Hydration tablets

[Kermit power]

Morning all,

What do people think of hydration tablets? I've seen all sorts of claims about them increasing fat burn and stuff, but not sure how much is hype vs reality?

To set some context, I'm cycling a 30 mile round trip to work most days, which is taking me around 70-80 minutes each way on average. Given the number of junctions and traffic lights, it makes for pretty decent interval training!

At present, water is pretty much the only fluid I drink all day. I'm not interested in calorie stuffed sports drinks, but if any of the zero calorie tablets are worthwhile, I'd like to know which ones people recommend.

[Kermit power]

Nobody use them then?

[Parsnip]

I was a guinea pig for a study on their effectiveness in heat, and they seem to work - I didn't know which drink was which:

40k TT on the bike, in a 30degree 80% humidity chamber:

Water 1:01:xx
Energy drink (carbs + electrolytes): 1:00:xx
Electrolyte tabs 58:xx

The thing that surprised me was that the carb drink (think Lucozade) did worse than the tablet (I think they were Nunn) - I did find the electrolyte drink much easier to drink, which I think played a huge part - drinking a syrupy drink when you are hammering flat out is nigh on impossible.

In the real world (i.e not going at 100% in a heat chamber) I reckon a carb/electrolyte mix would serve you better than just a Nunn tablet - plenty of good athletes swear by them, but I would hazard a guess at them being used as a supplement to proper fuel, rather than a substitute - kind of like salt tabs. In your case, I would stick with water on the bike if it is working for you - the tablets are great for keeping you hydrated in the heat when you are working hard, but can't imagine you will notice much effect if you are just pootling to work.

[amnesia182]

I wouldn't do a ride over 30 miles without a High5 Zero tab or two in my bottles.

Maybe a placebo effect, but they taste nice (lemon & lime) and allegedly replace lost salts from sweating (I sweat profusely when exercising).

[Kermit power]

Cheers for the replies guys. Not hugely expensive, so I'll give them a try to see if I notice a difference.

[Teebs]

I use them for cycling (Isostar). I think they work, as said before, you can lose an awful lot of salt and other minerals in your sweat.

FWIW Wiggle (www.wiggle.co.uk) have the Isostar on at £3.99 with a free water bottle. 1 tube will do 6 x 500ml drinks, cheaper than lucozade or any other similar products.

[Kermit power]

I've just ordered some of the High 5 cherry & orange flavour off Wiggle.

[Bing o]

I use GU Brew for running. Given that it's 30 degrees and 90% humidity after dark, they do a great job and cut through the heat nicely.

[Kermit power]

Well, not wanting to wait until my Wiggle order turns up, I popped into Evans and got some of these:



This week was the first since I started commuting again that I've cycled on 4 days instead of 3. I managed to wake up at 4am and didn't get back to sleep, and I've got an incredibly stty sore throat, so I really wasn't expecting much when I left home this morning.

By the time I got into the office (where I'd stupidly left the electrolyte stuff), my legs felt like lumps of lead, and I wanted to curl up under a desk and not come out until Monday.

Still, I had a couple of sachets with the first litre of water of the day, and thought no more of it.

Now, I don't know how much of it was placebo effect, but despite everything, I've just recorded my fastest homeward leg yet!

[VEA]

I use them if I am doing anything more than a quick blast (say 30 mins).
ZipVit Energy stuff in a big tub. I'm pretty sure it works.

[okgo]

doesn't op mean he's doing 15 miles then sat down for 8 hours then another 15 miles?

You don't need anything outside water for that kind of distance really, unless your route home is very tough, which it isn't from memory.

I do a little less and don't actually carry a bottle at all.

[Kermit power]

okgo said:

doesn't op mean he's doing 15 miles then sat down for 8 hours then another 15 miles?

You don't need anything outside water for that kind of distance really, unless your route home is very tough, which it isn't from memory.

I do a little less and don't actually carry a bottle at all.

This is true, but I'm also a fat knacker doing it as fast as I can to get fit, so relative sweating out is probably higher at the moment. It's also not something I'd be bothering with so much if it wasn't so bloody hot at the moment.

[Odie]

Ive been considering using these when I go walking,

I sweet profusely and think I lose too much salt and minerals. Some times when its hot I can feel a tad light headed.

I dont want to put orange cordial into my water bladder due to the acidity and it will stain/taint the bladder.

Does anyone have an suggestion of a product I could use?