Tag Archives: Hydration

N8 Endurance Drink Mix

Posted on August 9, 2016 by alchemyrider

Graphic courtesy of Egonutritions Sdn Bhd

A couple of weeks ago, a representative of N8 Sports Nutrition emailed me. He had read my posts about hydration and sports drinks. He asked if I would review N8 Endurance, a drink mix product that hydrates and improves recovery for cyclists, runners, and other endurance athletes. N8 Endurance is one of a range of sports nutrition products manufactured and marketed by N8 Sports Nutrition.

The product is designed to help endurance athletes increase stamina, reduce muscle fatigue, improve recovery, prevent cramping, and remain hydrated throughout their chosen activity.

N8 Endurance provides Branched Chain Amino Acids to aid in muscular recovery and muscular efficiency, Electrolytes to prevent or minimise muscle cramping, a “Smart Carb” in the form of Palatinose to sustain energy levels, and Creatine Monohydrate to increase muscle growth, muscular endurance and recovery.

I said I would be happy to review N8 Endurance. Within a few days a complimentary box of the product was at my doorstep.

N8 Endurance is in powder form, packed in single serving sachets. There are 20 sachets per box.

Photograph courtesy of bicyclebuysell.com

The directions for use are straightforward.

RACE DAY/ ACTIVITY DAY

Take 1 sachet of N8 Endurance with 250ml of water 30 minutes before your activity. Mix another sachet with water in your tumbler/hydration bag/ or water bottle to be consumed throughout your activity. Consume 1 sachet for every 45-60 minutes of activity.

CRAMP PREVENTION

Take 1 sachet of N8 Endurance with 250ml of water the day before your activity before bed. Take 1 sachet of N8 Endurance with liquid of choice when you are about to experience muscular cramp.

I have not had problems with cramps for some time now. Probably due to increased fitness levels and proper hydration. So I followed the Race Day / Activity Day directions.

The powder dissolves rapidly in water. The product is not effervescent, so there is no pressure buildup if you cap your water bottle immediately.

N8 Endurance has a pleasant, light, blackcurrant flavour (the only flavour available). When I first tried it I thought the taste was too light. However after a few sips I appreciated the lighter taste as compared to other sports hydration products. N8 Endurance has no lingering aftertaste. Nor does it have that slightly bitter taste that products using artificial sweeteners tend to have.

A pleasant tasting product is important. It is hard to finish the recommended 500 to 600ml of fluid an hour if you don’t like the taste.

I have done four rides so far with N8 Endurance in my water bottles. The total distance was 300km, with 4,700 metres of climbing. All the rides were in the morning. A 100km ride finished in the heat of the day at 1.30pm.

My conclusions about the effectiveness of N8 Endurance are of course qualitative and unscientific. I can only compare how I felt while riding and consuming N8 Endurance with how I have felt while using another hydration product.

With that proviso in mind, I can say that N8 Endurance did a good job of keeping me hydrated. I didn’t feel unusually thirsty after my rides, despite sweating a lot.

I did not suffer any cramps, so the electrolytes did what they were supposed to do.

My energy levels stayed high, even after 1,200 metres of climbing. That must have been due, in part, to the Palatinose.

Overall I felt good while riding, although I do admit that I felt like throwing my bike into a drain during the long climb in Hulu Yam. Just as important, I felt pretty good the day after each ride too. It is hard to say for sure without scientific analysis, but I do think that the Creatine Monohydrate made my recovery a little easier. At 58 years of age I can use all the help that I can get.

So in summary, I think N8 Endurance does what it claims to do. Help endurance athletes go further, stronger, longer, faster.

N8 Endurance Recommended

N8 Endurance is available at these locations:

Fitness Zone
Taman Selayang Utama

Johnson Fitness
1 Utama
Sunway Pyramid

Anytime Fitness
Solaris Mont Kiara
QLIQ Damansara
Oasis Ara Damansara

Anabolic Gym
Aman Suria Damansara

Merican Muay Thai Gym
Solaris Mont Kiara

One More Rep Fitness Centre
Ampang

Body Factory
PJ21 Commercial Centre

Ultimate Gym
Wangsa Maju, KL

Muscle Brothers Gym
Desa Sri Hartamas

Yokkao
Taman Danau Desa

Fever Fitness
Teluk Intan

For further information please contact:

EGONUTRITIONS SDN. BHD.
G-36 Aman Suria Damansara, PJU 1/45,
47301 Petaling Jaya, SEL, Malaysia
Telephone: +(60)3-7804 8970
FAX: +(60)3-7804 0970
E-mail: sales@n8.com.my

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Posted in Gear and Tools and tagged Cramp, Egonutritions Sdn Bhd, Electrolytes, Hydration, N8 Endurance. Bookmark the permalink.

