Training in the heat - hydration
With every year being, unfortunately, a new recorder-breaking year when it comes to average temperatures, it’s important to design your training sessions around those constraints.
You want to get the most out of your athletes but at the same time you have to balance a lot of other factors that have an influence on their performance.
Today we will discuss how proper hydration can help you fight the heat.
The importance of hydration
Whenever you think of a workout, the first thing that comes to mind is - sweating. Sweat helps regulate our body temperature and it’s one of the things that enabled people thousands of years ago to hunt wild animals for hours.
Most animals needed water from outside sources to cool off so when humans started chasing it, it was just a simple equation with the only unknown being how long the animal can endure constant movement.
Today, we don’t have to hunt for our food but we still want to be active. That’s why it’s important to stay active and, if we are active in the heat, replenish lost fluids on a constant basis.
Pre-workout hydration
You want your athletes to drink fluids before training. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends consuming between 5 and 7 milliliters per kilogram of body weight at least four hours before exercise. Being properly hydrated enables all your bodily functions to be in an optimal state and be up to the demands of the training process. If your athletes start a training session dehydrated, they can experience anything from reduced performance to cognitive impairment.
Your athletes can even mix in their favorite electrolyte mix into the water to make sure they have all the boxes ticked off.
As mentioned above, between 5 to 7 ml/kg is just a guideline and you should adjust the amounts according to the outside conditions, training intensity, and individual sweat rate.
Taking hydration breaks
It’s your job as a coach to ensure regular breaks for your athletes to rehydrate. Every 15 to 20 minutes, have a quick break and encourage your athletes to drink, even if they don’t feel thirsty.
Just as above, it’s important to take all factors into account when determining the amount of fluids you need to drink during each break but a rough guideline would anything from 200 ml to 350 ml every 15 to 20 minutes.
This will ensure optimal performance and prolong the onset of fatigue as much as possible.
Your athlete's can opt for pure water, water mixed with electrolytes or go for a sports drink. Sports drinks can prove beneficial during exercise while the temperatures are high. They contain carbohydrates, electrolytes, and fluids. This all helps replenish your athlete’s glycogen stores, electrolytes lost through sweat, and provide energy during endurance activities.
Water is, usually, sufficient for shorter or less intense workouts to maintain hydration but as the temperatures keep rising it’s good to have another tool in your arsenal.
Post-workout hydration
Post-workout hydration might be the most important part of the hydration equation. The hard work is over and now it’s time to help the muscles recover.
Water alone will properly rehydrate the body but a mix of electrolytes will help retain the fluids in the body and restore optimal electrolyte levels in your athlete’s bodies.
Electrolytes, such as magnesium, sodium, and potassium, play a critical role in maintaining proper hydration and supporting muscle function. Your athletes can enhance restoring these essential minerals by consuming electrolyte-rich foods as well.
To take full advantage of the rehydration strategy, it’s recommended to have a protein and carbohydrate rich meal within an hour of working out. That way we promote muscle repair and growth and put all bodily functions back into normal.
Training in the heat can be a challenge but by remembering to carry a water bottle with them and use it regularly during a workout we can improve the performance of our athletes and help them recover faster and be ready for the next challenge.
