Replace Sustained Release Electrolyte Tablets
For the past couple of months I have been using ReplaceSR (Sustained Release) Electrolyte Tablets on my bike rides. I haven’t taken a bike ride in over twelve years without consuming some form of added electrolytes—usually in the carbohydrate drink mix I use (I make my own). However, having the electrolytes in a sustained release tablet opens up a whole new world! The folks at Endurance Products sent me a rather large supply of their new product, ReplaceSR, for me to sample and I still have six unopened bottles of the tablets I am going to give away to some lucky reader (see the details at the end of this article).
ReplaceSR is a 4 to 6 hour sustained release electrolyte tablet designed for cyclists, triathletes and other endurance athletes. If your normal bike ride is under 90 minutes you don’t need this product. Each tablet contains five active ingredients: Sodium (175mg), Potassium (65 mg), Chloride (211 mg), Phosphorus (103 mg), and Magnesium (10 mg). The ReplaceSR tablets are about the size of a regular Tylenol tablet.
The manufacturer suggests that you take one to three ReplaceSR tablets with a full glass of water thirty minutes before beginning to exercise. I realize those directions are not too precise, so I just took one tablet for a short ride (two to three hours), two tablets for a medium ride (three to four hours), and three tablets for a longer rides (four to six hours). If you are interested is a detailed study of the science behind ReplaceSR, I would strongly suggest you read this article on boosting performance in endurance athletes.
Separating my electrolytes from my liquid intake was rather liberating. For years I’ve timed my liquid intake to match my presumed electrolyte losses during a bike ride. In my case that meant 20-ounces of a carb drink for every hour on the bike. Unfortunately, that meant that sometimes I was drinking when I wasn’t thirsty and on really hot days I was so thirsty that I was consuming far more electrolytes than needed. With ReplaceSR I was able to drink plain water when I wanted and get my carbohydrates from my gels. For distance cyclists like myself, you know it is a lot easier to find a bottle of water on the road than a decent carb drink!
While most people associate electrolyte loss with sweating on hot and humid day days, winter sports have the same effect. I live between Chicago and Milwaukee and normally ride all winter long. When the temperature drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit I switch from my normal carb drinks to hot tea and honey. I pour boiling hot tea into a Klean Kanteen Wide Mouth Insulated Water Bottle and then add a generous amount of honey for my carbohydrates. While this process keeps my drinks from freezing, hot tea and honey offer no electrolytes! Now with ReplaceSR I will be able ride all winter without worrying about electrolyte loss! By the way, I only ride in temperatures down to -20 Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius). I am not like those crazy folks up in Minnesota who will ride in temps down to -50 Fahrenheit (-45 Celsius).
ReplaceSR tablets come in three package sizes. The cheapest way to buy them is in a bottle of 90 tablets for only $20. However, they also come in a 20 tablet bottle for $10. They also have a new 3-tablet convenience packet—it is 72 tablets but they are packaged in sets of 3, and this package retails for for $24. You can order this product directly from the Endurance Products Company website.
To enter the contest for six free bottles of ReplaceSR (20 tablets per bottle) all you have to do is pick a number between 500 and 1,000 and enter it in the comment section below (you don’t actually have to make a comment). The contest ends at midnight (CST) on Friday, October 30, 2015. After the contest closes I will use a random number generator to pick the winning number. If no one guesses the exact number the person with the number closest to, but not over, the winning number will get the six bottles of ReplaceSR. In case two or more people chose the same number the first person to pick the number will be the winner. This contest is for U.S. residents only and only one entry per household allowed. When the contest is over I will publish the results in the comments section of this article. I will send this product to the winner via U.S. Mail.
