Hydration Assessment and Tips

Hydration Assessment and Tips

Hydration is one of the key factors in performance. Studies suggest as little as 5% dehydration has a negative effect on an athlete’s performance. Once you become dehydrated it can be a slow process over several days to return to a normal hydration status. On the flip side, if you consume fluids at a higher rate than your fluid loss you risk hypotranemia a serious condition.

Do you know how much fluid you should be ingesting? What is the optimal balance of sodium, carbohydrates and water you need to ingest per hour before, during and after training and racing to achieve your best?

The key is to figure out how much fluid you need to consume during and post exercise to keep your body at an adequate level of hydration at all times to maximize your performance, recovery and general health and wellbeing.

Hydration Assessment

1. Weigh yourself before training session
2. Log the amount of fluid and food weight you consume during training
3. Log urine losses during training (if possible)
4. Weigh yourself post training session

Sweat loss = (pre weight – post weight) + fluid intake – (urine loss + food weight)

Dehydration = {(pre weight – post weight) / pre weight} x 100

So over some longer training sessions of two hours you may loose 1-2 kgs of total body weight, a minuet amount of which will be associated with the burn off of body fuels (carbs, fats and protein). You would need to consume as much as one litre of fluid per hour to correct this imbalance.

It is important not to look at our life in compartments that do not have any common boarders. If you have completed a solid two-hour session having lost 1.8 kgs your body will be in distress during the session. Just because you have now stopped training and sitting at your desk answering emails does not mean your metabolism has reverted to pre training levels. Your body will still be metabolizing waste and burning higher amounts of calories in the process of repair to return the body to a state of homeostasis. It is crucial that you ingest fluid pre and post training to assist your body.

It is important to remember that this will only help calculate the fluid you require as a cost of exercise, not the requirement of your body to continue its basic daily functions. A general rule of thumb is to consume 1-2L per day not including the fluid required for exercise including pre and post session hydration plans.

To calculate your hydration needs in specific terms you will require professional testing. Testing protocols like Vo2 max can calculate your metabolic rates at different intensities and hydration testing calculates sweat loss and metabolic water loss. Through analyzing this individual data a hydration plan can be designed calculating the balance of water, sodium, protein and carbohydrates that you will need to build your body to optimize your performace.

It can be hard at times to stomach and digest required levels of fluids, especially water, and you can feel bloated and uncomfortable when drinking. The tips below are to assist you in reaching your fluid intake requirements

o Use a drink bottle with visible measures on the side to help track and log your fluids
o Continue to sip at your bottles continuously during the day to spread out your intake
o Drink during training sessions and cool downs
o Use an electrolyte or sodium based drink when feeling bloated as they can increase absorption rates
o Be consistent

By staying properly hydrated during training and competition periods you can boost your performance, minimise damage and increase your recovery, adaptation and general health and wellbeing.

Visit www.bikelab.com.au or call (02) 95257552 for more information on testing or strategies for you to improve your performance.