terrymorse 

You don’t need to replace potassium when exercising. Unless you have vomiting and diarrhea.

MoAlpha

A LOT of vomiting and diarrhea or hyperaldosteronism or certain kidney diseases or are eating industrial quantities of licorice...

livedarklions

Sounds like a great recipe if you like diarrhea. There's a reason people don't drink sea water.

scottfsmith

Some of the electrolyte companies maintain that potassium in the water helps with hydration, getting the water as it is drunk absorbed the most quickly and effectively. I think the Liquid IV mentioned above is one of them.

Fact or marketing BS? I have no idea.

PeteHski

Precision Hydration include potassium in their products. As do SIS. I have no idea what it does, but these both work for me.

terrymorse 

Other than making your water taste even saltier, it doesn't appear that potassium is doing anything useful while you're exercising.

Sodium chloride (table salt), some sugar to help absorption, and some flavoring to make it palatable. The rest appears to be fluff and marketing.

Edit: For an example of added fluff, here are the ingredients for HEED. I've highlighted the ones that do something useful (sugar and salt):

Maltodextrin, Xylitol, Natural Flavors, Taurine, Calcium Chelate, Potassium Chelate, Magnesium Chelate, Stevia Leaf Extract, Sodium Chloride, L-Carnosine, Green Tea Extract, Glycine, Tyrosine, Manganese Chelate, and Chromium Chelate.

MoAlpha

I don't know how the concentrations in sports drinks compare, but the oral K supplements used in the clinical setting can be quite irritating to the digestive system. I also don't know whether it's the K salt, the high osmolarity from all that sugar, or what, but I often find Gatorade upsets my stomach on long, hot rides where I drink a lot of it.

terrymorse 

You're not alone. I can't tolerate Gatorade for long, either.

I think it's the cocktail of sugars in high amounts, from the Gatorade nutrition label: "sucrose, maltodextrin, fructose". Blech!

zandoval 

Years ago, in Bastrop Tx, I pulled over on a country road to talk to a Touring Rider who was sitting next to a fully loaded bike in the weeds. I approached him slowly, as we do in Texas, and asked if he was OK. He softly said, "Can't handle the heat...". He was wet with sweat, not breathing to fast, but moving very slow. Still it was obvious if nothing else his brain was struggling. Without asking, and with allot of struggle, loaded his bike into the back of my truck and then helped him into the cab. In the cab he was cooling off fast and by the time we got to Smithville (12 miles) he was talking normal, but with a heavy east coast accent. I unloaded him at the local grocery store. A couple of the local ranchers I knew were examining his ride/load, and asking questions of this guy who talked funny. It was only about 85°F.

The heat in many ways is relative. If your heart rate was elevated six hours after your ride then, RATS... Ya screwed up. Having done this myself more than a few times I realize this kind of stuff sneaks up on us. Like that hill you attack and then at the top start getting a little woozy as those veins in your neck thump. Or that time you thought you could ride in the snow.

And as we get older, we dam sure gotta ride smarter. Sure glad your OK...

genejockey 

Some years, especially when I've laid off of riding during the rainy winters, the first warm (>80 degree) ride can be a problem. I first noticed this during a climb on a not-really-hot day. As i climbed, I got lightheaded and a bit nauseous, and my legs felt weak. About halfway up, I stopped and sat on the roadside running with sweat for a few minutes, till I felt some semblance of normal. I headed back down and rode home, which meant a few short climbs but never felt that again. Next Sunday it was just as warm, and I did the climb again with no problems at all.

Since then - maybe 10 years ago? - I've had that happen a handful more times, no more than once a year, and only on the first warm-day ride of the year, with no recurrence later in the year even when it's much hotter. I looked into what to call this, which is not as severe as heat exhaustion, and found "Heat Syncope". Apparently this happens to people before they've become acclimatized to the heat So, the first warm rides of the year, I don't go hard or attempt too much, just ride at a comfortable speed.

GhostRider62

Too much fructose cause GI distress for me.....gas, bloating, etc. Sucrose already has one part fructose. Gatorade? Not for me either.

SkinGriz

I’ve worked outside since I was 16.

Today was rough.

After dinner with family I laid down with a frozen water bottle. Alternately on my forehead, neck, chest, stomach. Now sitting with it between my legs.

After kids down and I shower, will probably lay down in cold bath. Maybe put some ice in it.

20 years ago I could run 12 miles in the heat. As soon as I drank some ice water and went into the shade or AC I’d recover almost instantly.

30lbs overweight. Probably contributes a lot.

Anyways, I guess I would say water, salt, potassium, cold bath.

SkinGriz

And avoid the sun directly hitting you!!!
Take a lesson from people who’ve got generational wisdom on how to live in the heat.

canklecat

Heat adaptation never gets easier. Usually I start early by exercising in the warmest part of the day in March. In Texas we'll alternate between early springtime temps below freezing one day and in the 80s the next.

But the weather was crazy this year, across much of the US. Unusually hot, humid and windy in many places.

