Late last year we introduced you to some tips on how to stay cool during the heat. With summer now in full swing, let’s revisit some extra tips to help you on your way to continue to beat the heat.
You’ve all heard that dehydration affects performance, but by how much? One study from the University of Stirling, which investigated a skills sport, found that a body mass decrease of as little as 1% from sweat resulted in significant impairment of motor skills performance. (Gamage, De Silva, Nalliah, & Galloway, 2016) For a 70kg individual, that’s a loss of 700g, which isn’t out of the question on a hot day.
If you continue to follow the below tips, you’ll be well on your way to giving yourself the best possible chance for performance.
Pre-hydrate
Making sure you have adequate hydration levels prior to exercise is key to performance. This doesn’t just mean hydration with water, but if you expect to lose a lot of sweat, hydration with electrolytes prior to exercise is also critical. Some studies have shown that overconsumption of liquid during exercise can take away from performance, because blood flow is moved back to the stomach to help digestion rather than blood flow to the muscles. (Backes & Fitzgerald, 2016)
If you are exercising for a short period of time, assess whether you’ll need much hydration during that time. If not, small sips of water or an electrolyte drink will be enough to get you through the period. This is where pre-hydration is most important. If your exercise period is longer than an hour, then a more detailed hydration plan would be required.
Plan your Hydration
This point seems counterintuitive right? You have a drink whenever you feel like it? Wrong! Planning your hydration schedule for extended periods of exercise is the way to go. Research from Harokopio University described that a prescribed hydration strategy to match planned fluid loss is ideal in hot conditions because it provided a performance advantage due to lower thermoregulatory strain and greater sweating responses. (Bardis et al., 2017)
Cold is Best!
When in warmer conditions, cold liquid is ideal for hydration. When we exercise, our core body temperature rises, which will ultimately affect our performance. But by drinking cold liquid, you can potentially delay the increase of core body temperature by 30-minutes. (Lafata, Carlson-Phillips, Sims, & Russell, 2012) This means that you can exercise for longer at optimum body conditions.
Milk!
A lot of research over the past few years has spoken of the effectiveness of milk ingeston post-exercise. But just how much do you require? The general consensus is that 1L of milk should be the protocol used, and ingested within 30-minutes after completion of exercise. For a better balance, use 1L of chocolate milk due to the balance of macronutrients protein, carbohydrates and fats. Maughan et al., 2016, showed that when comparing the ingestion of water, sports drink, or milk, the milk induced the smallest urine mass post-exercise, meaning that the body was able to retain the fluids more effectively.
Next time you’re heading out in the heat for a bout of exercise, use these tips for your own benefit, and give yourself the best possible chance of success.
By Liam Bromilow.
Sources:
Backes, T. P., & Fitzgerald, K. (2016). Fluid consumption, exercise, and cognitive performance. Biology of Sport, 33(3), 291-296. doi:10.5604/20831862.1208485
Bardis, C. N., Kavouras, S. A., Adams, J. D., Geladas, N. D., Panagiotakos, D. B., & Sidossis, L. S. (2017). Prescribed Drinking Leads to Better Cycling Performance than Ad Libitum Drinking. Med Sci Sports Exerc. doi:10.1249/mss.0000000000001202
Gamage, J. P., De Silva, A. P., Nalliah, A. K., & Galloway, S. D. R. (2016). Effects of Dehydration on Cricket Specific Skill Performance in Hot and Humid Conditions. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 26(6), 531-541. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2016-0015
Lafata, D., Carlson-Phillips, A., Sims, S. T., & Russell, E. M. (2012). The effect of a cold beverage during an exercise session combining both strength and energy systems development training on core temperature and markers of performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 9(1), 44. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-9-44
Maughan, R. J., Watson, P., Cordery, P. A., Walsh, N. P., Oliver, S. J., Dolci, A., . . . Galloway, S. D. (2016). A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index. 103(3), 717-723. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.114769
