Electrolyte Drinks...

Millionaire

hi Lads

I see alot of people out here in Thailand boxing, mixing powder Electrolyte drinks into their water. Come in little satchels of powder.

They taste like orange or lemon etc....

People told me, they stop or replace salts and fluids lost through training in humid 90 degress tempetaures....

So i have started taking them too....

Usually one beofore morning trainig in a litre of water...I drink approx 2 litres of water before training. 1 litre during, and one after usually. sometimes I mix the 2 or 3 rd drink with Electrolyte powder too.

Is this stuff any use, or is it just another gimmick to give you a sugar high for training and a crash after???

On another topic....

I take it drinking Red Bulls or similar either for training or socially is just filling your body full of bad sugars, increasing the flab???

Since I am off the booze now, when I go out on a sat night I have a few red bulls to keep me going. probably bad for the gut??? No probs sleeping after though!

LundiMardi

Sounds like gatorade to me... that's the whole point of it yeah, some doctors even use it to rehydrate patients. Huge in America.

Gatorade comes in powder form also...

Millionaire

yeah its some Thai version of Electrolyte...I cannot read the pack...its in thai...!

So is this good stuff take then if training and sweating in high heat?

LundiMardi

well, i can't speak for that stuff, cos neither of us know what it is:)

But if it's anything like gatorade then yes it's good. I went hiking in Utah & Arizona in the summer, we were hiking in 120 degree heat and our guides recommend gatorade to keep us hydrated.

Odysseus

Another option that I use on long runs is dioralyte you will get it in the pharamcies over there, watch the red bull gerry as caffine is a duretic making you lose more water than you gain. Remember the old hydration mantra, if its yellow or brown your water is down, if its clear and bright your water is right.;)

Clive

Millionaire wrote:

powder Electrolyte ...
Is this stuff any use, or is it just another gimmick to give you a sugar high for training and a crash after???

It's great stuff for recovery after training, especially in the heat.

Bam Bam

can berocca assist in training, or is it usless?

cowzerp

Millionaire wrote:

hi Lads

I see alot of people out here in Thailand boxing, mixing powder Electrolyte drinks into their water. Come in little satchels of powder.

They taste like orange or lemon etc....

People told me, they stop or replace salts and fluids lost through training in humid 90 degress tempetaures....

So i have started taking them too....

Usually one beofore morning trainig in a litre of water...I drink approx 2 litres of water before training. 1 litre during, and one after usually. sometimes I mix the 2 or 3 rd drink with Electrolyte powder too.

Is this stuff any use, or is it just another gimmick to give you a sugar high for training and a crash after???

On another topic....

I take it drinking Red Bulls or similar either for training or socially is just filling your body full of bad sugars, increasing the flab???

Since I am off the booze now, when I go out on a sat night I have a few red bulls to keep me going. probably bad for the gut??? No probs sleeping after though!

If your trying too lose weight maybe leave the energy drink so that your body fat is used as energy rather than your calories you just consumed-after is fine to replace electolytes.

cowzerp

Since I am off the booze now, when I go out on a sat night I have a few red bulls to keep me going. probably bad for the gut??? No probs sleeping after though![/QUOTE]

Red bull is full of sugar and caffeine so if you go to bed on it you might sleep but the quality will be so bad you might aswell of stayed up-very bad for fitness-drink diet 7 up or orange instead!!

dajaffa

LundiMardi wrote:

Sounds like gatorade to me... that's the whole point of it yeah, some doctors even use it to rehydrate patients. Huge in America.

Gatorade comes in powder form also...

Anyone know of a shop around Dublin thats stocks this powder gatorade?

Millionaire

Bam Bam wrote:

can berocca assist in training, or is it usless?

I think Berocca is like a multi vit with a big dose of Vit B???

I used to take to too.

I am no expert at all, but I am sure your better with it, than without it!

daymobrew

dajaffa wrote:

Anyone know of a shop around Dublin thats stocks this powder gatorade?

