Thread: What are electrolytes

Ive read in places people are having them...

not too clued up on what they are got a few questions.

WHAT ARE THEY? lol

What benifits do they give?

What do they contain?

Where do you get them from?

Thanks, Shane.

as far as i understand it they are salts/minerals that we lose when we sweat

Electrolyte powder from Myprotein.co.uk

So im guessing people take them to replace them when they train??

As said above electrolytes are salts/minerals we lose when we sweat.

Sodium and potassium are two good examples. These help fire nerve impulses among other things. Some people drink special drinks before/during/after training to get them back into the body.

One of the coaches at my gym says he gets terrible headaches after training if he doesn't use the drinks so it must get quite bad.

Hope this helps

I get some masterful cramps. Stories of me dropping near-dead on the mat in aching pain are legendary. Sort of.

(magnesium, magnesium, magnesium)

Alot of people simply assume that salt is always bad - that is afterall what were frequently told - however the body does need a small amount of salt in order to survive and electrolytes are a common method for replenishing salt levels after intense exercise. They are also quite a common remedy for people suffering illnesses such as sickness or diarhrea which can rapidly deplete sodium levels.

Headaches and dizzyness are common symptoms of depleted salt levels although you dont necessary need fancy potions or isotonic drinks to deal with this. My recommendation for a post-training drink is half a litre of water mixed with half a litre of juice of your choice with a level tea spoon (thats the small one!) of salt. It provides hydration, carbs for energy and replaces salt levels which are lost after exercise. You wont taste the salt in it so dont worry.

Yes postassium,sodium,magnesium are lost during sweat (potassium and sodium really) you can take electrolytes in the form of powders or tablets, if you are taking them post training or during training to avoid cramps or to re-hydrate powder form is better ive been using CNP PRO Hydrate for a while now and it really stops you cramping up