Question about electrolyte tablets

[Chesterlove]

I take water with me for every run (usually they’re 5km) and add a SIS tablet. I was recommended them when I really struggled on a warm day with heavy legs. Do you think it’s ok to take them every run - about 3/week? The salt levels are less than a gram/tablet. I’m not sure if they physically help or not but psychologically they do!

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

You're OK. You might just be making expensive wee but it's not like you're overdosing on them! 👍🏻😁

[Chesterlove Graduate in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

🤣 I can deal with expensive wee.

[nowster Graduate]

Are you drinking enough outside your runs, too?

I wouldn't normally take fluids with me on any run shorter than 90 minutes.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

I would suggest you do not need to take tablets or indeed water with you on 5k runs, but you probably do need to increase your daily water intake. Heavy legs are a classic sign of poor hydration and as a runner you need to be drinking a minimum of 2.5-3 litres per day, running or not, as highlighted in this FAQ Post healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[Chesterlove Graduate]

It could just be a comfort blanket, but I once went without water and found a need to spit at one point and I wasn’t having that 😂 and supping on water stops it.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to Chesterlove]

Please read the above linked post. It contains crucial information for all runners.

What you drink immediately before and during a 5k run is doing little or nothing for your general hydration. That can only be addressed by regular topping up of fluids.

If you have spit in your mouth, just swallow it.........don't waste valuable fluids!!

[Chesterlove Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thank you. A reminder to watch what I drink.

[Hidden]

As few years ago my husband bought an exercise bike, but almost every time he used it he got cramp in his calves that evening or while in bed. He drank loads of water and stretched after.

He was told to try rehydration tablets with his water as it is a lack of salt that causes cramp (so he was told!). This seemed to work. The best ones he found were the one on the link below. They are about half the price of the SIS ones and seemed to work just as well. One of our local shops were selling them for something like £2 a tube so we had loads for a while. So many in fact that they outlasted the bike!!

The morel of that story is that cheap exercise bikes are cheap for a reason. The advice we were later given is that if you can carry your newly purchased exercise bike to the car yourself, it is unlikely to stand up to the punishment you will eventually give it.

supplementsdirect.com/produ...