Staying hydrated for training and racing can give you hidden benefits. It’s very easy to become dehydrated and not realise. Performance improvements and recovery gains from hydration.
Resource: Home Made Sport Drink Recipe (below in notes).
3 Value Bombs
- Daily drink plan for hydration
- Always use sport drinks while training for electrolyte and carbohydrate intake
- Drinking caffeine can help on regatta day
Timestamps
What you are drinking and how to get fluids into your body. It’s more than just drinking while training, off the water drinking matters too.
01:00 Daily Drink Plan
Start with a glass of water when you wake up in the morning. Every time you have a meal or snack, have another glass of water. Snacks might be mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Get into the habit of 2 litres of fluid a day – this includes any hot drink, shake or smoothie count too. Keep a record of your hydration – cricket notation makes it easy to see each 5 glasses of water you have.
02:30 Before during and after training sessions hydration is needed as well.
Drinks need carbohydrate and electrolytes in them. This is part of your recovery from exercise. Carbohydrates help you maximise energy levels to maintain intensity through to the end of a workout. Training works to provoke adaptations. Electrolytes are minerals which get lost through sweat. The air temperature during exercise affects your feeling of thirst. Do not rely on your sensation of thirst – anticipate your hydration needs before you feel thirsty.
06:00 Caffeine drinks – these are worthy of your consideration because caffeine is a stimulant. I drank a half and half Red Bull and water at a regatta when I had a lot of races. I’d learned that Dame Kelly Holmes used this for her race day hydration.
09:45 Race day caffeine use
Use sports drink only on regatta days. Use either caffeinated drinks or tablets (noDoze or Pro Plus). Have caffeine every 2-3 hours while racing – half a can of drink 30-40 minutes before your first race or half a caffeine tablet.
11:15 Home made Sports Drink Recipe
From Nancy Clark’s Sport Nutrition Guidebook affiliate link to buy.
Flavoured with orange juice and lemon juice or cranberry/lemonade.
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 cup Orange juice (not concentrate)
- 2 tablespoons Lemon juice
- 3.5 cups of cold water.
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