Electrolytes & Athletic Performance
As I continue to think about how to become a better runner and triathlete I am considering what supports I have not adequately tapped into yet. One of those supports is electrolytes and the impact they have on endurance performance.
Let’s start at the beginning, what are electrolytes?
Electrolytes are substances that have a natural positive or negative charge when dissolved in water. If you are like me you think ok cool but what does that even mean. To break that down, electrolytes have a specific charge that is needed to help maintain proper and optimal body function. They are necessary for your body to regulate chemical reactions and to maintain the balance of fluids in and our of your cells. In order to achieve proper and optimal muscle function the body needs electrolytes. The electrical charges conducted by electrolytes is now muscle contract. In addition, they aid in chemical reactions and maintain balance of fluids of your cells. Electrolytes help your body to maintain balance.
What does your body need to maintain normal electrolyte levels?
Sodium (+) - helps your body to maintain proper balance of fluids
Magnesium (+) - helps your body turn nutrients into energy
Potassium (+) - necessary for heart function, works with sodium, when sodium enters a cell the potassium leaves
Calcium (+) - controls muscles and transmit signals in your nerves nerves, also manages heart rhythm
Chloride (-) - helps cells to maintain the balance of fluids inside and out, also helps to maintain pH balance in your body
Phosphate (-) - key part of transporting chemical compounds and molecules outside of your cells, helps cells to metabolize nutrients, key component of nucleotides which are part of the building material of DNA
Biocarbonate (-) - recycled CO2 gets turned into biocarbonate and helps your body to maintain normal blood pH levels
You can learn more specifics on the function of each component at https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21790-electrolytes
To ensure your body is functioning at proper levels it is important to maintain electrolyte levels in the body. For a minimally active or not active person this is not difficult, so long as you are eating nutritious foods, but for the athlete there needs to be great attention on electrolyte consumption. I do recommend that if you are a serious athlete or a data nerd, to get your electrolyte levels checked. This can be done at a lab and can provide you with very detailed and specific information on any imbalances that may be present. It can key you into any areas of opportunity to balance and optimize your electrolyte levels. The results from a detailed test will also tell you in you are within the normal ranges for your levels. Based on the test results you can create a more specific training plan and truly optimize your performance.
What is the additional purpose of electrolytes for athletes? Why do endurance athletes need to consume electrolytes throughout a workout?
Athlete’s sweat more on average and as a result are losing more nutrients through their sweat. The nutrients that are lost at greater rates than someone who is sedentary and need to be replaced to optimize performance. Through sweat the electrolytes that are lost in the most abundance are sodium and chloride. Additionally potassium, magnesium and calcium are lost through sweat just in lesser amounts compared to sodium and chloride. These losses, if not replaced, with decrease physical performance.
Like stated above electrolytes are responsible for muscle contraction, fluid balance, and neural activity which are all essential to daily function. When thinking of an athlete, especially an endurance athlete, the losses of electrolytes could be detrimental to performance if not replaced. To keep performance at optimal levels it is important for athletes to replace the electrolytes that they are losing during activity.
When only drinking water during activity it is possible that you are diluting what electrolytes are left in your body. There needs to be a balance of water and electrolyte replacement during activity. Our bodies are well equipped to regulate themselves under normal circumstances but when doing endurance activities or high intensity workouts those are not normal conditions and our bodies need some help to maintain balance.
Electrolyte drinks or other supplements (find what works for you) should be used during intense activity. It is important to try different products and find the one that works the best for your body. I would recommend staying away from sugary big name sports drinks as these are loaded with unnecessary sugars and are closer to soda than they are to an athletic performance supplement.
The supplements that I currently use are:
LMNT
Nuun
Pedialyte
Coconut Water
I recommend trying a few different ones and seeing which works the best for you. Try to avoid anything with added sugar or unnecessary ingredients. There are a lot of quality, low sugar, and effective options out there.
How much should you be consuming during activity?
To figure out how much you should be taking in, very typically in drink form, I advise trying different strategies until you find the pace and amount that is suitable to you. Everyone’s body processes differently and so finding what works for you specifically is crucial.
There are calculations you can do to figure out your sweat loss and how much to drink to replace what is lost. Doing this math could be a good strategy for someone who doesn’t know where to start and may need a benchmark to go from. The most important thing is to find what works for you. All of our bodies have different needs to try different strategies to find your sweet spot.
Consuming electrolytes during activity can help boost your performance and will help maintain a healthy and balanced body.
References
https://blog.bridgeathletic.com/electrolytes-for-athletes
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20840563/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21790-electrolytes
