by Kevin Iwasa-Madge BASc, CISSN from swimmingscience.net
Take home points:
- Drink liquids throughout the day! Bring a refillable bottle with you everywhere. You’ll be more likely to drink water if you get in this habit.
- Drink liquids during training. Whether you’re a beginner and drinking water, or at a more elite level and have a well thought out training-drink with you, you should be ingesting 16-32oz of liquid/hour of hard training.
- Drink liquids after training. I’d recommend using a 32oz bottle and a recovery-formula (opposed to chocolate-milk, protein-bars, or other common recovery strategies). This ensures you are getting the carbohydrate and protein you need for recovery, along with an adequate amount of water. The last thing you want to do is have something so dense or thick that you further your dehydration.
I recently received a question regarding hydration, and specifically, its importance for swimmers.
First, I’d like to touch on the fact that it is possible to over-hydrate. That is, to drink so much water it is unhealthy and possible fatal. Also of note, contrary to what some believe, over-hydration does not subsequently improve performance. In some cases, excessive water without electrolytes (in this case sodium) leads to hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is essentially when your blood does not contain enough sodium relative to the volume of blood. Having said that, this most commonly happens to athletes who are training or competing for an extended period of time in a hot environment (Not swimmers!). The bottom line is, over-hydration, or hyponatremia, is not a huge concern for swimmers… assuming they have a healthy diet. In reality we get lots of electrolytes from our diet, and unless we are sweating to a massive extent (for example training in a hot environment), then our dietary electrolytes are more than enough to maintain electrolyte levels in our blood.
But don’t let all of this over-hydration talk scare you, preventing dehydration and staying adequately hydrated is critically important to performance. Even small amounts of dehydration such as 2% bodyweight loss have been shown to decrease both endurance and power performance measures. Think about it this way, 2% of your body weight is a small enough amount that drinking an extra 32oz. of liquid in a day could be what maintains performance. Our body is just that sensitive!
There is some evidence to support the idea that athletes can adapt to perform efficiently at different levels of hydration for swmmers. So in some sense, “proper hydration” is relative to the athlete. Having said that, this still does not change the fact that said athlete would need to maintain his hydration-level, whatever that may be. So, staying adequately “hydrated” may change from athlete to athlete in the actual amount of water the body holds, but nonetheless, maintaining this “hydrated state” is still the most proven and safe way to optimize performance.
Lets talk about how to do this:
- Drink liquids throughout the day! Bring a refillable bottle with you everywhere. You’ll be more likely to drink water if you get in this habit.
- Drink liquids during training. Whether you’re a beginner and drinking water, or at a more elite level and have a well thought out training-drink with you, you should be ingesting 16-32oz of liquid/hour of hard training.
- Drink liquids after training. I’d recommend using a 32oz bottle and a recovery-formula (opposed to chocolate-milk, protein-bars, or other common recovery strategies). This ensures you are getting the carbohydrate and protein you need for recovery, along with an adequate amount of water. The last thing you want to do is have something so dense or thick that you further your dehydration.
- Be conscious of your hydration level. Are you thirsty? You’re probably dehydrated!
Looking at your urine colour is a quick test to check hydration for swimmers. It should be clear or only slightly yellow. If it is darker then that, there is a good chance you are dehydrated!
If you want to be serious about swimming, you have to be serious about your hydration. Use these tips and come up with a system that works for you. There is a good chance your performance will benefit from it!
Written by Kevin Iwasa-Madge BASc, CISSN Owner of iMadgen Nutrition, and as a former top-5 finisher in the world as a freestyle wrestler, Kevin embodies the lifestyle of an elite athlete. Kevin completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph in the Applied Human Nutrition Program. This clinically focused program allowed him the opportunity to address a range of diseases from a nutritional approach. After graduation Kevin attained a certification in sports nutrition from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. The CISSN is the premier certification in the field of sports nutrition and is recognized by the leaders in applied sports nutrition. This certification requires Kevin to earn Continuing Education Units, maintaining his development of relevant, cutting edge knowledge in the field of sports nutrition.
Athletically, Kevin has been an elite wrestler for over 10 years, competing for both the University of Guelph and Team Canada. Kevin is a former First Team All-Canadian, Academic All-Canadian, and Canadian Champion. While at the University of Guelph, Kevin was short-listed for the prestigious Student-Athlete of the Year award. He currently trains with and competes for the Guelph Wrestling Club and National Team, recently placing 5th at the FISU World Championships.
Kevin’s expertise has been acknowledged by progressive groups such as Swimming Science and Basic Motion Therapy, whom he writes articles for regularly. Lately, Kevin spends his time guest-lecturing at colleges and working with high school, varsity, professional and national/international-level athletes.
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