Most Athletes DON'T Need Salt Supplements

I’ve got something important to share with you: Most athletes don’t actually need an electrolyte supplement. That’s right, 95% of athletes won’t see any real benefit from adding electrolytes to their routine.

That might sound surprising coming from someone who sells electrolytes for a living, but let me explain. While athletes do need electrolytes, most of them don’t need extra electrolytes to replace what they lose through sweat. Here’s why.

The average athlete’s sweat contains around 1,000mg of sodium per liter, and most athletes lose roughly 900-1,000ml of sweat per hour of exercise. Since the majority of training sessions or competitions last 90 minutes or less, the total sodium loss is relatively minor.

To put it in perspective, a teaspoon of table salt contains about 2,300mg of sodium. An athlete training twice a day for an hour each session would, on average, only lose around 2,000mg of sodium. That’s easily replenished through regular meals without the need for supplementation. On top of this, our body stores over 70,000mg of sodium in our body at any one time!

So who actually needs electrolyte supplements? They’re really only essential for athletes training in extreme heat and humidity, those who sweat heavily for more than three hours at a time, or those pushing past 3-4 hours of daily training. If that’s not you, then you probably don’t need a high sodium supplement.

But here’s where electrolytes are still incredibly valuable: They help your body absorb and retain water far more efficiently. That’s their real superpower. But there’s a catch.

Electrolytes play a crucial role in fluid balance, helping to optimise hydration. When you drink an electrolyte supplement with the CORRECT balance of sodium, glucose, and water, your body absorbs the water much faster, ensuring your body hydrates in the quickest way possible. These high sodium supplements (greater than 500mg per 500ml fluid) just don’t cut it and will slow down this hydration process.

That’s why I created Trainade Hydration. Our scientifically designed formula delivers hydration in the most effective way possible, so our athletes get the most out of every drop they drink. When they take Trainade, they’re not drinking salty electrolytes, they're drinking a scientific hydration supercharger. 

It’s the reason world champions and everyday athletes alike trust Trainade as their go-to hydration solution. They understand that staying hydrated is key to peak performance.