Nutrition is one of the most important factors to consider when taking part in any sport, whatever your level, what you are eating and drinking has a massive impact on how you perform and how you recover.
2% drop in hydration can result in 10% drop in efficiency Hydration
If you become dehydrated then your performance will be effected in several ways
- Exercise feels harder than usual/ you fatigue earlier
- Mental function is reduced
- Reduced skill level
- Inefficient carbohydrate metabolism (body doesn't use carbohydrate as well as it could)
- Inefficient protein metabolism (you will break down muscle instead and protein will fuel process)
To prevent dehydration you need to continuously drink.
A more scientific way to do this is:-
- Weigh our self before training session (e.g. 77kg)
- Weight yourself after training (e.g. 76kg)
- Account for fluid you drank during training (1Litre= 1kg)
- So if you drank 1litre during training and at the end of training you have lost one kg then your total loss is 2 kg.
In order to get rehydrated after training you need to drink more than you have lost, specifically 150% of what you have drunk (e.g. If you lost 1 litre you need to drink 1.5 litres)
Sports Drinks
Sports drinks such as Lucozade sport, and Powerade are also essential for a rowers diet plan. They are specially formulated to deliver carbohydrate to muscles so that they can perform better. Also fluid that contains carbohydrate is much more easily absorbed into the system so means you get hydrated faster.
Water by it's self is not a good post-exercise drink as the lack of carbohydrate doesn't encourage fluid retention, it encourages you to urinate instead. Water could be drunk with a meal and it would work but another option should be used for training and post-exercise.
Drink | Sodium | Potassium | Good For Hydration | Level of Carbohydrate/100ml |
Water | N | N | N (Y with food) | 0 |
Sugar-free squash | Trace | Trace | Y | Trace |
Fruit Juice | N | Y | N | 10g |
½ Fruit juice ½ water+ salt | Y | Y | Y | 5g |
High juice+ Salt | Y | Y | Y | 4.2g |
Lucozade Sport Body Fuel | Y | Y | Y | 6.4g |
Dioralyte | Y | Y | Y | 1.6g |
Make your own Sports Drink
As sports drinks are very expensive you may decide that you like the idea of making your own one at a fraction of the cost. This is very easily done and you can tailor your sports drink to your individual taste and needs.
- Get some "High Juice" or some other high sugar type dilute drink.
- Mix a 1 part juice to 9 parts water.
- Add a pinch of salt
And that you ready to go!!
(Remember not to get sugar free drink as it is the glucose that provides the carbohydrate)
