KoopCast Sodium Supplementation for Ultrarunning with Alan McCubbin PhD | Koopcast Episode 159
Sodium Balances Fluid Replacement
- Sodium replacement is mainly about balancing fluid replacement to maintain blood sodium concentration.
- Over or under supplementing sodium without matching fluids disrupts hydration balance and causes issues.
Sodium Over-Replacement Effects
- Over-replacing sodium relative to fluid intake raises blood sodium levels, causing negative symptoms.
- Sodium might improve feelings by stimulating thirst and increased fluid intake rather than direct effects.
When to Supplement Sodium
- For exercise under four hours, use sodium based on taste, not loss replacement.
- Over four hours with sweat rate under 1.8 L/hr and replacing >70% fluid, sweat sodium testing might guide supplementation.
View all timestamps and show notes on the KoopCast website.
Episode overview:
Dr. Alan McCubbin lectures and conducts research in sports nutrition at Monash University, consults to Triathlon Australia's High Performance Program, and writes for Cycling Tips. He has worked as the dietitian for the Attaque-Gusto cycling team, adventure runner Richard Bowles, several triathlon squads, the Coburg Tigers VFL football club and the Tour de Cure cycling charity amongst others. He has written for Outer Edge Magazine, Trail Run magazine and lectured for Cycling Australia coaches. He has worked with summer and winter Olympians, A-League soccer players, national Taekwondo champions, triathletes, ultra-marathon runners, road cyclists & mountain bikers, boxers and windsurfers. Alan has competed at an international level in sailing, and in endurance mountain biking. Alan recently completed a PhD in sports nutrition at Monash University, looking at the effects of sodium in endurance athletes. He is also the co-host of The Long Munch Podcast, a podcast that answers common nutrition questions asked by runners, cyclists and triathletes.
Alan founded Next Level Nutrition, Australia's first ever online sports nutrition consultancy back in 2010. What was once an unheard of service model is fast becoming the norm in the sports nutrition industry, better servicing the sporting community of Australia with access to state-of-the-art sports nutrition counseling and education, delivered to clients anywhere in Australia via the web.
Episode highlights:
Part one — interview:
(15:14) When to supplement sodium: large sweat losses, high fluid intake, high sweat sodium concentration, example
(45:55) Decision chart for sodium replacement: check out Alan’s flow chart in the show notes, when to use sodium supplementation in training, season to taste
Part two — coach roundtable:
(1:35:28) Lower access to fluids during training: differences in resupplying, loop training, using your vehicle as an aid station
(2:06:00) Duncan’s takeaways: more 4+ hours runs, emphasizing that sodium is per unit fluid, train in varied environmental conditions
Additional resources:
Buy Training Essentials for Ultrarunning on Amazon or Audible
Information on coaching-
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