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Pickle juice

brianrobkelly@hotmail.combrianrobkelly@hotmail.com
in General Training Discussions

has anyone used this to prevent cramping?  Does it work?.  How can you keep pickle juice down during the heat of an event.  Does it really taste like pickle juice?  Warm Pickle juice sounds terrible?????

Thanks!

Comments

  • Scott AlexanderScott Alexander
    Pickle juice ROCKS! Use it all the time. Much better cold than warm, and MUCH worse when it's HOT! Yuck! Then at that point, you just have to know that it serves a very specific purpose, to either prevent or address electrolyte imbalance, so you shouldn't really care what it tastes like.

    On all my hot 80mile+ rides (which is basically every weekend in TX summers), I take some with me. I also usually have it in my Bike SN bag and/or T2 bag at my IMs.

    There's another product, I forget what it's called, but it's like a pickle-flavored otter pop, with small minced pieces of pickle, which are hopefully served VERY cold, if not frozen. I'll stick with regular pickle juice whenever I can though.
  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    Brian: As Scott said, yes it can work. It is just one of many options for electrolyte replacement. Just depends on what you want to use and if you like the taste.
  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    Brian - below is my review of Pickle Juice Sport ... it's on their website (goldenpicklejuice.com) along with dozens and dozens of current testimonials. There's more to it than electrolytes. In studies where they electrically induce cramps, this stuff has stopped them in less than a minute -- far faster than your body can absorb electrolytes you just drank. They aren't even sure of what is helping, but they suspect the vinegar is an important part of snapping your neural pathways back on track. Let me tell you that it tastes like crap, and I was carrying my last bottle warm coming out of T2. I would take a sip or two just before an aid station then wash it down with some cold water. This isn't pickle juice straight from the jar. They've done something to it and while it tastes mostly like pickle juice, it never made me gag or want to throw up. I started using it in RRs and long hot rides to get used to it before St Croix. I'm racing the Muncie 70.3 this week (gonna be a heater) and you can bet I'm taking 4 x 8oz bottles with me. BTW, I did not use this product alone, I simply added it to the prodigious amount of sodium I was already taking.

    Fantastic! I have been racing half and full ironman triathlons for five years and have suffered cramps in everyone. I have tried everything written to solve this problem except pickle juice ... It just sounded too extreme. Well I finally had enough after the San Juan 70.3 and bought some Pickle Juice Sport for the St Croix 70.3. This is considered by many to be the toughest half ironman out there. I took a bottle the night before, on race morning and in T1 and T2. Result -- I completed the run leg without a single cramp. Not one, not even the hint of one. I am completely sold.
    --- Paul H. | 05/07/2012



  • NortonNorton
    Although I no longer race Ironman, I do partake in brevets; long distance, time limited, self-supported cycling. Pickle juice is my magic bullet; at controls I often find a jar of pickles, pour out a half or full cup, and guzzle away. Not only does it pump up the volume on my electrolytes, I find it cuts through all the sweets I've been consuming. A winner!
  • brianrobkelly@hotmail.combrianrobkelly@hotmail.com
    Looks like pickle juice it is! Thanks for the comments!
  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Filing away this thread for future reference (I get cramp flutters in the last few miles of an IM) but, jeezus...friggin' pickle juice? Sounds like a dare

  • NortonNorton
    Rich,

    Now that I know about the curative powers of pickle juice, I can just imagine a cold-packed flask in Run Special Needs; nirvana!
  • jimmy augustinejimmy augustine
    Yea. Really excited about this one. 6 marathons, cramps in all of them. I found out that they carry it at my grocery store. Too bad I won't have a chance to test it out for a couple of months.
  • Dino SartiDino Sarti
    Strange.....
  • Nate ParadyNate Parady
    and don't forget the salt grinder off the kitchen table while your at it...just grind some into your mouth every now and then.. image

    just say no....to pickle juice....

    I'm sticking with my new secret sauce called EFS Liquid shot..I'm liking this stuff as a race day GU replacement..
  • NortonNorton
    Posted By Lynne Atkinson on 06 Jul 2012 12:10 PM

    I love pickles! Can you just pour the juice from a jar and drink it? Would that work the same way?



    Lynne,

     

    That's what I do.

  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    Posted By Lynne Atkinson on 06 Jul 2012 12:10 PM

    I love pickles! Can you just pour the juice from a jar and drink it? Would that work the same way?



    Only if the jar fits in your bottle cage on the downtube. After the ride the lid of the jar must be punched with holes and used to catch fireflies...just sayin'

  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    I just happen to have a bottle of this on my desk. The ingredients are: water, salt, white distilled vinegar, sucrose, natural dill flavoring, potassium, zinc, vitamin c, vitamin e, yellow 5, polysorbate 80. Not sure if it is actual "pickle juice" or manufactured. It has 890 mg sodium and 70 mg potassium. One of the highest sodium contents I've seen. A couple of years ago a bunch of NFL players were all into using pickle juice, then it kind of fizzled after people tasted it.

    If it works for you, use it.
  • chris malonechris malone
    It's stinking hot here and I've been riding every day and racing on the weekends and I sweat like a congressman on Facebook.
    So, blackstrap molasses added into my chocolate milk for recovery. It has a ton of potassium but tastes like motor oil by itself. If you mix it into choc milk it is tolerable.
    And now pickle juice in my beet juice.
    I've officially lost perspective.
  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    @ Chris ... You cracked me up. Pickle Juice Sport saved me at Muncie, so I'm a true tri geek to be gaggin this stuff down.
  • jimmy augustinejimmy augustine
    My local grocery carries the pickle juice sport. It comes in little containers of about 6oz in size. I had a longer run today so I tried freezing some overnight in a flask to see how long it would take to melt.
    I was able to get it down and keep it down just fine.
    I also tried adding it to a water bottle on the bike. I would not suggest that. It just ended up making 24oz taste like pickles instead of only 6oz.
    One thing I know for sure - I will cramp in october at austin 70.3. And when I do I plan to have some of this handy. We will see what happens!
  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    @ Jimmy ... I'm not waiting for the cramps to use it. I have some poured into a Hammer flask that I'm carrying on the run, and I'm drinking some before each water stop and following up with water. It was totally warm, and I finished it by 4 miles.
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