Are You Staying Hydrated?
Are You Staying Hydrated?
Do you know your hydration status? Are you doing something as simple as drinking more water throughout the day to help your body prepare for workouts and fight off illness? In a recent study, 66% of student-athletes were under-hydrated during testing immediately before a team practice. It is critical to understand the importance of water. Did you know that your body is comprised of more than 60% water? Human blood is 92% water while your brain and muscles are 75% water. So how does your body, which has a primary component of water, function properly if you are dehydrated? Simply put, it doesn’t!
Measuring Hydration Status
The easiest way to identify your hydration status is to observe the color of your urine. The most accurate urine color assessment is the first void in the morning. See a urine color chart for comparison. Urine color is determined by the concentration of metabolites that are broken down to be excreted by the body. If you are not taking in enough water, your urine will be more concentrated and darker in color. Ideally, you are looking for a pale yellow color in your urine that will signify adequate hydration. Another easy way to measure your hydration status is to monitor your body weight before and after practice. Many people will lose 1-2% of their body weight during practice, a normal amount of weight loss that is easily replaced with post-workout meals and hydration. For instance, a 150 pound athlete could lose 1.5 to 3 pounds or a 300 pound athlete could lose as much as 3 to 6 pounds in a workout and easily replace this before beginning the next practice.
Hydration and Athletic Performance
If you monitor your weight and realize that you are losing more than 2% body weight during your workout, there is a very reasonable possibility that this weight loss is affecting your performance. Studies have shown that mental focus and physical performance will significantly decrease late in a workout if you are losing more than 2% body weight. For this reason, it is very important to continue drinking and hydrating during workouts. Researchers have also found that the time it takes for an athlete to reach complete fatigue, during continual exercise, is extended if that athlete is taking in fluids. Their data found that an athlete will reach complete fatigue in 70 minutes if no fluids are ingested, 76 minutes if only water is ingested, 79 minutes if a concentrated carbohydrate-electrolyte drink is ingested, and 91 minutes if a diluted carbohydrate-electrolyte drink is ingested every ten minutes. So athletes, if you ever wondered why the PowerAde made by all of our hard working athletic training students was a “little weak,” there is your answer. You really need the combination of water and PowerAde to maintain hydration during continual exercise of 90 minutes or more.
As you can see, water and fluids should be an important part of your preparation for workouts as well a focal point of recovery. Take advantage of the sources of water and PowerAde around your team to help make your hydration status a mental and physical advantage. For more information about hydration or other sports medicine topics, contact your Iowa State University Athletic Trainer.
Go Cyclones!