How Much To Drink on a Ride?

Posted on June 8, 2016 by alchemyrider

One of the givens of cycling in Malaysia is the heat and the humidity. I have written a number of posts about the challenges of riding in our tropical weather.

Hyperthermia – Avoid It

Does a Base Layer Really Work in Tropical Weather?

Sweaty Eyeballs

Your Country Very Hot

The really hot and humid weather during the BCG Tour ride from Kajang to Melaka and back over the past weekend got me thinking again about hydration.

Drink 2 liters / 68 fl oz (or eight glasses) of water every day.

Lose more than 2% of your body weight and your performance will decline by x%.

Words to this effect have been repeated over and over in sports, health and lifestyle magazines. They have become burnt into the minds of cyclists the world over.

It turns out that there is no scientific method behind those numbers. Exercise physiologist Stacy Sims, Ph.D., a hydration researcher at Stanford University, says that the recommendation to drink 2 liters per day don’t take into account gender, environment, altitude, and fitness level—factors that could affect fluid intake needs.
Read more at Are You Overhydrated?

Alan McCubbin, an Accredited Sports Dietitian, Accredited Practicing Dietitian and the President of Sports Dietitians Australia, points out that the recommendation that athletes drink enough fluid to prevent a loss of body weight from sweat of more than 2% during exercise is based on studies using performance tests that don’t resemble real world sporting events.
Read more at Hydration for Cyclists: How Much Do We Really Need to Drink?

It is clear that dehydration does have an effect on cyclists and other athletes. The physiological responses include:

Reduction in blood volume
Reduced blood pressure
Decreased skin blood flow
Decreased sweat rate
Decreased heat dissipation
Increased pulse rate
Increased core temperature
Increased rate of muscle glycogen use
Rapid and deep breathing, faster than normal
Decreased digestive function

All of which contributes to fatigue and an impaired capacity to turn the pedals. Read more at Dehydration. Symptoms, Causes and Treatments

I have lost count of how many times I have had an elevated pulse rate, an increased core temperature, and shortness of breath while on long, hot rides. I sweat more profusely than most, and so am probably losing at least 1 liter / 34 fl oz of fluid per hour of particularly hot and humid days. Perhaps more. So it is no surprise to me that I need to constantly watch my hydration levels.

Which brings me back to the question of how much I should drink while on my bicycle? I hadn’t previously considered quantifying the amount I drink in the course of a long bike ride. But a comment from a fellow participant in the BCG Tour to Melaka got me thinking. He said that one bidon (that is fancy French cyclist speak for “bottle”) lasts him between 60km and 80km / 37mi to 50mi.

I don’t know if the fluid replacement rate for a cyclist is constant over time, but let us assume that it is. Let us also assume that one bidon has a capacity of 620ml / 21fl oz. Using these assumptions, this gentleman would have drunk between 0.87 and 1.16 liters / 29 and 39 fl oz over the 112km / 70mi from Melaka to Kajang.

I drank about 5.5 liters / 186 fl oz over 112km / 70mi last Sunday. A combination of the following:

Water splashing into glass

glass of apple juice and green apples isolated on white

With a Nuun tablet dissolved in the water in each of my bidons when I started, to replace lost electrolytes.

Drink 6

What I do not know of course is whether this gentleman only drank from his bidon while riding, or also had other drinks during rest stops.

Whatever the case, the answer to the question is clear – or not, depending on how you look at it. The amount a cyclist needs to drink to stay adequately hydrated is a very personal thing. As pointed out by Stacy Sims, our body type – our height, weight, and a gendered predisposition to muscle or fat – will have an impact on the amount of fluid we require.

The environment at ride time is also a major determinant of how much you need to drink. I have ridden 60 to 80km on just one bidon. But that was in the cool of a Netherlands spring day. There is no way I could have survived on just two bidons in the heat of last Sunday.

So while there are guidelines, they may not apply to you as a unique individual, and to the conditions at the time you are riding.

Your starting level of hydration is likely to be important. If you start a race already partially dehydrated, then the amount you need to drink to satisfy thirst and prevent performance declines will likely be greater.

Which prompts the question of when to drink?

The Google consensus is to sip on 500 to 750 ml / 17 to 25 fl oz of isotonic (see below) carbohydrate sports fuel in the two hours before a long ride to ensure optimal hydration and fully stocked up energy reserves.

Then, during the ride, the key point to remember is not to wait until you’re thirsty to start drinking. Drink little and often right from the start, even if you don’t feel thirsty yet. If you are feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Aim to take two or three good sized gulps from your bidon every ten to fifteen minutes right from the moment you roll off. Read more at Hydration on the Bike

Finally, don’t forget to continue drinking after the ride is over. Even if you drink regularly during the ride, you will still likely be dehydrated at the end. You will need to replace that lost fluid and electrolytes. I drank another 1.5 liters / 51 fl oz within an hour of finishing the BCG Tour ride back to Kajang. And more until I went to bed that night.

