http://www.ambmag.com.au - 101Hydrate tHrougHout tHe day
We need to drink around 1.5-2L of fluid a day,
even before you add in the extra fluid needed
when we exercise. This means drinking
throughout the day is essential. Always carry a
full water bottle with you and make sure you drink
with every meal and snack.CHoose water first
(most of tHe time)Drinking sports drink, juice, soft drink or cordial
throughout the day adds unwanted kilojoules
(calories), making it more difficult to stay at
racing weight in the long term. For general
drinking, water is the best choice. If you are in
need of topping up fuel stores just before, during
or directly after a long (more than an hour) or
particularly hard training session (like a tempo
ride) then a sports drink with electrolytes and
carbohydrates will be helpful.work out your sweat rate
Getting a feel for your fluid losses during exercise
is really important. We know that dehydration
effects performance, so if you know how much
you tend to sweat, you’ll know how much you need
to drink throughout your ride. To work out how
much you sweat:tHe HuB
NutritioNWeigh yourself before and after a session
(in minimal clothing and towelled down).
Measure how much you’ve drunk during
the session.
The amount of weight you’ve lost plus the
amount of fluid you’ve drunk is equal to your
sweat loss for the session. For example, on
an hour-long training ride, if you weighed
70kg before and weighed 69kg afterwards -
you lost one kilogram (or one litre of fluid).
But, you also drank 500ml of water, so the
amount you sweated (sweat rate) is actually
1.5L per hour.
Note the length and type of session as well
as weather conditions as these will all effect
how much you sweat and you’ll need to adapt
your plan to match.Drink 200-600ml of fluid just before you start
your session.
Start drinking early during the session,
rather than waiting until you feel thirsty - by
then you’re already dehydrated.
Use your sweat rate to plan how much
to drink every hour. The amount you can
manage will vary, but 200-300ml every 15-20
minutes during your session is a good guide.
Drinking small amounts more often like this
will help to minimise any tummy troubles,
too.
Work out what type of fluid you will drink, be
it water or sports drink worked in as part of
your nutrition plan.
Gear up - if you don’t have the things you
need to put your plan into action, it won’t
happen. Stock up on water bottles, bladders,
bottle cages and sports drink powders or
electrolyte tablets.
Practice, practice, practice! It takes time
to refine what works for you and there is
nothing worse than finding out that your plan
has a big hole in it if you’re in a race. Test
your fluid plan in training so when it comes
to race day, you’ll know exactly what you
need to do.HatCH a plaN
Now you know how much you sweat, you need to
work out a game plan to stay hydrated, especially
if your training ride or race is longer than 30
minutes. Ideally you should aim to lose no more
than one kilogram of fluid. To do this:reHydrate quiCkly after
eVery sessioNTo replenish the fluid you’ve lost throughout a
session you need to drink 1.5 times the amount
you lost, ideally within 1-2 hours of your session.
So, if you’re 1kg lighter, you need to drink 1.5L of
fluid to rehydrate. Fast rehydration is key to fast
recovery and being able to get up and do it all
again tomorrow so jump on this as fast as you can
post-ride.more is Not always Better
Drinking much more than you need can
lead to tummy troubles during your session
and in severe cases, hyponatremia, or low
blood sodium. Hyponatremia is potentially
life-threatening and usually occurs in
endurance races longer than two hours
when sweat rates are low and you drink
lots of water. Drinking fluids with sodium in
them (such as sports drinks) and matching
your drinking to your sweat rate will help to
minimise the risk of hyponatremia.get more seVerely
deHydrated aNd you riskNausea, VomitiNg aNd
diarrHea wHiCH doesN’tmake for a pleasaNt raCe
or after-party.”“