Tennis player
"Matches can turn into a real endurance event. Many times I've played matches that stretched into four or five hour contests. I need to make sure that my muscles have got fuel to keep me running right to the end – whether it's one hour or five. It's hard to keep hydrated during a match. I sweat a lot when I play, particularly when it's hot. Sometimes it's a furnace out on the court. I've heard that temperatures on centre court at the Australian Open have been close to 50 degrees. How important is it to drink during a game?"
Avoid dehydration with a fluid intake plan
Unless sweat losses are replaced during exercise, an athlete will become dehydrated. Most of us know that severe levels of dehydration have a dramatic effect on exercise performance. But even small fluid losses reduce performance and increase your feeling of effort.
Of course the effects at lower levels of dehydration are more subtle – you may not notice it slowly eating away at your performance. However, well before the effects seem obvious, your work output has dropped and your skills and concentration have deteriorated. A good fluid intake is a crucial part of your competition strategy, and you will be pleased that you practised this in training. In an ideal world an athlete would drink enough fluid to cover all sweat losses during their event. However in the real world of sport this is not usually practical or possible. A realistic goal is to use all opportunities to drink what is practical and comfortable in your sport. At best, most athletes only replace 50 per cent of their fluid losses during the event so there is plenty of room for improvement.
A special issue to note is that one side effect of dehydration is an increased risk of gastric upsets. Some athletes who feel sick or uncomfortable after stopping for a fluid break, often blame the drink for their problems. The real problem, however, is dehydration – caused by not drinking sooner. Encourage fluid intake during exercise by making with: drinks cool and palatable.
Strategies for improved hydration during competition
- Be aware of likely fluid losses by monitoring fluid balance in training sessions. Practice drinking in training so you know what feels comfortable and can optimise your fluid replacement.
- Look at the opportunities that your event provides for fluid intake. Look for formal breaks such as quarter and half-time breaks, or substitutions. Make sure fluids are on hand during these times.
- Some sports also allow players to drink during the match play, at informal breaks such as rule infringements or game stoppages. If trainers are unable to take fluids to players, educate the player to come to the boundary for a quick drink. This is especially important in hot conditions.
- Provide athletes with their own drink bottles so they can be aware and responsible for their own fluid intake.
- Be sympathetic in marathons, triathlons, cycle races and other continuous events, that athletes must drink literally ‘on the run’. This may lead to gastric discomfort, and athletes must also count the time taken to grab and consume their fluid supplies. However, remember that the time lost can be made up by better performance resulting from better hydration. Clever drinking devices can also help the athlete to drink without dropping their pace. Practise this in training.
- Water is a good fluid for most sports. However in sports of greater than one hour in duration, there may be benefits from adding carbohydrate to the mix. In any case, a sweet-tasting drink is likely to be consumed in greater quantities than plain water. Encourage fluid intake during exercise by making drinks cool and palatable.