Bruce's Home Made Electrolyte

Electrolyte formula for 100 litres:
Requires 4 ingredients

1)
190 grams
any source of normal salt....generally a good idea to use iodine fortified salt to help thyroid function.

2)
65 grams
diet rite salt or similar (low sodium salt). This has 50% normal salt and 50% potassium chloride.

3)
30 rennies antacid tablets (source of calcium and magnesium - these and sodium and potassium are the 4 main constituents of sweat)

4)
Any cordial, can be 2% to 6% carbohydrate concentration.
For 2%, put 20 mls in a 1 litre container, then add 980 mls water = 80 Calories per litre.
For 6%, use 60 mls = 240 Calories per litre.
If trying to lose weight and ride time is <3 hours, you could use low Calorie cordial.


Guidelines for intake:

Pre hydration.
Taking this solution rather than straight water, before event will result in less being peed off. The salt helps the kidneys reabsorb more fluid rather than letting it go through to the bladder.

During event.
guide only:
75-120kg bodyweight - winter 400-600 mls/hr. summer 600-1000mls/hr. all depends on sweat rate.
45-75 kg - winter 250-500 mls, summer 400-800mls/hr.

Post Event
It is also appropriate to rehydrate for ~4 hours with electrolyte, or at least 30-50% electrolyte. One remains in negative fluid balance for around 6 hours post endurance events, as much fluid intake is peed off.

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ONE LITRE portions

2 grams of salt
2/3 gram of diet rite salt.
1/3 of a rennies tablet.
20-60 mls cordial.

Hey Bruce

This works well - based on my once off use.

I made this up for last Saturday's Tamborine ride.
The crushed Rennies tablets are not water soluble, so I just ate one before the ride.
I used a Buderim Ginger Refresher (from Sirrianis at Ascot) as the cordial, but only for taste with about 80cals for a 1L bottle.

With the home made bars and this for fluid, I felt really good at the end of the ride.

I'll put up a separate post for the 300cal bars.

Cheers Scott

Glad to hear it didn't trigger an arrhythmia post event Scott

Some clarification:
When I make enough electrolyte mix for 100 litres final product,
I add 2.9 grams to 1 litre, or 1.8g to a 600 ml water bottle.
or
more usually I just add 29 grams to my cordial concentrate bottle, then add 100mls of cordial concentrate per litre of final solution.
For much of the year, I've used a Cottees diet cordial with very low Calories.

The portions I use are similar to a lot of the newer endurance specific electrolyte formula - Shotz, Nuuns, Cliff, and Allan Lim's recent products. These all emulate sweat concentrations of electrolyte more so. Traditional powerade and gatorade are around 30-50%, and therefore inadequate for significant sweat loss over longer rides.

My home made electrolyte absorbed mg/L concentrations are
Na 800
K 150
Ca 25
Mg 12

I chose these conc. guided by those in the endurance specific electrolyte drinks, and a literature search of sweat constituents.

Re Rennies tablets, I break them up a little with a mortar and pestle, then throw them in a blender with the other salts.
They powderize readily. I reckon their insolubility is not an issue if the water bottle is getting a good shake in the cage or you just shake it before swigging.

Shane who rode with us, used to have issues with cramps, but told me that's stopped since using this formula.
Phil has been using it for some time too.
I've been using it for over 2 years, and have not cramped during rides. However, I have cramped a number of times an hour or two after 4+ hour rides. This has happened after lying down for 20+ minutes, and presumably negative fluid balance and supine position result in fluid leaving legs to redistribute through body.

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I did a contra deal with a high profile AIS trained Qld Sports Med Clinic sports dietitian a few weeks ago. If you are interested in the pdf they gave me, I'll email it to you. Lots of great ideas for ride food and general supplements.

BTW, not a bad idea to use a ginger based sports drink due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

Wow that is bloody complicated bruce..
Endura... Stops me from cramping, cost $30 and last me a couple of months.. done.. and forgoten! haha

Also did try making my own bars they were great but found buying them was waayyyyy easier! lol

GD wrote:Wow that is bloody complicated bruce..
Endura... Stops me from cramping, cost $30 and last me a couple of months.. done.. and forgoten! haha

Wont last a few months when you start doing man rides.

Lol..