Gatorade?

My youngest son races motocross pretty seriously. His trainer advises that G2 is a good supplement to water at 1-1...I am certainly no expert on the subject but one thing of note particularly with 12 year olds is that something with some taste is much easier to get them to drink...
 
Your body requires lots of water to operate. Gatorade has that :) What is also has is a lot of sugar and a lot of salt. Your body needs those things, too. If you're working hard and sweating, Gatorade or any "sports drink" is probably better at keeping you hydrated than plain water. If you're just cruising at mild tempo Gatorade is probably too much salt for you.

An old timer's trick, pre-Gatorade days, is to add salt (about 1/2tsp per litre) to your water bottle. This replaces the salts lost by sweating and helps to keep your body from cramping. Also prevents people from wanting to drink your water ;-) You can add sugar and kool-aid to sweeten up the salt...oh oh bingo! Homemade Gatorade.

As a regular hydration beverage salty water is not too good for you. Like Gatorade, it's only for when you're really sweating that it's supposed to be consumed. Under normal conditions that crap's way too salty. Under certain conditions it's possible to become dehydrated drinking barrels of water because the body can't process it without the right salts. I had a really rough day in Mexico riding my motorcycle, drinking litres of water per hour but I was just pissing it out until I stopped at gas station and got some Gatorade or something. It was 42C and dry as a bone. Extreme athletes have been really injured drinking nothing but water under really adverse conditions.

Another pro-tip is to start the day well-hydrated. Which means not too much alcohol or coffee. If you're planning a really, really sweaty day you can make sure you're drinking lots and lots of water in the days leading up to the event.
 
I hate how my buddy always drinks vitamin water. The chit made by coca cola and is like three bucks a bottle. What a load. Even told him they are getting sued because there is no real vitamins in it. He doesn't care. Drinks the stuff religiously.
 
Varmit said:
A buddy of mine tried Gatorade last week on a snowmobile trip and said he found it really rejuvenated him way better than water. Does anyone here use it when hunting and does it really help your endurance?
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The taste and genius marketing is to thank for his perceived rejuvenated state. If he felt this way, then it's a good purchase.
Unless you're an elite athlete, single digit body fat, the type to physically pull a snowmobile for the ride or chase your prey on foot with a pocket knife, a human being will experience superior recovery from a thick slice of watermelon. But you won't appear as trendy without the colorful bottle millionaire professional athletes are paid so well to endorse.
 
I like to think I'm in pretty decent shape, competed to and qualified for nationals in powerlifting not too many years ago. Do plenty of 20km mountain days, and have hiked around 40 degree neighbourhoods of Africa a good deal, and not far off that spots in the Amazon. I have never, ever drank that junk. It's overpriced sugar water and the much touted "electrolytes" is a bunch of marketing mumbo jumbo for likely 95% of applications. I've noticed many friends of mine who swear by it are packing an extra twenty pounds they likely shouldn't be. Water is great stuff, a lick of salt if you've really overdone it and dehydrated yourself (seen salt required twice in my life). For a good synopsis on Gatorade and electrolytes see the movie "Idiocracy" for some good commentary.
 
I bet it was the sugar that made him feel better. Back when I worked in the bush (it gets hot in the interior of BC), I just put a package of tang in a 2 litre water bottle.

Very, very few people need more salt.
 
Nothing beats water. Best thing is if you spill some on yourself good opportunity to clean that spot.

Taste wise nothing beats refreshing water. Folks are obese thanks to drinking their calories. Water for the WIN.
 
Gatorade isn't necessary unless you are doing some heavy duty workouts. If you are running marathons or doing triathlons it is probably a good idea to substitute some in, but unless that is the case it is unnecessary. This is assuming one has a somewhat healthy diet with enough sodium and other electrolytes.
 
Add a touch of apple vinegar to your drinking water is an old trick. It quenches your thirst quickly so you will not over hydrate and feel bloated while you are still being active. In days of yore (my childhood) we were told by the pundits that to drink water while playing sports would give us a stitch (cramp in your guts). We would be dry during a football game and be allowed to wash out our mouths but were not supposed to swallow the water. Times change. ( we always swallowed the water by the way)
 
In Vietnam the medics gave us salt tablets--and then made sure you took them. Rinse your canteens with vinegar and carry 4 or 5. Drop an iodine tab in every canteen you didn't fill at the Mess and never drink more than 3--the medics are gonna need the other 2.
Bottled water? Who da thought!
 
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