First things first, Ultra168 is part of Team Hammer Nutrition Australia, so I wanted to get that caveat out the way first so that if you’re reading this review, you’re aware of that. But you probably knew that already given the logo is on our homepage 🙂 But the aim is to be as impartial about anything we review from Hammer, and to give our honest thoughts too.
What I will say though is that I’ve been using Endurolytes for over two years, so its not like I’m spruiking something I’ve only just started using. The reason I switched to Endurolytes is that running in the heat and humidity of Sydney, I wanted to find something that didn’t involve carrying around bottles of sports drink and powders. I’m not sure how I found the Endurolytes, but I did, and I remember at the time it was a huge relief as I was heading off to the marathon des sables, and I had something that could keep my salts in check, without a huge amount of bulk. The great thing about these is that they’re more than just salt tablets, they include a wide array of electrolyte replacement, including potassium and magnesium.
As a big guy I tend to sweat a little bit when I run, and that means salts have a tendency to disappear too. I remember up at Glasshouse in 2009, I had a bag of Endurolytes, which fell out of my backpack on the first 10km loop. This meant no salt tablets at all. Anyone who knows the Glasshouse 100, knows that it can get a little toasty up there. By 60kms I had blown big time, was 5kgs underweight and had to lie down for an hour. I eventually DNF’ed at 100kms unable to hold anything down and I put this down to the fact that I didn’t get any salt tablets down.
The capsules are very easy to swallow and the recommended amount is around 1-2 an hour, but that depends upon conditions to be honest. If it’s a GNW type day when the temps get up to 40-odd degrees and humidity is sitting around 80%, I’d probably take 2-3 an hour for a few hours.
There’s quite a few theories on the whole taking of salt tablets when running. I know runners who take them religiously, but equally I know those who just rely on the food they take to get them by. I’m no scientist on this matter, so I won’t attempt to discuss the merits of what one should or shouldn’t do, but here’s a few link to consider if you want to know more. The guys over at The Science of Sport also have some good articles on this that are worth a read too.
So where do we place this on the mountain scale? It’s a bit of a tough one because of the individual preferences people have to managing their nutrition. For me personally they’re a 5, purely because I totally and utterly believe they keep my body salts and levels in the shape they need to be in.
Finally, here’s a video from an Ironman in 1997 featuring two females triathletes coming towards the finish line. It’s a pretty famous video, but it shows what happens when the body is on empty.
nice one Dan,Hope your smashing it up.We suvived AV’s run