Proper hydration can make or break a workout, race, or even the rest of your day. Whether you are a seasoned athlete or new to the fueling game, this blog will help you to understand hydration and how to make it work for you.
Hydration comes up often. This is due to its influence on our health, how it fluctuates when we sweat, and its complexity. It can also be hard to measure without the right tools, and even when we have the tools, each training session can differ in intensity, duration, and temperature – which consequently affects the amount of sweat we lose and need to replenish.
Have no fear, though. There are ways to estimate this, and ultimately, how you feel can be one of the best indicators of hydration. Have you ever finished a workout or neared the end of a workout and felt a bit unwell? Maybe you felt you were pushing harder than you needed to for the effort, maybe you were a bit more tired than usual during and after the session, maybe you were cramping, or maybe you were even a bit lightheaded. These are likely indications that you need to hydrate more.
The hydration equation consists of two parts: water and electrolytes. We tend to have a grasp on the water part, but the electrolytes side of this can sometimes get lost. We’re here to help you navigate this in 3 simple parts.
Part 1: Figure out if you are a salty or heavy sweater.
- Do you find that after a hard workout, you have some white powdery streaks on your clothing or face?
- Are you like me, and fairly soaked from sweat after a few miles on the treadmill or after just 10-20 minutes on the indoor trainer?
If you answered yes to one or both of the above, you’re likely a salty sweater, a heavy sweater, or both. Salt, which is made up of the electrolytes sodium and chloride, is a major component of sweat. Some of us sweat out a bit more salt than others. The differences in our sweat are important to consider. The reason for this is due to the fact that those who sweat out more salt will need to consume more salt to replenish what they’ve lost! In addition, if you’re a heavy sweater like me, you’re going to be losing more fluids. As a result, you want to make sure you’re replacing the fluid (water + electrolytes) you lose as you go in order to maintain hydration and optimize performance.
Part 2: Understand the conditions you’re racing or training in.
Weather and terrain can affect many parts of our performance, including our hydration status so we need to be mindful of this. If it’s humid or hot, or if you’re at a higher elevation, you will need to increase your water and electrolyte consumption to ensure you’re adequately replenishing your stores.
Part 3: Plan for the duration of the training or racing session.
The duration of your activity plays a role in how much hydration you need per hour. If you’re heading out for under an hour, you should be good to go with water; however, if you’re embarking on a race or training session that is over an hour, you want to bring not only water, but electrolytes with you too. If you don’t replenish as you go, you’ll likely feel this in your workout, if not, very soon after.
So now what, you may ask?
Let’s put it all together.
Water:
16-24 ounces per hour, regardless of duration.
Electrolytes:
Under 1 hour: Electrolytes aren’t necessary if the duration is low to moderate. If pushing a high or moderately high intensity, you can add in medium to low concentration electrolyte mix
Over 1 hour: Aim for 1 serving of hydration mix per hour
What type of electrolyte mix should I choose?
Low (<275 mg sodium)
Factors to consider:
- Low intensity
- Daily hydration
- If you’re looking for added carbohydrates
Medium (>276-600 mg sodium)
Factors to consider:
- Medium to high intensity
- Shorter durations (less than 2-3 hours)
- Heavy and/or salty sweater
- If you’re looking for added carbohydrates
High (>601 mg sodium)
- Medium to high intensity
- Longer durations (2+ hours)
- Heavy and/or sweater
- Training at altitude
- If you’re looking for added carbohydrates
Ultimately, when it comes to hydration, it’s going to take a bit of trial and error to figure out the best mix for you. It’s vital to adapt your hydration strategy based on the conditions and duration of your activity. Be patient, be willing to try out new things, and always have a few options on you for the various scenarios you may encounter.
If you have any questions or want to chat through your specific hydration strategy and what would be best, write to our Coaching Team at coaching@thefeed.com.
