Water is a fundamental component of the human body constituting approximately 60% of its total composition. Maintaining proper hydration is not just a simple action; it has a significant impact on nearly every aspect of sports performance.
Adequate hydration enhances energy levels, facilitates quicker recovery, improves movement, contributes to mental clarity and focus and regulates body temperature. These factors collectively enhance physical performance and help minimize the risk of injuries.
When the body lacks sufficient water, it experiences dehydration. The effects of dehydration can be detrimental to an athlete’s physical and mental performance. This blog aims to highlight the significant impact of hydration on sports performance.
Importance of Hydration in Sports
Adequate hydration is important for optimal sports performance as even a small degree of dehydration, as low as 2%, can negatively impact various measures of performance such as power, endurance, speed, strength, and reaction time.
Benefits of hydration in sports:
- Improved muscle function: Hydrated muscles perform better compared to dehydrated muscles.
- Regulated blood pressure: Proper hydration helps maintain stable blood pressure during exercise, preventing the heart from working harder to maintain normal levels.
- Improved circulation: Maintaining proper hydration improves blood flow and circulation, which plays a vital role in delivering oxygen and nutrients to the muscles during exercise. Adequate hydration also supports the removal of metabolic by-products and waste from the muscles, while replenishing the water lost through sweating. This ensures optimal functioning of the muscles and supports overall performance.
Pre-Exercise Hydration
Athletes should be well hydrated before starting the exercise or competition to reduce the negative outcome of fluid loss during physical activity. There are no specific guidelines on how to achieve this, athletes should assess any potential signs of dehydration and address them before beginning their workout.
The ‘WUT’ method can be used to assess three primary indicators of dehydration. If signs of dehydration are present, consuming approximately 500 ml of water along with an additional 200-300 mg of sodium (or using a GO Hydro) can initiate the rehydration process prior to exercise.
Here’s how the ‘WUT’ method works:
WEIGHT
Since athletes typically maintain a relatively stable body weight from day to day, a body mass loss greater than 1% may indicate dehydration, as it surpasses the normal day-to-day fluctuations in total body water. If you notice that your body weight upon waking is unusually low, it could be a potential sign of dehydration.
URINE COLOR
Dehydration leads to more concentrated and darker-colored urine due to the reduced water content. Monitoring the color of urine can serve as a practical indicator of hydration status. Dark-colored urine correlates with dehydration, while lighter-colored urine suggests better hydration.
THIRST
While the absence of thirst doesn’t necessarily mean adequate hydration, feeling thirsty aligns with dehydration and should be considered alongside body weight and urine color to assess hydration status.
By evaluating these three factors (weight, urine color, and thirst), athletes can gain insight into their hydration status and take appropriate steps to address any signs of dehydration before engaging in exercise or competition. This includes consuming water along with an additional sodium source to initiate the rehydration process.
During Exercise Hydration
Since fluid losses during exercise can vary greatly among individuals and are influenced by various factors, it is important to customize fluid intake recommendations for each athlete. To achieve this, athletes need to estimate their whole body sweat rate under the specific conditions of their training or competition.
This estimation relies on the assumption that the change in body mass before and after exercise reflects fluid loss. Therefore, by measuring the difference in body mass, it is possible to estimate the amount of whole body sweat loss during exercise, with a general guideline that a 1g body mass loss represents 1ml of sweat loss.
As our sweat contains essential electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium, all of which are crucial for proper muscle function, incorporating these electrolytes into your fluid intake through a sports drink like Prime Hydration, Gatorade and Liquid IV can ensure that these losses are adequately replenished. By replenishing electrolytes, performance can be maintained throughout the exercise session.
Post-Exercise Hydration
Ensuring proper fluid replacement after exercise is crucial for all athletes. However, in scenarios where athletes need to engage in consecutive bouts of exercise, such as competitions or multiple daily training sessions. Therefore, prioritizing fluid replacement becomes even more important to prevent starting the next bout in a dehydrated state.
The effectiveness of the post-exercise hydration strategy is influenced by two main factors: the volume of fluid consumed and the type of fluid chosen. By carefully considering both these factors, athletes can optimize their hydration status for optimal performance and recovery.
Recommended Water Intake
The recommended daily water intake for athletes varies depending on several factors, including body size, environmental conditions, activity level, intensity, and training status. It is important to tailor hydration practices to individual needs.
As a general guideline, young athletes should aim to consume approximately 0.5-1 oz. of water per pound of body weight throughout the day. During exercise, it is advised to limit water weight loss to no more than 2% of body weight.
To maintain proper hydration, incorporate various strategies such as drinking water, sports drinks, or hydration multipliers, taking regular water breaks during exercise (drink 4-6 gulps every 15 to 20 minutes), and replenishing fluid loss after exercise by consuming 24 oz. of water for every pound of water weight lost during the workout.
Also Read: The Outcomes of Sleep Deprivation
