Modern Cyclist Magazine Issue 1, September 2014 | Page 45

Take
a sip
while
you
pedal
For endurance athletes,
sport drinks can give you
the edge during races.
While water can keep you
hydrated, sports drinks give
back the carbs, sodium
and potassium lost in longhaul, high-intensity events.
– BY CHRISTINE PETERS

W

hen you exercise, you
produce heat, which your body controls
through sweating, thus cooling the body,
but you are then at risk of becoming
dehydrated. Athletes can lose anything
from 400ml to two litres of sweat in just
one hour, especially if cycling intensely,
or riding in high heat or humidity. As little
as 2% dehydration can hurt your athletic
performance, so cyclists are told to drink
regularly and top up on fluids.
Now if you are running for less than 60
minutes, water will be enough to stay
hydrated and save kilojoules, and sports
drinks are not needed, because research
shows they only offer benefits to people
exercising for longer than one hour.

nutrition MC

Therefore, sports drinks are recommended
for endurance athletes trying to reach
peak performance, especially if training
hard, sweating a lot, and wearing
protective equipment and clothing,
because they provide
•
Fluids to cool down your body and
replace what you lost.
•
Carbohydrates for quick energy.
•
Sodium and potassium, the chief
minerals lost in sweat.
Fluid needs vary from person to person,
and according to the type of activity and
the length of time that you are active, but
as a general rule of thumb, runners should:
•
Drink one to one to two cups of sport
drink four hours or less before exercise.
•
Keep fluids with you when you run
and sip regularly to replace water lost
through sweat, but let your thirst guide
you.
•
Post-ride, eat your meals and snacks
and drink as you feel you need to, but
especially drink up to 1.5 cup (375 ml)
of fluid if you have not produced any
urine, or only a small amount of bright
yellow urine.
•
Water is always a good option postride, but you can also drink milk or
chocolate milk, 100% fruit juice or
another sports drink.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

1. Water:

Make sure your sports drink is
not carbonated, so it is easy to drink and
doesn’t make you feel full.

2. Sodium:

The white powder on your
clothes or skin is the salt you lose in sweat,
and this loss can lead to muscle cramps,
so sports drinks should contain at least
300 to 700mg of sodium per litre. Ultraendurance athletes prone to cramping
may require more.

3. Carbohydrate (sugar): Sugar

keeps blood glucose from dropping and
helps fuel active muscles and the brain,
so 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per
hour of activity can improve endurance,
power output and delay fatigue. To
prevent stomach problems, make sure
your drink has no more than 80 grams of
carbohydrate per litre, as that is generally
the limit of what your body can easily
absorb.

4. Flavour: Drinks with flavour are easier
to swallow, especially when you’re tired.

SPORT DRINKS
VS ENERGY DRINKS
The typical energy drink contains more
carbohydrate than the typical sports
drink and gets most carbs from one or
two sugars, such as high fructose corn
syrup. Because of this, energy drinks are
more likely than sports drinks to cause
a stomach upset during exercise. Many
energy drinks are also carbonated,
further increasing the risk of GI distress.
Furthermore, energy drinks usually
contain caffeine, which can boost
athletic performance, but most sports
drinks do not contain it because your
body becomes used to it with regular use
and it loses its boosting effect.
Most importantly, it is important to try a
sports drink in training first before using
it in competition, as you don’t want to
find out mid-race that something doesn’t
work for you, or disagrees with your
stomach!
This feature was originally published in our sister
magazine Modern Athlete.

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