Hydration?

[lil_gymnast_alanna]

So I was at a competition the other day and they had some sheets up on nutrition, diet and hydration.
But we had to leave so I didn't get to read it.
So I've been left wondering how much water do you need to drink and when?

Thanks!
Lanna

 

[NotAMom]

Coming from a parent who's not a medical professional, I am not qualified to quantify but I say obviously the more they work out, the more hydration that need. My 13yo used to get dehydrated often (to the point that she got sick) just because she's either too lazy to drink or just didn't know any better. Nowadays, she goes through 2-3 24oz bottles of liquid per 4-hour practice. If she is not constantly goes to the bathroom while working out, she isn't drink too much.

 

[lil_gymnast_alanna]

there was something on the AIS website but id didn't make alot of sense...

 

[NYgymfan]

I was taught by a relative who was in the military that your pee should be clear and you shouldn't be thirsty. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. If your pee is dark yellow, you are dehydrated.

Now in gym its a little more complicated, because you don't want to be tumbling with a stomach full of water or having to take a bathroom break a lot, but pretty much if you are working out hard, you should be drinking a lot of water.

 

[gymcoach26]

In my athletic training course, they teach that for active athletes, you should drink 8-10 fluid ounces per half hour of working out. Thirst is actually the first sign you are getting deyhdrated, followed by dizziness or weakness. While water is good, when you sweat alot you are loosing alot of electrolytes, so gatorade actually is better than water. Salt tablets are also good to have on hand or a salty snack in case someone ever is real dehydrated, just drinking water at that point will not balance out your cells.
There was actually a women in the Boston Marathon who died from this. (obviously very rare though). She had run the marathon and was so dehydrated (after sweeting out all her bodies salt) that when finished she drank a lot of water. Well all the water really threw off the balance of her cells that her organs gave out.

 

[BlairBob]

A couple of congresses ago, it was reccomended that an ideal fluid intake for survival was 1 ounce per pound. That's 2 ounces per kilo for everyone not in the U.S.

Add fluid intake per activity.

Sports drinks and tea are more readily absorbed by the body than water, most sports drinks have too much sugar, but some are more balanced or you can cut them with water.

Once you are thirsty, which is 1-3% dehydrated, it is very hard to reattain your fluid balance in a reasonable amount of time. It's an uphill battle.