Over the years, there have been a number of recommendations presented on how to fuel properly. Hammer Nutrition's intake suggestions are our own, based on research and results from real athletes. As we celebrate our 30th Anniversary, we want to share some of our time-tested fueling principles so you can apply them and enjoy maximal benefits from all the time you put into your exercise.
One important component of fueling that's necessary to achieve peak athletic performance is proper electrolyte balance. Electrolytes are chemicals that form electrically charged particles (ions) in body fluids. These ions carry the electrical energy necessary for many functions, including muscle contractions and transmission of nerve impulses.
Electrolyte balance is key to everyday health and wellness. It's also vitally important for endurance athletes to ensure the optimal performance of many essential bodily functions. Many athletes mistakenly focus only on salt, not understanding that the body's requirements are a bit more complex. You need full-spectrum electrolyte replenishment that not only includes salt (sodium chloride), but calcium, magnesium, and potassium as well. Optimal performance requires a consistent, adequate, and BALANCED supply of these important nutrients.
When athletes rely solely on salt, or if they consume too much salt at the expense of other electrolytic minerals, they neutralize and even shut off the very mechanisms already built into the body that permit it to re-circulate - and thus conserve - its stores of sodium. Once the body detects that it's receiving too much sodium from an outside source (salty foods, salt tablets, electrolyte products containing too much sodium), the hormone aldosterone signals the kidneys to stop filtering and recirculating sodium. This forces the body to deplete even more sodium - much more than it normally would (that's not going to help performance) - while another hormone, vasopressin, begins to predominate, causing undesired and unpleasant fluid retention.
Other symptoms associated with electrolyte imbalance include muscle aches, spasms, headaches, joint pain, dizziness, and digestive issues. These are all things that you definitely want to avoid when you're exercising.
Proper electrolyte replenishment during endurance exercise requires a gradual, consistent replenishment that incorporates ALL of the electrolytes, not just sodium. It also requires receiving them in amounts that support, but do not override, normal body mechanisms.
Fortunately, Hammer Nutrition's Endurolytes, Endurolytes Extreme, and Endurolytes Fizz do just that and they're ready to work for you. Endurolytes are balanced, full-spectrum electrolyte products designed to fulfill the body's electrolytic mineral requirements, optimizing specific bodily functions, enhancing endurance performance, and helping you to avoid the unpleasant issues associated with electrolyte imbalance. Hammer on!