A final point to make is that it is possible to over-hydrate. Drinking too much can lead to hyponatremia, which is a dangerously low level of sodium in the blood. It is some consolation to know that you really have to work at it to drink too much. Most people can process about a liter or so per hour. That is 1.6 bidons per hour.

The 5.5 liters / 186 fl oz I drank last Sunday sounds like a lot. But the total ride duration was just over six hours. So I drank about a liter an hour, including a 900ml / 30 fl oz bottle of chocolate milk that I finished in one sitting.

Still not drinking at the level of professional cyclists, who can go through 9 liters / 304 fl oz in the course of a six hour stage race. Read more at Cycling in the Heat and Avoiding Dehydration

The takeaway for me is that when I am on my bicycle, particularly in the middle of the day, I should be drinking more than I do now. I don’t think I have to worry about hyponatremia.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Dehydration, Heat, Humidity, Hydration, Hyponatremia, Water. Bookmark the permalink.

Then and Now

Posted on June 5, 2014 by alchemyrider

I arrived at the finish of the Kuantan Century Ride 2014 in much better shape that I was at the finish of the 2013 edition. One reason was the difference in the routes. The last 40 km / 25 mi of the 2013 route included a 25 km / 15.5 mi out-and-back section along the Gebeng Bypass. That section seemed interminable, and especially hot. It was as much a psychological battle as a physical one to complete that part of the ride. Everyone who rode in this event in 2013 was glad that the Gebeng Bypass was not part of the 2014 route.

2013 Route 2014 Route

Another difference was that the 2013 route had more climbing, and most of its elevation was in the last half of the ride, when legs were tiring.

2013 Route Elevation

The 2014 route had less climbing, and those climbs came in the early kilometers.

2014 Route Elevation

I think the crucial difference for me in 2014 was that I stayed much better hydrated. A week or so before the event I read an article that said that if your perspiration stings your eyes, that is a sign that your body excretes unusually high amounts of electrolytes in your sweat. My eyes sting like crazy when sweat gets in them. So for this ride I put two Nuun tablets instead of the recommended one tablet in each 21 oz / .62 liter bidon.

I went through five bidons during the 160 km ride. Plus two cans of 100 Plus, two cans of Red Bull energy drink, five servings of iced cendol and one bottle of plain water. I estimate that I drank at least six liters during the ride. I drank often, and I drank a lot.

A trick that I learned a few months ago is to loosely tie a bandana around your neck, with the knot to the front. Then regularly soak the bandana with water. That keeps your neck cool. The water dripping from the knot keeps the front of your jersey damp, so evaporative cooling happens. I confirm that this worked. Augmented by emptying a bottle of water over my head at each stop.

I also made a conscious effort not to go into the red during the ride. As it turned out, my 2014 average speed of 27.9 kph was not much slower than my 2013 average speed of 28.4 kph. But there was a big difference in effort, as measured by heart rate. In 2013 I spent more than half of the ride in the Tempo Zone: 133 to 149 beats per minute. More exhaustingly, I did almost a quarter of the ride in the Threshold Zone: 149 to 165 beats per minute zone. In other words, in the red.

2013 Heart Rate

By comparison I spent no time riding in the Threshold Zone in 2014. More than half the ride was spent in the Moderate Zone: 100 to 133 beats per minute.

2014 Heart Rate

There was little difference in my moving time. 5 hours 40 minutes cycling in 2013. 5 hours 49 minutes cycling in 2014. But I spent 30 more minutes at rest stops in 2014.

The lesson for me is clear. I can’t do anything about the terrain, or the weather. But I can manage my fluid and electrolyte intake, and manage my exertion levels. Drinking six liters sounds like a lot, but I lost that much fluid through sweating. I certainly didn’t pee much.

I’ll continue the two Nuun tablets per bottle routine. The extra electrolytes seemed to make a difference. I had some cramps in my thighs after the third and fourth rest stops, but the cramping didn’t last long, and my riding wasn’t compromised.

I finished behind most of my Flipside companions, but finished strong. Very much preferred over chasing hard, finishing fast but feeling shattered afterwards.

Photograph courtesy of Cycling Evolution

Hyperthermia. Avoid It!

Posted on June 4, 2013 by alchemyrider

Hyperthermia is elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation that occurs when a body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. From the Wikipedia entry for hyerthermia

I had a few instances of overheating when I first got back to Malaysia. The land where maximum temperatures year-round look like this:

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Broadcasting, Inc.

