Cramp prevention drink ideas

venster

I did 40 miles today, nothing out of ordinary for my level of fitness. But got excruciting cramp in the hamstrings when I got in, to the extent I thought I was going to pass out from the pain.

Anyway, I've been reading into the reasons why it may have happened. Excessive sweating in my case today ( 2 thick layers and a wooly hat under the skid lid) and loss of hydration and electrolytes. Didn't drink much either ( 1.25 litres in 2 hrs 40 :oops: didn't feel thirsty though !!)

Any way I would like recommendations for a suitable drink to have on the ride. What about these Nuun tablets ? They look good, but seem expensive.

Any ideas ?

pcd993

GO from SIS is good.

(if you are out on the road and there are no sports drinks, try coke and tonic water mixed together. The Belgians swear by it.)

grindsuphill

I use Nuun tablets, after suffering bad calf cramps decided better take something properly formulated to avoid a repeat dose. Works well for me, probably many others on market but LBS owner reported no customer complaints.

As to expensive, locally available at £5 for 10. So your ride drink would have cost £1.25p. An expence yes, but considering all the money we spend on bling and bits surely worth it to avoid to avoid spoiling the day for the proverbial " Happorth of tar"

richa

+1 for Nuun.

Roadie Rods

An alternative to Nuun is Zym, which is available from Wiggle. Similar price, and keeps me happy. They also do a version with 100g of caffeine in too if that floats your boat, which is called Zym Catapult.

SIS Go is recommended for use in high temperatures, so does replace the minerals you lose, but if you want to take your energy in solid form, Nuun/Zym tablets would seem to meet your requirements.

Mettan

Suitable drink - Orange squash, some Salt and Water made up to around 1.5 litres (2 x 750 ml) - should be an adequate setup for a higher intensity 40 - 50 miler. Could always take a small banana aswell.

oldwelshman

I do not take any "special" drink for cramp prevention other than really long hard rides like Marmotte, or 220km rides.
A balanced diet should be all you need, along with energy drink and banana or two.
Correct balanced diet days before ride is more important.
Try going out on a long ride after a night out on the pxss
For rides up to 60 miles (other than races where I may cramp a little due to increased effort) one normal drink is fine.
For the Marmotte, as some one else posted here I tokk one extra drink in pocket which was half orange juic, half water with some salt in it but no need for that usually.

bahzob

Luckily dont suffer from cramp but did Alps tour last month with couple of people.

One was a past cramps sufferer who swore by using magnesium as a preventative. Other was suffering from cramp during tour, so tried using magnesium and was sorted.

damage36

Fortunately for you, I've just spent the whole last evening researching energy drinks! Cramps as you probably know are not purely hydration but also a lack of electrolytes - particularly Sodium and Potassium and to a lesser extenet Magnesium. The latter can be kept up with healthy diet. Orange juice is naturally very high in Potassium (in fact it has the same potassium content per 100g as does a typical energy drink like SiS GO or HIgh5) and the sodium can be made up for with a pinch of salt.
So... a half orange juice half water mix will provide you with enough electrolytes and water to keep away the cramps. You don't need to fork out for the expensive drinks.

PS. The advantage or energy drinks is convenience and obviously the addition of an effective balance of glucose (maltodextrin) and fructose. Orange juice provides fructose rather than maltodextrin, the latter of which is more quickly taken up in the small intestine.

PPS. Dehydration is not a matter of a few hours, it is important to remain hydrated all week, rather than not drink enough most of the time, and just glug down some water before you ride.

Hope that helps


DMG

drummer

I did 60 miles and got through 4 750ml bottles! (refilled once).

Even though I never felt thirsty, it's vital to keep taking a mouthful. I know some people in sports in general feel after an event like they could have drunk less BUT just take a couple of vitimin C's and it comes back outta ya any way!!