@Coach Robb I took advantage of Ryno Power's 40% off sale and picked up their electrolyte powder to try. Usually I try to eat healthy on race day and load my hydropack up with water for a 2+ hour race. Have you tried the Ryno stuff and experienced positive results? I plan on mixing it with my water so I can replenish while riding as opposed to after the race. 

Besides riding dirt bikes I run marathons, that said under extreme physical activities you cannot digest enough to replenish what your using.  This is why you should be doing carb and hydration loads days before an expected event.  One pasta meal the day before or a quart of gatorade (or any other energy drink) the morning of an event might help but it won't save you.

I use a liquid supplement called 40,000 Volts, found on Amazon. Add it to my water every morning and I never cramp while riding here in the Arizona desert or any of the physical activity I partake in. Highly recommend.

Thanks for this video. Keep them coming! Really appreciate your insight!

I'm 47.  I load up my hydropack with ice, then add 50/50 water and pedialyte or gatorade (depending on what's in the fridge).  I also start hydrating the day before planned rides and continue until done riding.  I take magnesium, zinc and potassium supplements daily.  Never had any cramps.

As an LD ex-hiker, pedialyte was the key for me. I always did and do drink enough water but water alone doesn't cut it. Now that i am Pre-Diabetic and now have a different form of excessive in Dirt Bikes, it is very difficult to find any supplement without loads of sugar. This was a great video and i will be looking into your products more to see if it fits my needs. 

I had problems with cramps for years, tried half a dozen products pills to sports drinks with no results. Then someone suggested Indian tonic water.  I tried it even though I was skeptical. It reduced my cramps by 90%. I drink a small 250cc can just before I leave my house, roughly an hour before I ride.

The video did not educate me at all ! He is trying to sell products 

17 hours ago, bouncer42 said:

The video did not educate me at all ! He is trying to sell products 

I didn't watch because that's obvious from the description.

On 12/12/2019 at 6:48 AM, zig06 said:

Besides riding dirt bikes I run marathons, that said under extreme physical activities you cannot digest enough to replenish what your using.  This is why you should be doing carb and hydration loads days before an expected event.  One pasta meal the day before or a quart of gatorade (or any other energy drink) the morning of an event might help but it won't save you.

You can't carb load if you already have carbs in your body... You can only store a couple 100g in your muscles and another 400 or so on your gut... You have to deplete yourself of carbs before you can carb load... 

11 hours ago, Hans Schmid said:

You can't carb load if you already have carbs in your body... You can only store a couple 100g in your muscles and another 400 or so on your gut... You have to deplete yourself of carbs before you can carb load... 

That's why you start early.  One big meal before before an event most likely will not get totally digested and will cause bathroom issues if you exercise right away, keep in mind that we never digest 100% of what we eat.  By starting a few days early you'll fill up your reserves and not have to worry about sudden bathroom issues.  

Keep in mind that everyone is different, this is another reason why we train.  It's not all about hitting bigger jumps and taking turns faster, it's also about figuring out what you should be eating and when you should be eating it.  

Everybody is different and cramping is not created equal.  Some cramps come on due to exertion while other can be caused by electrolyte imbalance.  As a competitive mountain biker, if I have not done long rides and a high enough intensity....while in races, I'll cramp 100% of the time, even ones as short as an hour since I'm pushing my body in ways I'm not used too.  Nothing to do with electrolytes, everything to do with not being prepared.  This is a fairly common issue among athletes, particularly cyclists.

Besides getting electrolytes, make damn sure you have ridden or raced in a way that is going to prepare you.  All the electrolytes in the world won't keep you from cramping if you don't ride with proper intensity and train properly.

I drink a can of V8 low sodium every morning.  My heart pain and irregular heart beats, cramps I'd get during riding are all gone now.  Doctors thought the heart pain was angina, LOL.  That V8 is loaded with potassium and some sodium. 

 Another thing to be cautious about that is also related to heat sickness and not just cramps is drinking too much plain water without eating/supplementing efficiently. If you are already marginal on electrolytes then drinking an excess of plain water can dilute what electrolytes you have (as a percentage) and actually add to the problem some. When I practice I normally just drink plain water and a little Gatorade but when I race I add electrolytes to my water. 

Hammer Nutrition products worked awesome for me. They offer several different methods of electrolyte replacement options and flavors. They have pills, tablets that desolve and flavor your water, powders too, all available in single trial packages or quantity. Never any artifical flavors nor refined sugars. They are industry leading products in many high endurance sports where cramping is a issue. Keep in mind the amount of electrolytes a person needs to prevent cramps can vary person to person and day to day, so you have to experiment to find and tune what works for you. That's the long story, short story is buy thier endurolytes pills take 2 before you ride and 3 every hour of exercise and I bet your cramps will be gone. I use to cramp so bad that I thought I was going to have to quit racing. Also I wear a digital watch with a 20 minute repeating timer and it reminds me during the week to drink and meet my hydration goals of 80 Oz a day {I'm a 160 lbs}. 

Www.hammernutrition.com

Want to fix this problem...Salt pills.  Go to your doctor and get prescription.  You can drink all the fluids you want, but without salt, you will just sweat/urinate it all out.  I take a salt pill before and after each race and it has completely eliminated cramping with no adjustments in diet or training.

I bring mustard packs with me on long rides. Take one before I start and 1 or 2 when we stop for a break. Old trick from football days. 

On 1/13/2020 at 10:06 PM, MJ1001 said:

I bring mustard packs with me on long rides. Take one before I start and 1 or 2 when we stop for a break. Old trick from football days. 

People will laugh at me when I say mustard will stop muscle cramps. And I won't argue it. They can have muscle cramps and I'll laugh.  Don't know why it works, but it works.