Hydration During Sports: How to Drink for Better Performance

The worst thing that can happen to an athlete is a lack of fluids. Dehydration worsens athletic performance and significantly affects both endurance and speed as well as strength disciplines.

Drink Regularly During Activity

If you want to do your best to maintain performance and delay the onset of fatigue, you must replenish the fluids lost through sweat during activity. Drinking water during intense activity and in high temperatures is not enough. The right drink should contain enough minerals that you lose through sweat during activity, as well as enough carbohydrates – essential energy for the body.

Drinks that contain minerals and carbohydrates are suitable during activity because they provide much more effective hydration than regular water and also supply energy, thus supporting performance!

👉 Drink 150–350 ml of fluids every 15–20 minutes of exercise

It is not enough to just listen to your body and drink when you feel thirsty. If you already feel thirsty, it is likely too late and your body is already dehydrated – you have lost a lot of fluids. This means you will not be able to maintain performance at the same level, and fatigue will set in. For example, a loss of fluids by 3% can reduce performance by up to 20%.

Sports Drinks = Effective Hydration During Strain

Water provides fluids but does not contain essential carbohydrates and other substances important after physical exertion.
Sweet mineral waters and juices contain large amounts of carbohydrates, making them unsuitable for activity, as they do not ensure hydration; rather, they worsen dehydration and negatively affect performance.
Sports drinks (isotonic or hypotonic drinks) provide essential fluids to the working body and ensure much more effective hydration. They supply energy in the form of carbohydrates and minerals that are lost through sweating during activity.

Isotonic drinks are suitable for high-intensity activities lasting up to 60 minutes. Hypotonic drinks are suitable for medium-intensity activities lasting over 60 minutes.

👉 Isodrinx – A Drink Suitable for Your Activity

The drinks you should consume during activity should contain minerals and carbohydrates, possibly other functional substances. The most important mineral is sodium, which is lost the most through sweat.

Isodrinx is an isotonic drink with a pleasant refreshing taste that meets the physiological needs of the body for replenishing lost fluids, minerals, and energy during physical exertion. For effective regulation and recovery, a blend of vitamins is added.

Isodrinx is primarily intended for:

• Hydration of the body
• Replenishing mineral balance
• Energy replenishment
• Reducing the tendency for muscle cramps

Hydration Before and After Activity

Hydration of the Body Before Strain

Start your activity fully hydrated! Consume a hypotonic drink about 2 hours before activity. The last dose of fluids should be consumed about 30 minutes before the start of the activity. You can choose, for example, Unisport.

Hydration of the Body After Activity

Athletes should replenish as much fluid as they lose through sweat during activity. However, this is often not achieved, so it is important to think about hydration after the activity, when it is necessary to replenish up to 150% of the lost fluids. If you lost about 1 liter of fluids during activity, you should drink about 1.5 liters of fluids within two hours after the activity. For quality and quick recovery after intense athletic performance, we recommend Regener – a combination of carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

You can read the basics of hydration in Part 1 Hydration During Sports.

Author: MUDr. Martinek Karel
The spiritual father of online cycling training in the Czech Republic. A long-time doctor for Czech professional cyclists, including track, road, cyclocross, and in recent years also MTB professionals.