Electrolyte drinks, timing is KEY.

So most of us drink or replace fluids post workout.  In my sports nutrition classes we talk about how most people mis-time fluid replacement and how that does not really do use much good.  the recommendation is that the timing of electrolyte beverages should be a small amount prior to the workout and then at intervals during the workout.  Most of us complete a workout and then chug a sports drink as fast as we can.  The purpose of sports drinks is to keep blood volume steady, supply glucose to the brain and working muscles and keep us from getting mentally fatigued.  It is rather inconveinent to drink during a workout and there are some workouts that just do not allow us to stop so I tried my own little experiement.  During a spinning class, I had a bottle of gatorade and since you are sitting on a bike and are able to drink, I thought I would give it a whirl.  The other key to remember is that you need to sip the beverage not drink it in one straight shot.  So I had a mouthful every 10-15 minutes during the class.  My energy  level was better sustained and I did not feel as fatigued or thirsty at the end of the class. 

The moral of the story:  Drink your sports beverages slowly over time and make sure if you are doing endurance work that you take some sort of sports beverage along.   If you can get glucose to the brain and electrolytes to the blood then you can stay in the game longer!