How to Stay Hydrated While Cycling?

Why is it important to stay hydrated during cycling?

The ability to stay hydrated during cycling is crucial for professional athletes and fitness lovers. Whether you're training for a competition or just your casual routine day-to-day exercises, hydration plays an essential role in your performance, endurance, and recovery.

1. Optimizing performance

When you’re riding at high speed, your body will require a lot of energy. This energy is generated through the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, but without sufficient hydration, these processes take time to manifest.

 Your muscles also require water to function properly; whereas, when dehydrated, cramps, stiffness, and even fatigue shove in faster. As professional athletes, this is not the slightest bit acceptable. Every pedal stroke counts, and staying hydrated ensures your body can maintain its optimal performance.

Moreover, professional cyclists often ride for hours, and even a small level of dehydration can reduce endurance. According to USADA, losing as little as 2% of body weight through sweat can lead to a significant decline in performance.

Dehydration could lead to an increase in heart rate, reduce oxygen flow to the muscles, and make it harder for your body to cool itself down, leading to overheating. For fitness lovers, overexerting yourselves on long rides could equally be concerning.

2. Supporting mental focus and reaction time

The word hydration, makes people think it only has to do with your muscles, but it also impacts your brain too. Cycling requires sharp mental focus and quick reaction times, especially for professional athletes and fitness lovers while you’re navigating tricky dives, technical trails, or crowded racing environments.

The inability to stay hydrated while undergoing strenuous activities or workouts reduces one’s cognitive ability. According to Cambridge University Press and Assessment, dehydration can lead to confusion, slower decision-making, and lack of concentration.

3. Aiding recovery and reducing fatigue

Do you experience symptoms of tiredness and decreased energy levels while riding? Staying hydrated plays a vital role in recovery by aiding to flush out toxins and release important nutrients to your muscles. In addition, it helps reduce the soreness and stiffness that follow enormous workouts, allowing you to get back on the bike faster and with less discomfort.

As a professional athlete or a fitness lover, you need to focus on your recovery time to avoid burnout and tiredness after long rides. GSSI depicts that dehydration (>2% reduction in body mass) can impair exercise performance and recovery.

This can be done with the help of electrolytes; which are minerals that help regulate fluid balance in your body and play an important role in muscle function and recovery, often found in sports drinks, coconut water, and other electrolyte-rich drinks.

Most importantly, you must use a professional hydration biosensor to monitor your sweat loss and hydration status when cycling.

How to hydrate during cycling?

The majority of people recommend drinking electrolytes during exercise. But as for cyclists, every drop of your sweat matters. Understanding when to hydrate, what to replenish, and how much is crucial for you to maintain the topmost performance.

Proper hydration isn’t just about feeling thirsty; it’s also about keeping your muscles, endurance, and focus at their highest stage throughout cycling.

When should you hydrate? 

Make sure you pre-hydrate the day before a long ride. This ensures that your body starts in a hydrated state. Also, aim to drink small yet adequate amounts of water consistently throughout the day leading up to your ride​, this prevents starting your ride in a dehydrated state, which can be difficult to recover from while cycling.

Also, continuously hydrating during the ride is also essential to maintain your performance. By the time thirst sets in, it’s often too late because you have already lost a significant amount of fluid, and this can lead to tiredness and reduced strength. Also, you should aim to drink small amounts of water or electrolyte solutions at regular intervals during your ride; this is typically around 2223-2778 ml every 15-20 minutes depending on weather conditions.

What should you replenish? 

Sweat doesn’t just result in water loss but also causes a decrease in essential electrolytes like sodium and potassium in your body. These electrolytes are crucial for muscle cramps, and lots more. When you drink just plain water, it won't replace the electrolytes, so it's important to consume drinks that contain the right balance of these nutrients​.

How much should you replenish? 

Now, this depends on lots of factors, such as the environmental temperature, humidity, intensity, and your body’s natural dispositions. A good rule of thumb is to replenish the amount of fluid lost by weighing yourself before and after your ride. For every kilogram lost, about 1.5 liters of fluid should be replaced to restore hydration balance

Well surely you don’t want hydration to be that complicated. And as a cyclist, you wouldn’t want dehydration to affect your performance, therefore, you’ll need an efficient approach to track your hydration accurately. That’s where a tool like Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor comes in; it monitors your water and electrolytes loss, as well as changes in your glucose, carbs, etc. It also sends you alerts on how you need to be hydrated effectively to prevent sports injury and delay fatigue throughout your cycling journey.

