Hydration Tips
Drink Up!
During training and games, players naturally
generate heat leading to a rise in body temperature. A rise
in body temperature can be both detrimental to performance
but also contribute to fatigue. Our bodies attempt to compensate
for rising temperature by sweating.
When players do not consume enough fluids during training
and games to compensate for these sweat losses, dehydration
can quickly occur. As loss as low as 2% of body weight has
been shown to affect performance—in a 13.5 stone player,
2% is as little as 3.75lbs. This may not sound much but in
a single training session or game a player can easily lose
up to 4% of their body weight.
Many players do not deal adequately with dehydration, and
in fact never fully rehydrate after training or a game. This
leads to players taking part in further training sessions
already in a dehydrated state exposing themselves to a greater
risk of injury.
When you are dehydrated, you will feel thirsty, however,
thirst is not a good indication of needing to take fluids
on board. By the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated.
Some other symptoms of dehydration include:
There are a number of things that an individual player or
the coach of a team can introduce to training and games that
will provide a relatively accurate indication of a players
hydration status, and how much fluids need to be consumed
to get back to normal hydration levels.
Establishing Hydration Status
Knowing how much fluids have been lost is important in rehydrating
the body. There are a couple of easy ways of monitoring hydration
levels. Known as the WUT method, these tests will provide
a simple and accurate method of monitoring hydration status:
- W eigh players before and after training
and games. Wearing as little clothing as possible —
the difference will be weight lost due to sweating.
- Use a U rine Colour
Chart to monitor the colour of your urine. Generally, the
darker the urine, and the less you urinate, the more dehydrated
you are.
- T hirst — the absence of thirst
does not mean that you are not dehydrated. However, if you
are already thirsty then you are already dehydrated and
need to drink.
Monitoring the colour of urine provides a good indication
of being dehydrated. The target is to achieve numbers 1, 2
or 3. Numbers 4 and 5 suggest dehydration, with colours 6,
7 and 8 indicating severe dehydration.
Urine Colour Chart, used to monitor hjydration
status
Rehydrating
For each kg of weight lost through sweat replace with 1.5
litres of fluids. Remember that along with water, electrolytes
are also lost through sweat — water alone will not replace
these electrolytes. Sports drinks contain both carbohydrate
for energy and electrolytes. Ensure that your sports drink
has a carbohydrate level of 6 — 8%.
To help reduce the muscular damage caused by training and
games it is best if you consume a source of protein along
with your sports drink. Some sports drinks contain a source
of protein, however if yours does not, try to consume something
light prior to your post-training meal such as a chicken or
turkey sandwich. If you do not have access to sports drinks,
your post exercise meal can help replace lost electrolytes.
An easy way to make your own sports drink is to combine:
- 200ml of orange squash (concentrated orange)
- 1 litreof water
- A pinch of salt (1g)
- Mix all the ingredients together and keep chilled —
drinks are absorbed more quickly if they are cool rather
than ice cold.
What can a coach do to encourage good hydration habits?
- For each game and training session, encourage players
to bring their own drinks bottle.
- Make time for regular fluid breaks during a training session.
- Fluid bottles must be washed out after each use and made
up from scratch every day for food safety purposes.
- Have a supply of extra fluid bottles in a cooler after
training and games.
Combating Dehydration
- Monitor hydration status using the WUT Chart above
- Aim to drink 2 litres of fluids each day as part of your
regular routine
- Drink additional fluids before, during and after training
and games
- Aim to drink 200 - 50ml of fluids 2 hours before a game
- remember many referees begin training or games already
in a dehydrated state
- Try to sip 125 - 250ml evey 15 - 20 minutes to top up
fluid levels
- Begin to replace any fluids lost during training or a
game immediately afterwards by drinking at least 500ml of
fluids
- Electrolytes, such as sodium or potassium will help rehydration
- To completely rehydrate, consume 150% of the amount of
fluids lost - for each 1Kg of weight lost, consume 1.5 litres
of fluids
- Avoid alcohol or caffeine containing drinks until you
have completely rehydrated as they can increase urine output
Source - www.medicalwelfare.gaa.ie/drinkuphydrationforplayers.html
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