatorade didn't use to contain so much sugar, this why all the pro riders drank it in the 70's and even into the 80's, but after it got bought out by Pepsi in went tons of sugar.

While you should be drinking water mostly, water by itself cannot replace all electrolytes you're losing while doing intensive physical stuff. The better stuff on the market like Cytomax etc. Some sugar is actually good because it aids in hydration, but Gatoraide has far too much. Plain water may also suppress thirst, but hydration drinks maintain desire to drink which is important to stay hydrated. When I go on rides I will have a bottle of Cytomax (I'm not promoting Cytomax but I can get it locally cheap) and a bottle of clear water, then I drink one gulp of Cytomax followed by one gulp of water to wash the Cytomax out of the mouth as well as taking in water. I also drink a 12 ounce glass of Cytomax about 15 to 30 minutes before a ride, this helps take away any cramping that may start early on...I'm 64 years old and I cramp more then I use to.

I'm not a pro rider, and lot has changed since I use to race in the mid 70's through to the mid 80's so there may be better ways that pros and elite racers are doing it today, however like I said I'm not a pro nor trying to be a elite racers so I feel for what I'm doing it's good enough. Because of my age I also drink a Cytomax recovery drink after a ride, this dramatically improves my muscle tiredness the next day.

 

I used Gatorade but if I have some time to spare I make Honey Lemon Water. It's easy to make, just squeeze a couple of lemons, some honey and water. Also slice some lemons and put it in the mixture. Put it in a see through drinking bottle.

 

You don't need to replace the lost electrolytes as it is the serum concentration of the electrolytes that matters and it rises during prolonged exercise.

 

Well, studies have proven that drinking water isn't enough to keep our body hydrated during an intense activity. Look for drinks that contains high electrolytes because it can really help a lot on hydrating our body.