[Rob27]

A post I have already written on this forum:-

Electrolytes Levels and Bodybuilding.

Electrolytes are minerals that are electrically charged (Positive and Negative charge) when dissolved in liquid. They are Essential for many important body functions. They are most known to start nerve impulses, aid with muscle contraction and help balance fluid in the body.

Five most common Electrolytes (minerals):-

Chloride - Helps support the balance of fluids on the inside and outside of cells within the body. Also helps peak muscle function.
Potassium - Aids in nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction and heartbeat regulation.
Calcium - Supports muscle contraction and helps regulate heartbeat.
Sodium - Helps maintain Fluid Balance within the body and muscle contraction.
Magnesium - Vital in many chemical reactions within the body - regulating heart rate, supporting muscle contraction, conduction of nerve impulse and more.

Electrolytes support Essential Functions:-

Muscle Contractions - Electrolytes help trigger the muscle contraction process, without them your muscles would not contract. Not forgetting your heart muscle!
Fluid Balance - Your body is made up of mostly water. Water is used when you breathe, to digest food, to regulate your temperature and many other body functions. Your organs, tissue and cells need Fluid Balance to function.

So remember when you are training hard in the summer in warm gyms you will be sweating and losing Electrolytes. If you train hard for an hour or more, especially with HIIT thrown in, be careful. Lack of Electrolytes in your body can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat, dizziness and worse.

In addition, drinking to much water can cause the loss of important minerals and some people develop a condition known as "water intoxication" which causes blood Sodium levels to drop causing an Electrolyte imbalance and you definitely do not want that.

Moral of the story is, have a sports drink with you containing the above minerals or Smart Water or buy your own Electrolyte powder to mix your drink for the gym yourself. You normally get your intake of Electrolytes (minerals) from food and fruit. Also a multivitamin.

Once you feel thirsty, you are already 3% dehydrated which reduces maximal performance by 15%.

Thank you for that, interesting read and good info as I've never really researched it much until now.

Iirc I'm sure I made a thread a while back for advice on cramps and feeling dizzy after work out and I'm 99% sure someone mentioned electrolytes like then but I've never had them much since so didn't get round to buying them but after reading this thread I've ordered them for my intra workout drink.

I currently have 3 portions of fruit, I use pink himalayan salt for my meats too just a small pinch fill over the meat to season it i also use multivitamin and minerals (same tab) a day too in my supplement stack and eat a fairly clean diet. So will use for intra workout and see how it goes. Thank you

 

[shane278]

I use Bolero.

 

[Brian Multigym]

Thank you for that, interesting read and good info as I've never really researched it much until now.

Iirc I'm sure I made a thread a while back for advice on cramps and feeling dizzy after work out and I'm 99% sure someone mentioned electrolytes like then but I've never had them much since so didn't get round to buying them but after reading this thread I've ordered them for my intra workout drink.

I currently have 3 portions of fruit, I use pink himalayan salt for my meats too just a small pinch fill over the meat to season it i also use multivitamin and minerals (same tab) a day too in my supplement stack and eat a fairly clean diet. So will use for intra workout and see how it goes. Thank you

Thanks mate, appreciated! Yes you can get all the minerals (electrolytes) from food etc, but with training, what you lose you are putting back with your electrolyte drink.

 

[hmgs]

Once you feel thirsty, you are already 3% dehydrated which reduces maximal performance by 15%.

Mmm, are we sure this isn’t just outdated dogma?
This post, among many, posits that we should use the tried and tested bio system of ‘thirsty ➡ drink’ FML if marathon runners can win without taking on more than a ‘sip’ or two, those half gallon guzzling ****ers at the gym are literally taking the(ir) piss. I often have a 700ml cordial with me, but then again I’m caning the caffeine like a mother****er. 🤣 Even so, it’s not all gone by the end of 90min sessions.

 

[vlb]

So remember when you are training hard in the summer in warm gyms you will be sweating and losing Electrolytes. If you train hard for an hour or more, especially with HIIT thrown in, be careful. Lack of Electrolytes in your body can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat, dizziness and worse.

I went training when i was in crete a good few years back, must have drank around 3 litres of bottled water but i felt dizzy as **** at the later end and after the workout, i put it down to the heat but could just have easily have been this.

heading to crete again in 9 weeks so will look into getting some of these and see if it helps

thanks mate

 

[Brian Multigym]

I went training when i was in crete a good few years back, must have drank around 3 litres of bottled water but i felt dizzy as **** at the later end and after the workout, i put it down to the heat but could just have easily have been this.

heading to crete again in 9 weeks so will look into getting some of these and see if it helps

thanks mate

Thanks, and yes could very well of been. You'll be OK this time!

 

[Brian Multigym]

Mmm, are we sure this isn’t just outdated dogma?
This post, among many, posits that we should use the tried and tested bio system of ‘thirsty ➡ drink’ FML if marathon runners can win without taking on more than a ‘sip’ or two, those half gallon guzzling ****ers at the gym are literally taking the(ir) piss. I often have a 700ml cordial with me, but then again I’m caning the caffeine like a mother****er. 🤣 Even so, it’s not all gone by the end of 90min sessions.

It was from a recent article from memory mate. Those runners must be well prepared with their minerals beforehand and they take sips along the route, just to get them through the race. One of the Brownlee brothers ended up legless and dazed in one marathon. Agree, you don't need half a gallon in a gym, but need to be careful if your session is intense and more than an hour to 90 mins.

I've completed a 40 mile sponsor walk numerous times and on warm days some people have been in a state nowhere near the end - a walk... I mean dazed and walking as if blind drunk.

 

[hmgs]

I've completed a 40 mile sponsor walk numerous times and on warm days some people have been in a state nowhere near the end - a walk... I mean dazed and walking as if blind drunk.

Ah, untrained and heat exhaustion - coupled with burning through their glycogen reserves possibly? Who knows for certain - it could have been dehydration, but there again were they hydrated going into it?
Just sayin’

 

[Brian Multigym]

Ah, untrained and heat exhaustion - coupled with burning through their glycogen reserves possibly? Who knows for certain - it could have been dehydration, but there again were they hydrated going into it?
Just sayin’

Point, I don't know. Some in it do not realise how far and hard it is even though it is a walk. That said local runners do run it, get into condition and finish in 4 hours or so, so a 26 mile marathon is no more than a warm up!!!

 

[dannyt]

Correct G man99. Why are you always right... 👍

If you drink to much water you can flush out important minerals and develop a condition call - water intoxication - and you definitely don't want that!

That's what killed that young girl Leah Betts back in the 90's , not the ecstasy she took , she literally drank herself to death on water