[Closed] Salt tablets

Used to suffer from cramp back in my swimming days. Coach then made me eat a packet of ready salted crisps before a hard session. Simple but it worked!

I used to suffer really bad cramp until I discovered electrolyte tablets. I used to get it when riding to the point of having to stop riding until it stopped. I used to get it resting after a ride and I used to wake up in the night in agony. One tablet in a drink bottle is enough to stop it completely.
Last year in the alps I did a day without any tablets and I was cramping throughout the day. I had to stop on climbs until it subsided but most of the time I just carried on in pain trying to stretch as I rode. Day 2 I bought some electrolyte tablets from a bike shop and never had any cramp for the rest of the holiday.
I have suffered with it since childhood. I would feel bruised for days after it. As above though I don’t get anything anymore as long as I have an electrolyte drink.
Someone will be along shortly to say there is no evidence of them working but they work for me and regardless I’ll keep taking them

Used to be a well known remedy among fell runners. A couple of salt tablets and a couple of glucose tablets to cure cramp. Always found it very effective.

I think salt tablets used to be available from chemists but no idea if they still are.

I'm normally fine riding for about 4 hours but after that I start cramping up. Always suffered badly surfing and bodyboarding, banana before I went in seemed to help a bit with that. Salt tablets seemed to work pretty well but looking online they all look a bit different and some surprisingly expensive

Would electrolyte powder not be better?
A 500g bag of this lasts me a few years.

Could well be! I normally just take water but would give electrolyte powder a go

Have you tried elete? Just a few drops of water in your bottle. You can barely taste it - which is good imho

Interesting posts.

Science hasn't explained cramps. Research done is inconclusive - they can't pin it down. Not repeatably.

It's not definitely salt/sugar/electrolytes whatever.

If you've got something you think works for you then great, but there's little value in searching for a definitive answer because there isn't one 🙂

I'm sure just getting used to doing longer rides would help. My usual rides are 3 to 4 hours and it's usually after that sort of time I start to suffer.

I've normally avoided tablets to put in water as I'm worried they will taste bad and gunk up my bladder. On my normal rides though I'm usually fine so not normally an issue, it's just for longer days out, alps trips etc where I feel it's handy to have something which helps with the cramps.

Definetly found banana before surfing helped. Whether or not its psychosomatic I don't know!

I used to get cramp all the time. Never had it since I’ve been using high5 hydration tabs. I’ve been using some cheaper ones from homebargains which seem ok but don’t taste as strong.

Definetly found banana before surfing helped. Whether or not its psychosomatic I don’t know!

A trainer I know told me potassium had been shown to be effective and didn't have the downsides of salt so probably not psychosomatic. I've found potassium pretty good.

over the years suffered from cramp - night time, sometimes but not that often when overdoing it riding but more of a concern when well within comfort zone and not expecting and that kind of puts off a bit.....posted this before worth a read - I find cider vinegar and electrolytes or just the left over pickle vinegar works for me

https://cyclingtips.com/2016/06/pickle-juice-a-cure-for-muscle-cramps/

I was given some of these and they seemed to help last summer.

Precision Hydration

I find a good pork pie much more satisfying!

Having spent a large part of my life in very hot places (40ºC+ ), I reckon salt tablets are addressing the problem after the fact.

The real problem is that you are not keeping your hydration levels up. Drink plain water, little but often, before you need it and your body does not excrete your salts because the balance is maintained.

Your body maintains your salts at an isotonic level - if you get dehydrated, then it has to get rid of excess salt, and it does that in your sweat. Taking water at that stage means your salt ratio in your body then becomes too low and you need to take salt with your water to balance it.

If you find it difficult to drink enough water when it's warm, a squeeze of lemon concentrate makes it more palatable.

I’d agree it’s all about hydration in my case at least. Electrolyte seems to help if I’ve messed up and allowed cramping to happen, but I’m not so sure it’s a good plan for general use and I’d be cautious of the doses recommended on the tablet tubes if riding daily, a friend hospitalised himself briefly a few years ago with an irregular heart issue that the doctors decided was linked to excessive use of hydration tablets although he’d only followed the directions. Obviously an edge case, but it can happen. I suspect many of the (legal!) magic performance products are taking a leaf out of the famous shampoo instructions (advising an unnecessary repeat application causes sales to increase) with their directions. Unless under the guidance of a qualified, professional trainer I’d always use as little of a product as possible, personally.

I've used Salt Stick, they seemed to work on long hard multi days.

If on a hard riding holiday or a big Sunday ride I tend to drink plenty of gin and tonic when out.... works a treat.

You don't need just sodium chloride; get some electrolyte tabs like SIS and drop half into a bottle with the maltodextrin you're using for energy.