Cycle Superstore in Tallaght stocks powdered Powerbar drink.
I think I've see Gatorade tubs in JJB Sports (branches in Blanch, Liffey Valley and Tallaght).

brianthebard

Odysseus wrote:

Another option that I use on long runs is dioralyte you will get it in the pharamcies over there, watch the red bull gerry as caffine is a duretic making you lose more water than you gain. Remember the old hydration mantra, if its yellow or brown your water is down, if its clear and bright your water is right.;)

You're right to say caffeine is a mild duretic, but it won't cause you to lose more water than you gain. Tea and coffee are still acceptable methods of rehydration and I don't think that there's enough caffeine in red bull to actually make you more dehydrated than before you drank it (although there is an awful lot in it)

Millionaire

brianthebard wrote:

You're right to say caffeine is a mild duretic, but it won't cause you to lose more water than you gain. Tea and coffee are still acceptable methods of rehydration and I don't think that there's enough caffeine in red bull to actually make you more dehydrated than before you drank it (although there is an awful lot in it)

If I drink a few red bulls on a night out (as I cannot drink booze) I always drink 2 litres of water with an electrolyte before I go out, and I always order a bottle of water with each red bull.

so I am probably peeing it out as fast as I am drinking it in. still for a non drinker, it can give you a little wake up buzz on a long night, when everyone else is getting sloshed.

I also drink 3 or 4 cups of coffee in morning...but I never finish a full cup, usually leave half of it and get a fresh coffee, but I always have water on the go at the same time.

brianthebard

AFAIK so long as you are drinking about two litres of fluid a day (so long as it's not coke or fizzy drinks) then you are adequately hydrating yourself. The first sign of dehydration is what you might pass off as a little thirsty or dry mouth. If you can try and stop that from happening then you should be grand.

In Janruary the National Geographic ran a large article on caffeine and it's merits and demerits. If you could get your hands on that I think you'll find out enough information about caffeine to know what you are doing.

Regards the red bull, I thought it was the taurine that's in it that's supposed to give you a boost, or is that just marketing?

Odysseus

Out of interest Gerry, what types of temp are you training in over there, as I'm am currently training to run in the desert in Feb. As I never experienced training in heat like that before, so I'm only starting to try get my head around it. Personaly I find checking the colour of my urine the best way of keeping on top of my hydration [the is a strange obssession with urine in long distance running!]. I take on board the above posts about caffine only being a mild duretic, however, when I was training hard for the ultra in Lapland, I found that I have to reduced the amount of caffine I was taking on board, only had two cups in the morning and herbal teas after that, and I found that made a hugh difference. Bascially you should be peeing clear and often, that way you know your hydrated. I found that the amount I required varied on the amount of training, for example I'm just doing bag work at the moment, usually I would go through 1.25 to 1.5lt during that hour, I have started to train with the heating on, so now I think its time to add some dioralyte before and maybe after, as I am losing more water as I'm am swating more.

Millionaire

Basically the heat here is high 80s to 90s, and the camps are outside with a roof over them, so if you are training on a punch bag not in the shade and are getting the sun, it is worse. Its really humid and when I first came a few rounds you would feel like dying!

I main training is 8am...as I get up at 7am ish....drink a litre of water with electrolyte powder and 1 black coffee, 8am train for 1 hour and get in 110% most days, so thats usually a warm up by bouncing on tyres, 1 round light shadow boxing, 4 rounds thai boxing, 1 round boxing, and 2 -4 rounds depending on energy and heat on heavy bag.... which is less intense than pad work. followed by 200 sit ups or crunches in sets, etc. I would do another litre of water during this.

When I come home right after, I have another litre or so split between a protein shake and another drink with electrolyte.

Basically, I constantly sip water all day long, and if I miss an hour or so, I feel it.

I do drink too much coffee, but so what for now, I can cut down later..better to be on the coffee than the booze! ;-)

So I try and drink extra water too to make up for the effects of the coffee.

I wonder if I went to train in Ireland would I be able to perform better as I am so used to the heat now?