Since then I have been able to manage my core temperature. I have been hot during rides, but not excessively so. Where did I go wrong during the Kuantan Century Ride to end up hyperthermic?

Cartoon courtesy of Transportation Alternatives Magazine

A lot has to do with the length of this ride. It was about 100 km / 62 mi longer than our weekend rides. My routine for staying cool during those rides was insufficient when stretched out over 160 km / 100 mi.

There are reams of articles, blog posts and lists about how to prevent exercise-induced heat stress. They all start with hydration. The most important thing you can do to stave off hyperthermia is to stay hydrated. How much fluid is required depends on body type and sweat rate. One guideline suggests drinking 1 liter / 34 oz per hour. By this measure I should have drunk about 6 liters / 203 oz during the ride. I did drink about 5 liters / 170 oz. My Camelbak Podium Chill bottles hold 620 ml / 21 oz each. I went through 8 bottles. So I was 2 bottles short.

What you drink is also crucial. Lost fluids and electrolytes need to be replaced during a ride. I added a Nuun tablet every time I refilled a bottle with water. Even so I probably didn’t take in as many electrolytes as I should have because I didn’t drink enough.

I usually put a bottle in the freezer and another in the fridge the night before a weekend ride. The cold fluid helps to keep my core temperature in check. All the fluid I drank during the Kuantan Century Ride was lukewarm. It wasn’t until I picked up some ice at the last rest stop that I got some cooling effect from what I was drinking.

I got my hydration wrong on all counts.

Clothing always gets a prominent mention. I had on the right ‘technical fabrics’ that wick sweat away from the body. As the sweat evaporates it carries heat away with it.

The right fabrics but perhaps the wrong color. My jersey was navy blue, and the suggestion for staying cool is to wear a light-color. The sun was very strong so it is likely that I absorbed more radiant energy that I would have if I had worn a white jersey.

My jersey did have a full zip. Unzipping my jersey and getting moving air onto my bare skin helped a lot.

I also had my arms covered so they never felt hot. My bare legs, on the other hand, did get hot.

I got my clothing partially right.

Most writers suggest pouring water over your head every 15 minutes or so. Preferably enough to soak your jersey as well as wet your head, face and neck. You will immediately feel that the water is cooler than your body is. Pouring a bottle of water over my head did cross my mind, but the two times I thought about it I was at rest stops that had run out of water.

I didn’t take full advantage of evaporative cooling.

Another suggestion is to generate less body heat by riding at a slower pace. My riding companions and I had planned to ride at an easy pace right from the start. The intent was to conserve energy so that we would still have something in the tank for the last part of the ride. I am sure the gentler pace helped keep my core temperature down, at least in the first half of the ride. Of course riding at a slower speed meant spending more time in the sun than would have been the case if we had gone quicker. I am not sure which would have been more detrimental: generating more body heat or absorbing more radiant heat.

Let’s say that I got the pace of the ride right.

That, and having ice to eat for the final 30 km / 18 mi, is probably how I made it to the end of the ride. I knew I was feeling the effects of hyperthermia with 50 km / 31 mi to go. I was light-headed, which I now know is an early symptom of heat syncope. I started cramping on the run in to the finish. That is another symptom of hyperthermia.

After the ride I spent 30 minutes sprawled in the shade, shoes off and iced drink in hand. That cool tiled floor felt good.

Photo courtesy of Wai Leng Mann

So what to during the 120 km / 74.5 mi Iskandar Johor Mega Ride in July? The lessons learned from the Kuantan Century Ride are:

Freeze two bottles and chill the third. Carry one frozen bottle in the middle pocket of my jersey, where it can cool my lower back.
Drink a liter of Nuun-infused water an hour.
Carry extra Nuun tablets.
Buy chilled water at petrol stations rather than depend on rest stops.
Soak my head and jersey with water every 30 minutes or so.
Wear a light-colored jersey.
Ride at a gentle pace.

All the “Beat the Heat” articles I read today have given me a few other things to try as well:

“Pre-cool” 30 minutes before the start by drinking cold fluids.
Wrap a water-soaked bandanna around my neck. Or go one step further and wrap an ice-filled sock around my neck, as suggested by Phil O’Reilly, former president of the Five Borough Bike Club.
Buy ice cream at petrol stations.

I’ll give these other suggestions a miss for now:

Cartoon courtesy of Transportation Alternatives Magazine

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Camelbak, Cramp, Evaporation, Heat syncope, Hydration, Hyperthermia, Nuun. Bookmark the permalink.

Old Roots, New Routes

Tag Archives: Hydration

N8 Endurance Drink Mix

RACE DAY/ ACTIVITY DAY

CRAMP PREVENTION

How Much To Drink on a Ride?

Then and Now

Hyperthermia. Avoid It!

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