Hydration in Sports
Did you know?
90% of your actions run in your subconscious?
Hydration level influence your body’s muscle actions?
The way one trains translates to their performance in a competition or game. This is important to consider when making your training plan or strategy. When it comes to hydration, the coach or S&C should provide their players with the essential knowledge regarding the side effects of the dehydration.
Dehydration in the human body leads to negative side effects that influence the physiological, psychological - and consequently - the athletes’ performance.
Moreover, dehydration can possibly cause dysfunctions in the cognitive skills of an athlete, their mood, psychomotor skills, aerobic performance and eventually in their cardiac output function.
Water balance in our body is crucially important! Hydration is mainly controlled by the kidneys and the thirst mechanism. When total body hydration levels drop, hormonal messages are sent to the brain to create the feeling of thirst. Excessive water intake, on the other hand, stimulates an increase in urine production. Given that even small losses of water can cause a drop in performance, optimum hydration is extremely critical to athletes. However, replacing fluids lost through sweat and urine is not the only justification for boosting fluid intake. Glycogen (stored muscle carbohydrate) is the body’s principle fuel for high intensity activities, so replenishing glycogen storage with dietary carbohydrate is vital to maintaining high performance.
Rehydration appears to be a determining factor also during the post activity recovery process, as loss of intracellular fluid volume reduces the rates of glycogen and protein synthesis, while high cell volume contributes to the stimulation of this process. A comprehensive hydration strategy involves ensuring good hydration before, maintaining it during exercise and then replacing as soon as you finish. However, hydration isn’t just about water: fluid loss via urine and, especially, sweating involves the loss of electrolyte minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride.
Strength and power
Dehydration levels at 3% and 5% respectively, seem to increase levels of circulating stress hormones, which is most certainly not an optimum state for any athlete wishing to maintain or build maximum strength and power. Especially during training camps, or a preparation period, coaches should be vigilant about it, and have solid hydration strategies according to their athletes’ needs. Low hydration levels may also cast possible complications in the immune system, as exercise-induced stress hormone release is known to be associated with decreased post exercise immunity.
Keep an eye for signs and symptoms of Dehydration:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Thirst
- Fatigue
- Muscle Cramps
Ways to Monitor Hydration:
- Weigh athletes before and after workouts. Body weight should not increase from pre to post-workout measure
- Have players check their urine. If it looks similar to apple juice then drink more!! (see photo)
- Special equipment measuring hydration levels from just a drop of urine.
General Tips for Hydration
- Women need about 11 cups of fluids per day, while men need 15 cups
(2 cups as soon as you wake up!) - Add a small amount of salt to first meal to keep fluids in for longer period
- Hydration strategies do not just demand to drink water before exercise, it is an ongoing process
- Avoid carbonated beverages and energy drinks containing caffeine and taurine
- Post work out drinks are really important and essential to your strategy
References
Jonathan A.Pye, (2007) Hydration for Optimal Sports Performance
Nedelec et al, Recovery in Soccer, Part 1 - Post Match Fatigue and Time Course of Recovery, Sports Med 2012: 42 (12)
Nedelec et al, Recovery in Soccer, Part 2 - Recovery strategies, Sports Med (2013) 43:9-22