Wise reading for all participants this coming weekend in Dubai!
September 29, 2017
SWEAT LOSS/DEHYDRATION
As we all know we lose sweat when we exercise, however different factors can play a huge role in the amount of sweat that we lose. One factor in particular is climate. Living and playing GAA in Dubai with the Dubai Celts GAA I have noticed how crazy our sweat rates increase during the hotter months (I have often seen the temperature hit 39 degrees at 8p.m in the evening heading out to training). With many players new to the country and not realising how dangerous dehydration can be, I took it into my own hands to see exactly how much sweat we actually lose during a training session.
I had 9 participants (a mix of male players from both the hurling and football teams). Their weight was measured before and after training alongside recording the amount of fluids consumed and excreted. Results are shown below and I'm sure you will agree were quite shocking.
Participant 1: 2.9 Litres
Participant 2: 2.1 Litres
Participant 3: 3.3 Litres
Participant 4: 2.0 Litres
Participant 5: 3.3 Litres
Participant 6: 2.1 Litres
Participant 7: 1.9 Litres
Participant 8: 1.95 Litres
Participant 9: 1.65 Litres
The training session lasted approx. 1.5 hours except for one participant who trained both hurling and football lasting approx. 2 hours altogether.
As you can see from above, we lose A LOT of sweat training in the heat and therefore it is vital to rehydrate. Please note that these figures were recorded during an evening session after sunset so figures would have been higher if the training had of commenced during the day in direct sunlight.
To prevent dehydration it is essential that firstly we consume enough fluid before we exercise, secondly during, and finally after exercise to rehydrate ourselves. Not drinking enough water can be very dangerous and seriously reduce our performance. Just losing 2% of your body fluid can decrease your performance by up to 25%. Additionally, it causes cramps and can increase our risk of injury.
Generally water is sufficient to rehydrate in colder climates such as Ireland, however additional rehydration products E.g. Pocari Sweat or rehydration tablets) are beneficial when training/exercising in hotter climates such as Dubai due to high amounts of electrolytes being lost.
I hope the above figures have made it very clear on just how much fluid we actually lose during training/matches here in Dubai, how dangerous it can be, and how important it is to rehydrate.
Any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ciara Nolan (RNutr)