Eating before Competing Part III: Hydration

 

Author: Ola Bykowska | Date: April 28, 2014

 

Good hydration is crucial for training and competition. According to ACSM even 2% of fluid loss already decreases aerobic and cognitive performance. You should watch your hydration status every day, but take a particular care of it on days before race or tournament.

 

Water bottle- have one of them all the time with you. While travelling to the race, take it with you filled out with water. If you are not a big fan of drinking plain water, add lemon, fruit, or a cucumber to taste or just have an herbal tea. On the day of the race or hard workout sip water and sports drink to get enough electrolytes.

 

Avoid thirst- when you feel thirst it may be too late to rehydrate appropriately before the race. The best way to control hydration status is watching color of urine. It should be pale straw yellow to transparent yellow. Any darker color means that you should drink more water throughout the day.

 

Take your body weight before and after practice especially on the week before competing. The weight loss after practicing is nothing else than water loss due to sweating and breathing (perspiration). For every pound loss have about 2 glasses of water.

 

Electrolytes- water is not everything. With sweat you loose also electrolytes. For exercise above one hour have a sports isotonic drink. Make sure you check how your body responds to it before practice first. Dont experiment before race.

 

Restrict caffeine and forget about alcohol a before racing. A couple cups of coffee is ok. A little bit of caffeine will not harm before competing, especially if you drink coffee every day. However, large intake of caffeine dehydrates, so on the days before competition watch your coffee consumption. Days before the race completely forget about alcohol, because it dehydrates and causes that your recovery will be slower than normal.