Best way to stay hydrated during cycling: Liipoo AbsolutSweat

Liipoo AboslutSweat is a professional miniature sweat and hydration monitor, specifically designed for professional athletes and fitness lovers. It mimics lab tests to test the biomarkers in human sweat. This way, it determines one’s hydration status, sweat loss and dehydration endurance, etc.

Liipoo comes with a phone app that can help you check your sweat data with ease. It is super easy to use and comfortable to wear. All you need to do is to attach the bionto your chest and make sure you actively sweat, then the Liipoo’s sweat patch can collect and analyze your sweat sample.

If you have a Suunto watch, you can also connect it with Liipoo AbsolutSweat to monitor your sweat and hydration.

How does the Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor work?

Liipoo AbsolutSweat comprises a hydration sensor pod and a sweat patch with sensitive medical biomaterials. When your sweat enters the sweat patch, it will react with the biomaterials on the surface, and generate an electrical signal, which will then be transmitted back to the sensor pod, and then to your phone app.

During workout

When you sweat actively, the Liipoo AbsolutSweat biosensor collects your sweat using the electrolyte patchand analyzes your sweat and hydrate data, such as your Na+, K+, water, and glucose levels, and ensures you're aware of any imbalances.

If any component is running low, it will alert you to replenish in time to avoid early bonking.

After workout

After a tough training session,  the Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor evaluates your workout performance by analyzing your sweat data and knowing your dehydration tolerance, fatigue tolerance, hydrated status and sweat rate. Thereby, you can know your dehydration limit and make adjustments in your training and hydration strategy in future sessions.

Also, Liipoo AbsolutSweat will send you a personalized post-workout replenishment plan, based on your sweat rate, fatigue level and hydrated state tested. It will suggest when, and how much to replenish as well as the intake in volume, regarding your personal sweat profile.

Before workout

Before you begin your next training session, Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor will send you a detailed prehydration plan, based on the patterns found in your previous workout sessions, regarding your sweat loss, water loss, dehydration endurance, metabolism, etc. This ensures that your body is prepared for optimal performance from the start.

How LiiPoo AbsolutSweat helps you stay hydrated

Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration monitor helps you stay ahead of your hydration needs, by tracking your sweat rate, electrolyte loss, glucose level, and water balance in real time.  It provides personalized data on when and how much to hydrate during your ride, ensuring you stay hydrated and perform at your best, ride after ride.

Compared to traditional “drink while thirsty” hydration strategy,  the Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration monitor helps you stay hydrated in a scientific way as follows:

● When to drink

It tells you the optimal times to hydrate and replenish based on your sweat data. This ensures timely hydration before you feel thirsty, or help you recover faster after a workout.

● What to drink and eat

It details what are the right electrolyte-rich drinks and foods for faster recovery to replace the lost electrolyte, water, carbs and other nutrients.

● How much to replenish

It calculates the precise amount of fluids you need to replenish, avoiding both under and overhydration, ensuring your body maintains the perfect hydration level.

● Sports injury warnings

By monitoring your water, electrolytes, glucose and other essential components, AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor alerts you of the risk of dehydration-related injuries like muscle cramps or exhaustion beforehand. So, you can adjust your hydration strategy for safe training.

● Assess your fatigue and hydration endurance

AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor provides insights into how your body performs under intense training and dehydrated conditions, helping you stay ahead of exhaustion.

How to use LiiPoo AbsolutSweat hydration biosensor?

Curious to know how to use Liipoo AbsolutSweat hydration monitor? Super simple. Check the following 3 steps.

Step 1: Assemble

Carefully unbox the Liipoo AbsolutSweat biosensor and ensure all components are present. If you are using the hydration biosensor for the first time, fully charge it using the provided cable. This ensures the device runs optimally throughout your cycling session.

Next, open the product's packaging and scan the QR code on the back of the sweat tracker. Or enter your Mac address in the app to pair.  Then, install the sweat patch unit (all 12 metal pins must face up).

Next, press it for 3 seconds and close the biosensor case. You'll see it turned upside down when you open the case. Hold and press for 5 seconds and remove the protective film from the adhesive side of the patch, revealing the sticky surface that will go on your skin.

Then, carefully place the sweat patch with the attached sensor onto your skin; most preferably your chest. Then press down firmly to make sure the patch adheres evenly across your skin.

Step 2: Tracking

Next, launch the Liipoo AbsolutSweat app, then navigate to the “Hydration Monitoring” or “Sweat Tracking” section, and select the activity you would like to do; choose the type of workout or activity you’re about to start (e.g., running, cycling, strength training, etc.). This helps the sensor track hydration more accurately based on the activity type.

