Sweat test?
Hey folks, this is my first post. I started my training plan a couple weeks ago, and am due to start my OS plan this week for my journey to complete an IM next year. I am getting very frustrated with cramping issues. (specifically calves and hamstrings, occ. quad ) I have always had issues with cramping, but by mostly doing Olympic size races, I was able to push through. I realize whatever my issue is, it must be addressed to complete such an ambitious training plan. I have been taking some endurolytes(hammer nutrition) but still experience severe cramps. I stretch often, pr and post. I've done yoga for over a year and consider myself flexible. My question is: what or where can I obtain a legitimate scientific/medical exam that can provide me with the exact requirement my body needs. I have seen some sweat tests that can be mailed, completed and sent to a lab for analysis. Has anybody used one? Can anybody make a recommendation? In addition, endurolytes seem low on the electrolyte spectrum, are salt stick products more potent? I am so frustrated that my body "locks up" when I still have effort to give, happens in the pool, bike and sometimes when idle. Appreciate any info or suggestions..thanks mike
Comments
Mike,
welcome to the team! You are going to find a wealth of information here. I'm not a medical person, but there are several who will probably post a much more complete reply but here is my $0.02.
1. I just did a race nutrition plan from The Core Diet and have rehearsed it a couple times and it is really working well for me. I previously had bad cramps in long races but with the amount of sodium intake I am getting that has gone away completely. Check out "The Core Diet" listed in the wiki under team discounts. I had to complete a sweat test for them and send my results.
2. Endurolytes are crap. Not enough sodium to be effective. Check out salt sticks and S-caps (my personal favorite).
3. There is a great article in the wiki about how to do the sweat test. http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/108/Default.aspx?topic=Sweat+Trial+Instructions
4. what kind of nutrition are you taking in during your training/racing?
x2 what Dusty said about sodium intake. Check this thread for more information about a fellow member who had severe cramping issues (so bad he'd get bruises), and recently resolved it via increased sodium. Lots of good information on that thread, especially from Penny who knows her stuff when it comes to this kind of thing.
And as Dusty mentioned (an you alluded to), Endurolytes are crap. I have a bottle myself and can't wait to get through them (not hard when you bring 6 per hour of running!). Only reason I don't throw them out is that I paid money for them - mine as well use em up.
A scientific exam is very difficult - yes you may be able to send a sweat sample to get an analysis on how much sodium is contained, but that gives no information as to the volume of sweat you produce in various given conditions - let alone the sodium content that may change based on sodium intake during exertion.
Thanks guys...much appreciated
Aha! I think we have a finger on the problem. If you look at the nutrition label on HEED it only has 40 miligrams of sodium per serving compared to 190 in Powerbar Perform or 290 in Gatorade Pro Perform. In talking with the folks at The Core Diet they view HEED as being worthless as an endurance sports drink. Couple the lack of sodium in HEED with the poor sodium content in Endurolytes and you are likely getting on a small percentage of the core electrolyte that you need from your nutrition.
The example that Jesse gave me during my Race Fueling plan consultation was that to get the same amount of sodium from Endurolytes that I get from S-caps I would need to take 25 Endurolytes during an Ironman bike compared to the 6 S-caps.
Added to this is the fact that HEED has an artifical sweetener listed as the 2nd ingredient!
If you haven't watched the race fueling webinar from The Core Diet
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/108/Default.aspx?topic=Race+Fueling+Webinar+(Jesse+Kropelnicki)
I'd highly recommend it.
BTW, I did the Beach 2 Battleship Iron race this past weekend and they serve HEED on the course. I carried individual baggies of perform powder and mixed my bottles at aid stations. No cramping issues becuase I knew what my body needed and made sure that I took in the right sodium/caloric mix.
As always, your mileage my vary but I'd bet that if you change your hydration supplement coupled with nutritional intake of sodium your cramping issues will disappear.
Now, regarding maltodextrin. Malto is great - I use it, but it's a single source fuel. It's primarily glucose molecules strung together, so it acts in a time release fashion. Desirable in some ways. However, the protein used to process glucose, and the transport mechanism of it through the intestinal lining is not the same protein and transport mechanism used by fructose, for example. So, you have two mechanisms available in your body to process fuel, and if you only fuel with one type of carb, the other mechanism sits there doing nothing with its figurative thumb up its ass. So, thats why multi-carb sources of energy are often better - something with glucose/dextrose (very quick energy), malto (more time released), and fructose (different transport mechanism), for example.
Set aside an hour or so and listen to the race fueling webinar - it's well worth it. It goes over various products on the market, which ones are good and why, and will give you a lot of inside into what to look for when it comes to overall nutrition. Additionally, perhaps some WSM's who are more thoroughly versed in nutrition may chime in.
Personally, I use a homemade mixture of malto with table sugar that has been broken down to invert sugar via heat and a little bit of acid. So it's a mixture of glucose, malto, and fructose. I did that originally to try and emulate the C2MAX carb formula found in Powerbar products, since that is what they have on course at IM events. I've since decided that I'm probably not achieving anywhere near 100% breakdown of the table sugar (sucrose, which is 1 part glucose and 1 part fructose) to it's constituent parts, so I'm actually kinda in the hunt for alternative sources, although I haven't been trying very hard as of yet
If you don't want to geek out on that stuff, I find the easiest thing is often just getting a big container of powdered gatorade or other sports drink (with plenty of sodium!). Electrolytes, usually at least two types of carbs, and hydration all in one. Only problem is on long bike rides it can be more of a hassle. A LOT of people on EN use Infinit Nutrition, because you can have a customized formula.