How To: Creating a Plan for Hydration During Workouts

While athletes are often aware of the importance of hydration, few have a plan for how they will hydrate based on their individual needs. What I observe is that the majority of athletes either only drink when they are thirsty or take a few sips when the coach tells them they can. But, the thirst mechanism lags behind the body's hydration level. This means that by the time an athlete feels thirsty, he/she is already 1% dehydrated. At 2% dehydration, performance can be decreased by as much as 10%. Thirst is also often stunted during activity due to the intensity of the training. Luckily, there is an easy way for every athlete to get an idea of where their fluid needs range...

How to: Know how much you should drink during exercise

If you having been training for a least a while, you have probably heard that it is important to hydrate during training. What few athletes know, however, is how much fluid is adequate. What I observe is that the majority of athletes either just drink when they are thirsty or take a few sips when the coach tells them they can. But, the thirst mechanism lags behind the body's hydration level. This means by the time an athlete feels thirsty, he/she is already 1% dehydrated. Make it to 2% and you can see real performance detriments. On top of that, thirst is often stunted during activity due to the intensity of the training. Luckily, there is an easy way for every athlete to get an idea of where their fluid needs range.

Your sweat rate: How to check it and why it matters

When I work with any athlete, one of the first questions I ask is, "what is your sweat rate?". Ninety-five percent of the time, I get a blank stare. When creating a performance nutrition plan, knowing your sweat rate is critical to make sure fluid replacement during exercise is adequate (but not too high). Here is why:

The importance of water
Water plays major roles in the body at any given time, but especially during exercise. During exercise, water inside your body cools your core and muscles, keeping you from overheating too quickly. This helps your perform stronger and longer. In addition, water transports nutrients to your muscle for use in exercise metabolism and then "cleans up" by transporting metabolites away from your muscle to be filtered and excreted. Water plays a key role in preventing dehydration, which also keeps the athlete mentally "on" throughout the workout. Finally, water acts as a cushion to your organs to protect them in case of impact during sports.