Next, you tap the "Start Workout" button in the app to begin hydration monitoring. The sensor will start tracking sweat rate, electrolyte loss, and hydration levels in real-time. Make sure you sweat actively for the sweat sensor to collect data.

Step 3: Replenishing

When your workout is complete, open the Liipoo AbsolutSweat app and tap the “End Workout” button to stop the hydration monitoring. After stopping the session, the app will provide a detailed summary of your hydration performance. Then, AbsolutSweat will provide an offer of your scientific replenishment plan for your sweat loss, electrolyte loss, weight loss, glucose level, and many more.

Then, you gently remove the biosensor from the sweat patch and clean it using a soft, dry cloth. If needed, wipe it down with an alcohol wipe to remove any sweat residue. Next, you discard the used sweat patch and ensure you have a fresh patch ready for your next workout.

Lastly, If the battery is low, recharge the biosensor by connecting it to the charger so it’s ready for your next session.

The impacts of dehydration for cyclists

1. The decrease in muscle function

Dehydration could affect one’s muscle function by reducing the amount of electrolytes that you have in your body, which are essential for muscle contractions. As the level of electrolytes in your body drops, you may experience muscle cramps and weakness. Along the line, this can lead to more serious injuries or muscle fatigue, which could hinder one’s recovery and prolong soreness.

2. An increased risk of injury

Dehydration makes muscles, tendons, and ligaments more liable to injury due to reduced elasticity because, as your body loses fluids gradually, your joints become less flexible, increasing the probability of strains and other types of injuries. This is dangerous for cyclists who depend on smooth joint movement for pedaling.

3. Weaken one’s immune system

Constant recurring dehydration can weaken one’s immune system, making one more vulnerable to illnesses like colds, infections, and lots more. Proper hydration aids the removal of toxins and helps maintain your body’s natural defense mechanisms, which is important for staying healthy during cycling or workouts.

Now that you’ve understood the larger consequences of dehydration, you can see why maintaining proper hydration is more than just a performance enhancer; it plays an important role in sustaining your fitness goals and long-term health. So, how can you effectively stay hydrated during these long rides? Let’s move into some more facts about hydrating.

FAQs

Should I ice my legs after cycling?

Yes, icing your legs after cycling can reduce muscle soreness and inflammation. You can ice your legs and knees for 10-20 minutes on sore areas to speed up recovery. For an advanced recovery solution, try Liipoo Xpolar knee messager’s alternating cold and heat massage therapy, designed to help relax muscles after workout.

What not to do after cycling?

After cycling, avoid skipping the cool-down phase. Skipping stretches can lead to muscle cramps and delayed recovery. You should also avoid sitting still for too long after a ride; instead, you can stay moderately active to keep the blood flowing.

How do you stop your legs from burning when cycling?

To stop your legs from burning while cycling, maintain a steady pace or speed, and don't push yourself too hard so soon. You can start your ride with a solid warm-up and also stretch after every ride. Proper hydration also plays a role in preventing muscle fatigue and cramps. With the use of Liipoo AbsoluteSweat during cycling, you can track your fluid and electrolyte loss, and replenish in time to delay muscle fatigue by staying properly hydrated throughout the ride.

Why am I so sleepy after cycling?

Feeling sleepy after cycling is a normal occurrence due to the physical strain on your body and dehydration. Using Liipoo AbsolutSweat during cycling will help ensure that you are properly hydrating, giving you the energy needed to avoid fatigue and keep your body refreshed.

What is the best food to eat after cycling?

The best foods to eat after cycling include a combination of carbs; whole grains or fruits to restore energy, and protein; lean meat or eggs to repair muscles and electrolytes; bananas to replace lost minerals. However, if you want a scientific plan on replenishments and supplements after cycling, make sure you wear Liipoo AbsolutSweat to track your water, electrolytes and carb loss. It will give you a detailed report of what and when to replenish, and how much to consume, guiding you towards the right foods for faster recovery.

When to take electrolytes cycling?

Should I hydrate in cold temperatures?

No. Many cyclists think only hydration in hot conditions matters, but you can still lose a significant amount of water through sweat even in colder conditions. Here is why: When cycling in colder environments, your body uses extra energy to maintain core temperature. This means cold air causes the body to work harder to maintain its temperature, leading to dehydration.

Consider using Liipoo AbsolutSweat to track your sweat data and determine your hydration strategy for optimal cycling performance. Get one now!