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Is Supplementary Salt Needed in a Race? with Coach Andy DuBois

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Hosted by
Scott & Don

Your watch timer goes off.  It is time for another Salt Cap.  You come into an aid station and you are covered with a salty brine on your forehead.  It’s time for some potatoes and salt.   How important is that salt in your training and racing?

Andy DuBois, one of Australia’s top endurance coaches, joins The Nation to discuss Salt.  Andy is an accomplished elite endurance athlete including a top finish at UTMB and other wins.  He has a pedigree of certifications and is always on the cutting edge of research and coaching.

We talk about

  • Is there a correlation between cramping and low salt consumption?
  • What is important in monitoring salt levels?
  • What to worry about if we consume too much salt?
  • The placebo affect?
  • Will rinsing your mouth with a brine solution do anything?
  • What can we do to avoid cramping?
  • How to cool your body
  • How important is plyometrics in training?

Here is a link to our interview with Tim Noakes on his new book Waterlogged

Join the discussion

5 comments
  • Great podcast to listen to heading into a long race Jan 1st. Andy has a huge following in Hong Kong. He speaks/writes, people pay attention.

  • I recommend you interview exercise physiologists Dr. Allen Lim or Andy Blow for a counter point of view (and research-based perspectives) to how and why sodium supplementation is beneficial for certain conditions.

    • HI Dina – I’ve heard the arguments of Dr Allen Lim and his view is pretty much the traditional view that has been held for a while. He doesn’t offer any explanation to why blood sodium levels go up during exercise when drinking water to thirst which Noakes and Hoffman explain. Forgive me for being sceptical but when someone has a vested interest in selling electrolyte products ( as Lim does) I find it hard to ignore the works of Noakes and Hoffman and others who don’t have a vested interest in anything ( other than in Hoffmans case keeping people safe in a race like WSER)

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