I wasn't sure where to put this, so hope this is okay.
I was wondering views on sports drinks while exersizing? I know that sodium doesn't help weight loss, and the whole point (as far as I know) of those drinks is to replace sodium lost through sweat, so what is the forum's view on them?
I'm talking things like Gatorade, Powerade those kinda things.
__________________ My blog! (may contain traces of swearing) Rome didn't burn in a day.
Gatorade and Powerade were developed to recharge elite athletes functioning at peak performance. Since I hardly fall into the "elite" category, and my "peak" falls well short of those that do, I stick to water. Besides the idea of drinking "sweat" sort of grosses me out.
Gatorade and Powerade were developed to recharge elite athletes functioning at peak performance. Since I hardly fall into the "elite" category, and my "peak" falls well short of those that do, I stick to water. Besides the idea of drinking "sweat" sort of grosses me out.
That's just the marketing spin
If I'm expecting to sweat a lot, such as playing tennis in the heat, I do drink some carbs/electrolyte. For explosive exercise, the extra sugar helps. It's burned. For lighter workouts I agree it's not neccessary.
For heavyish resistance workouts sweating isn't usually an issue,but protein/fast carb afterwards (shake) as Mike mentioned helps muscle recovery/rebuilding. Carbs via insulin response stimulate amino acid uptake by the muscles.
From what I have read, if you are exercising for less than an hour, you don't need to replace electrolytes and don't need the sports drinks. Drink water instead.
If you are exercising for more than an hour and sweating a lot, there are a lot of options. You can do the sports drinks or you can eat gels, blocks or beans. There are also electolyte tablets (salt tablets) that you can take with water.
Personally, I do half-marathons, marathons and triathlons that last anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. What I have found is that when I am thirsty, I want water. However, if I don't do any food or electrolyte replacement, I will get crampy and my stomach will feel sloshy like the water isn't going anywhere. I eat and take electrolyte tablets as well. That enables me to finish the races.
Cool thanks guys. Next week (when I've got money), I'll be starting at a 24 hour gym focusing on mainly pushing, pusing, pushing myself on cardio, so I'm thinking there'll be sweat. I'll stick to water the first few sessions and see how I go.
Thanks all.
__________________ My blog! (may contain traces of swearing) Rome didn't burn in a day.
Wowgirl, another route you can go if you truly do have issues w/needing to replace electrolytes is to try any of the various electrolyte replacement tabs (S-caps, Endurolytes, etc.). These will give you electrolytes w/o the carbs and calories of Gatorade and other "sports drinks."
I agree w/the others posting above, though -- sports drinks are helpful for people doing intense exercise for extended periods of time. They are absolutely not needed for shorter workouts, usually less than an hour or an hour and a half.
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