June is always my toughest month for heat adaptation, and if I ever develop heat exhaustion and cramps, it'll be late May or early June. This year was no exception, and worse than most years due to the above-described conditions.

This year I had resumed jogging before January and was already cold-adapted. So I continued jogging (often alternating running and walking, depending on my heart rate). By June I was wearing a 2-liter hydration backpack and nearly finishing it after a 7-10 mile jog.

So by July this year I was feeling pretty okay on the bike in the heat of the day. But it still depends on the humidity. Dry days are better.

wolfchild

It's very easy to avoid fatigue and exhaustion. All you need to do is to fuel up and hydrate properly and take it easy on those really hot or humid days.

GhostRider62

For a few weeks I have been acclimating to hot, humid conditions by doing my training rides in the middle of the day with temperatures in the mid 90's.

I went out yesterday and felt cold. I thought it must be in the 70's but low and behold, it was actually 87F. A month ago, I would have been sweating profusely in 87F. On a 2 hour ride, I drank 16 oz of plain water. It was a pretty easy ride without a lot of hills, averaged 16 mph

donoharm

The reason this thread is generating so many divergent opinions is that there is no hard and fast rule. Drink to thirst is the bottom line.

cbuddy2005

In Texas my heat experiences depend on a few things. Humidity will suck water right out of you--regardless of how much you drink you can't keep up if you are sweating a bunch.
75 degrees and 90+ % humidity and I feel like I'm being water-boarded. You won't overheat but you will sweat a ton! I've lost 4 lbs. of water weight in under 2 hours while drinking ice water regularly from camel bak--this makes me feel very drained. On longer rides I take a frozen Costco water bottle with powerade with a touch more sugar mixed in and some potassium chloride mixed in as well. I dump it into the camel bak before the water is finished to dilute the mix some. I take at least a 15 minute break to get the heart rate down and to let more blood circulate through the stomach--something that doesn't happen much if your heart rate is elevated because of the temp. and your moving on the bike. Your body is trying to cool you off by circulating blood to the skin not the stomach.
The wind thrown in will wear you out slowly as well. If it's sunny and hot as well as windy and humid your ride will wear you out much sooner.
The wind holds you.
The humidity sucks out the water.
And the sun pounds on you all at the same time
So, your fitness level will be perceived to be decreased under these tough conditions when it isn't in reality. The same ride without the harsh conditions would seem much easier.
weigh yourself before and after such rides and you can then tell if the water loss is the issue and not overall fitness.

genejockey 

This is true once you're acclimatized. Prior to that, however, you may find yourself feeling faint and nauseous on a day that's not even hot at all, even with moderate exercise.

Sy Reene

Full strength gatorade is not pleasant in lots of volume. Especially the bottled variety which has its sweetener I think mostly from corn syrup.
1/2 strength powder though (which is about 1/4 scoop for a 21 oz bottle) plus a 1/2 tab of Nuun is a pretty decent cocktail.

canklecat

Try an "oral rehydration solution" blend per World Health Organization directions. There are recipes online. It's designed as a substitute for IVs when IVs are unavailable or impractical.

Don't omit the sugar. It's essential to osmolarity. I've tried sugar-free electrolytes and they leave me feeling bloated and burpy when I needed quick rehydration. Doesn't take a lot of sugar, but it does need some for optimal results.

Or buy some DripDrop. Best readymade electrolyte mix I've tried. I've used NUUN and many others. For the same price DripDrop is the best I've found. Better tasting, no chalky residue, no cloying or bitter aftertaste. Comes in single serve Mylar packets that are waterproof, weatherproof and sweatproof. I've carried 'em in seat bags, sweaty jersey pockets, even in my socks.

I've given it to other folks who were suffering from heat exhaustion, even fainting and vomiting. They felt better within 15 minutes.

Kri

Our bodies aren't suited for dissipating heat in a humid environment. You sweat indeed but the sweat doesn't evaporate as quickly as it would in a dry environment. My solution is to avoid high efforts on a humid day.

tallbikeman

I belonged to the Reno Wheelmen in the early 1970's and we would ride from Reno to Virginia City then up to Tahoe. Go through Incline Village then up over Mr. Rose and back to Reno. Lots of hard mountain miles. You are tough and yes I don't doubt you were still tired the next day after what you just rode.

Bald Paul

You're doing it all wrong. Buy the pre-packaged pouches. Each one mixes with 20 oz of water - about the size of most water bottles. I just toss a few in my jersey pocket, and when needed, tear the top open, dump it in, shake it up, and done. Available on (where else?) Amazon. In fact, I just ordered another box. Fruit Punch is my favorite.

UniChris

Extensively looked for prepackaged two years ago including all over amazon but the only hint of any that was at all economical compared to buying bottles was at an industrial supply place.

Maybe it's now more available than it was.

There remains the issue that mounting space is at too much of a premium to waste on small 20oz bottles where 28's will fit though there are worse things than dilute gatorade.