Hello and welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast . I am your host , chris Newport , and before we get started , I am excited to announce our very own 30-day fueling and hydration bootcamp . Registration just opened and only goes until August 7th , so you're gonna wanna jump on this super quick . If you're an endurance athlete who is struggling with your nutrition and hydration for both training and racing , with things like cramping , nausea , vomiting , diarrhea or just simply not knowing how to fuel yourself properly for an upcoming endurance event like Ironman , marathon , half marathon or even Olympic distance triathlon , let me just tell you it does not have to be that way . Let me just tell you it does not have to be that way . The Fueling and Hydration Bootcamp is the most complete way to help you fuel and hydrate properly for your best performance . As an athlete , exercise physiologist and performance nutritionist , I have spent decades , you guys , refining this process and helping hundreds of athletes just like you , and now I'm excited to share this brand new process with you . So you get the science , the strategies and the secrets packaged all into this little fueling bootcamp . Check it out at theenduranceedgecom forward slash fueling bootcamp .
Speaker 0So let's jump into today's topic , which is all about sweat testing . So first of all , what is it ? And this is a very valid question . I get this question all the time from people who work with us . They say well , aren't I just testing my sweat when I weigh myself before and after my workout ? Yes , that is part of the process , but what makes sweat testing unique is that you are actually measuring your electrolytes that you lose during exercise . This cannot be done without actually sweating , without actually exercising , the results are just not valid . So otherwise it's pretty simple . The actual process of sweat testing is pretty simple . We've got a home sweat testing version as well as the version that you can do actually with you in our office . But basically you're taking a couple of pieces of band-aids and gauze . As I'm very simplifying this process , you go out , you do a workout at your self-selected pace and mode of exercise but typically most people are running or cycling and then you send us back your sweat sample and we test it for those electrolytes . So why does that matter ? And we test it for those electrolytes ? So why does that matter ?
Speaker 0There are a couple of different electrolytes that you lose during exercise that are important to the actual functioning of muscle . The most important one is sodium . So sodium is a necessary nutrient involved in the maintenance of normal cellular homeostasis . So obviously we don't want our cells to be off balance and , again , as it relates to exercise , it's important in the regulation of that fluid and electrolyte balance and , specifically , blood pressure . The other nutrients that are important but don't play quite as big of a role , but still do play a role , are potassium and chloride and magnesium .
Speaker 0There are some other things that are lost , but they're not quite as meaningful as sodium in particular . So why does this matter ? Well , first and foremost , your health and safety is of the utmost important , and one of the most common things that happens with athletes , specifically endurance athletes is gonna be dehydration . That , of course , is gonna be one of the biggest issues , and then , of course , that can lead to other issues , specifically in the heat , which hello welcome to summer as it is right now we also want you to do as well as you possibly can so performance right , especially in relation to preventing cramps , dehydration and GI distress . So electrolytes are really critical on all of those pieces .
Speaker 0But something that a lot of people don't really realize about electrolytes is that actually and this is again not only anecdotal evidence that I've , after having worked with athletes for many decades now , but also actually in the research , is that having the right amount of electrolytes during exercise and afterwards to aids in recovery ? And I don't know about you I've certainly experienced this myself but have you had that sort of like post workout , just like just not feeling great , or maybe you have a headache , or maybe you've got some dizziness ? That can all be related to your electrolyte losses , your sweat or is like your fingerprint . We've had athletes of the hundreds of people that we've tested with sweat testing lose as little as 215 milligrams of sodium per hour , up to well over 5,000 milligrams of sodium per hour . That is a drastic difference . So if we're just sort of guessing about what we need in terms of , you know , electrolyte pills or sports drinks et cetera , that's okay , cause everybody has to start somewhere .
Speaker 0But if you're somebody who really sweats in large quantities , or if you notice that you're having a lot of issues with , again , gi distress or cramping , or you're out there for very long periods of time , like ultra running , iron man , or you're in very , very hot conditions , or if you're going really , really fast to like the Olympic triathlon was just this week , of course I am . If anybody knows me , I am thoroughly obsessed with the Olympics and obviously triathlon , but it's you know , it's not cool out . So that is part of the factor that plays into your performance as well as your health and safety . So knowing that information about your sweat specifically is really critical in creating your personalized fueling and hydration plan . When I look at the research and when I've been working with athletes , it is so hard to adjust for all of these potential factors that play into performance , which is why it just goes to show that we are all incredibly unique and quite a few people will get out there and they'll try a particular product , you know , an electrolyte beverage or a sports drink or something along those lines , and they'll be just fine . But then there are , of course , those of us who really struggle , and knowing this information is really key about yourself .
Speaker 0Now here's the cool part about sweat testing you should only have to get tested once . So I will say that again , you should only have to get tested once because , again , your sweat is kind of like your fingerprint . So the amount of electrolytes that you lose in your sweat should not vary , other than when you may be acclimating . And then , of course , once you do acclimate , then you're good to go . So if you really want to know about your own particular sweat and hydrate according to your own unique needs and learn the science behind hydration , then I definitely encourage you to do sweat testing . And you're in luck because sweat testing is part of this 30 day fueling and hydration bootcamp that we are starting in August . So check it out the endurance edgecom forward slash fueling bootcamp . We have incredibly limited spaces available and registration only goes until August 7th . Thank you so much for listening . We'll see you next time .