The new Dietary Reference Intake for water is 9 cups for Women and 13 cups for Men (this includes all beverages and water in food – most women get 2 cups in food and most men get 3 cups in food, if one eats a lot of vegetables/fruits, one may get 1-2 extra cups from food).
In studies, most (even seasoned) athletes underestimate their need for water, typically not self-terminating a race until they got 7% dehydrated & Performance is affected at 2% dehydration.
It is important to pay attention to your Pre-exercise, During Exercise & Post-exercise Hydration.
Pre-exercise: General guideline is to have 2-3 cups of water, 2-3 hours before exercise and Hypotonic solutions are absorbed most rapidly (<4%) for hydration purposes with 110-165mg sodium/8 ounces.
During exercise: General guideline is to have 2-4 cups of 6-8% sports drink per hour.
Post-exercise: General guideline is to have 0.5-0.9g carbohydrate per pound of body weight as soon as possible and repeat every 2 hours until a normal meal is consumed. Here are a few recipes for homemade electrolyte drinks to aid in hydration:
From Hilary Warner, Nutrition Works!
- 2/3 cup lemonade mix
- 2 1/4 quarts water
- ¼ – ½ tsp salt
8oz contains: 65 Cal / 15g CHO (6%) / 65-130 mg Na
From Nancy Clark’s Sport Nutrition Guidebook, 2nd ed.
- Yield: 1 quart
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 c boiling water
- 1/4 c orange juice (not concentrate) or 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 3/4 c cold water
Dissolve sugar and salt in hot water. Add juice & cold water, chill.
8 oz. contains: 50 Cal / 12g CHO / 110mg Na / 30mg K
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