Hydration is important, especially in endurance and ultra endurance sport. So if you're training for triathlons to ultra marathons this could help you out. But is water enough????
Our bodies are 80% water. As athletes we need to drink more than the average person because we sweat our arses off training and racing. As well as water we lose essential salts in our sweat including; sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. These can be replenished with good hydration strategies.
Your nerves and muscles (including your heart) use these electrolyte salts to function so really don’t underestimate them. We need to replenish these salts in longer or more intense training sessions where you sweat more, in order to keep our body functioning and performing. This is also great practice for race day, which especially in Ironman racing where poor hydration can stop you getting to that finish line.
Signs of dehydration include: cracked lips, headaches, dry mouth, thirst and diminished performance. If you get severely dehydrated you can also experience more severe symptoms like dizziness, confusion and passing out.
Like all things hydration is a balance. Drinking too much can cause digestive issues and other problems. So there is a individual status quo to be found. By practicing you will find what works well for you (there’s a blog coming up with a simple hydration strategy). If you are really unsure you can get a sweat test done. But generally speaking you can tell by whether you’re a person who ends up with a pool under their turbo and salt marks on their jerseys after a workout. Bit gross maybe but also if your sweat tastes salty. You could also weigh yourself before and after a workout, large weight loss might mean you want to consider drinking more.
Training outside you feel like you are losing less but the wind sweeps it off you and dries your skin. Keep drinking even when you don’t feel like your sweating. Also in hot weather increase fluid consumption as your sweat rate will increase. Lots of people find it helpful to consume more race fuel through liquid at hot races to keep themselves better hydrated.
How? So the liquids we drink and the salt containing foods we eat all contribute to the hydration of our bodies. A recent study showed that all drinks hydrate us just to different degrees with rehydrations tabs being the most hydrating (2). We need Elctrolytes + Water to hydrate and the mix effects how much you pee out and how much is absorbed by your body.
For shorter sessions the salt in our food and water will be enough. Sea salt and Himalayan rock salt have a higher electrolyte content so may be a better alternative for cooking than regular table salt
When your training there are loads of options out there to get electrolytes. You can use:
- Salt tabs + water
- Electrolyte tabs dissolved in water
- Sports drinks
- Food (containing salt) + water
- Gels + water
- homemade sports drinks
Different workouts may mean you want to use different methods of consuming electrolytes. Food, salt tabs and gels (isotonic gels are an exception to this) normally need to be taken with water to be digested and hydrate adequately. Food and gels are also higher calorie so good for longer endurance rides. Electrolyte tabs are low calorie and great for short intense sessions they are also the best for hydration. They are also fab for post recovery or pre-loading. Sports drinks and gels are good for intense sessions over an hour where you need to keep blood glucose topped up but digesting food will be difficult.
This is a little mini series on hydration. Next blog I will compare and review electrolyte tabs for you.
So to sum up…. Water is not always enough! To help smash your PB’s: Get your electrolytes in too and learn what’s works for you.
1- Rehrer NJ. Fluid and electrolyte balance in ultra-endurance sport. Sports Med. 2001;31(10):701-15. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200131100-00001. PMID: 11547892. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11547892/
2- https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/103/3/717/4564598?login=true
Comments