A vital key for athletic fueling success
BY STEVE BORN
In addition to replenishing calories and fluids, proper fueling during exercise requires consistent and adequate electrolyte support as well. However, while it’s usually pretty easy to get your calorie and fluid needs dialed in, replenishing electrolytes requires a bit more effort. This is because your specific electrolyte requirements will not only differ from another athlete’s, sometimes greatly, but will also change constantly, depending on your fitness level, acclimatization level, and training duration and intensity. In fact, your electrolyte requirements may change during the course of the same workout or race, if only due to changes in the weather (e.g., what you need at 2:00 pm, when it’s warmer, may be higher than what you needed at 9:00 am, when it’s cooler).
Now, many athletes neglect consistent electrolyte replenishment because they’ve “never had cramping problems.” But even if you’ve been fortunate enough to have never suffered the painful, debilitating effects of cramping, you still need to provide your body with a consistent and adequate supply of electrolytes. Why? Because the primary goal in replenishing electrolytes is not so much to prevent cramping as to maintain specific bodily functions at optimal levels. Proper functioning of the digestive, nervous, cardiavascular, and muscular systems depends on adequate electrolyte levels. That’s why we’re fond of saying that electrolytes are comparable to the motor oil in your car—they don’t make the engine run, but they’re absolutely necessary to keep everything running smoothly.
Back to muscle cramping. Though there are many theories as to why it happens, it usually involves improper hydration and/or improper electrolyte replenishment. No one wants to cramp, of course, but remember, cramping is a place far down the road of electrolyte depletion. You never want to reach that point, mainly because it’s extremely painful, but also because your performance has already been severely compromised for some time. You want your body to perform smoothly, without interruption or compromise, so just as you don’t wait until you’re dehydrated or bonking before you replenish fluids or calories, you never want to wait until you’re cramping before replenishing electrolytes.
Bottom Line: As important as the calories you consume and the water you drink during exercise is the consistent replenishment of electrolytes.
Salt tablets are not the answer!
Salt tablets are an unacceptable choice for electrolyte replenishment for two important reasons:
1) They can oversupply sodium, thereby overwhelming your body’s ability to regulate electrolyte and fluid balance/
2) They provide only two electrolytes, sodium and chloride, when your body requires a full array of electrolytic minerals.
The answer? The Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes products!
Proper electrolyte replenishment during endurance exercise requires a gradual, consistent approach that incorporates all of the electrolytes, not just salt (sodium chloride), and in amounts that do not override normal body mechanisms. Hammer Nutrition’s Endurolytes products help your body maintain proper electrolyte levels no matter the conditions or duration of exercise. They allow your body to perform better under the demands of exercise by:
- Ideally, fulfilling the body's electrolytic mineral requirements
- Optimizing multiple bodily functions
- Helping you avoid the unpleasant issues associated with electrolyte imbalance
Endurolytes - Our original full-spectrum formula, supplied in capsules for greater flexibility with your dosing. The modest sodium chloride (salt) content complements a healthy, low-salt diet.
Endurolytes Fizz - If capsules aren't for you, Endurolytes Fizz is an easy answer. Add these rapidly dissolving tablets to your water bottle to create a delicious, sugar-free, full-spectrum, effervescent electrolyte drink.
Endurolytes Extreme - Designed for harsh conditions, excessively high heat, the unacclimatized, and those with elevated salt needs, this formula, supplied in capsules, offers three times the sodium chloride and potassium content of standard Endurolytes. Despite the sodium chloride increase, the Extreme formula maintains a complete blend of electrolytes.
Endurolytes Extreme Powder - All the benefits of Endurolytes Extreme capsules in an easy-to-mix powder. Endurolytes Extreme Powder dissolves quickly and completely, leaving a very subtle, natural watermelon flavor. Consume it in water alone or add it to your liquid fuels according to your unique dosing needs. The mild flavor makes it easy to drink all day, while the lack of residue makes it perfect for hydration packs and bottles of any form.
HEED – Also consider Hammer Nutrition's superior sports drink. In addition to 110 calories per scoop, HEED contains fell-spectrum electrolyte profile.
No matter your weight, body type, fitness level, or what the weather throws at you, one of Hammer Nutrition's Endurolytes products will satisfy your body’s all-important electrolyte requirements.
