Effects of dehydration on a body in motion

 

Although water has no caloric value, it’s the most essential nutrient required in your diet on a daily basis. Your body is made of water. It’s part of your blood, brain, heart, lungs and bones. As it relates to exercise, water maintains blood volume, reduces the risk of heat stress, regulates body temperature and is involved in muscle contractions.

To optimize your hydration status, you must be an active participant in your hydration regime by consuming adequate fluids and electrolytes on a daily basis - as well as before, during and after exercise. Leaving hydration to chance or ignoring dehydration symptoms can be hazardous to health and performance.

Sadly, once you are dehydrated, you can't 'make-up' for fluids lost.

Going into a workout dehydrated and/or not replenishing fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise can cause great strain on your cardiovascular system. As dehydration reduces plasma volume, blood becomes thicker and retains more sodium. This makes blood harder to circulate through your body. To compensate, your heart beats faster, which increases heart rate and blood pressure. Central venous pressure decreases which reduces the amount of blood returning to the heart. Less blood entering the heart decreases the amount of blood leaving the heart. An increase in core temperature leads to an increased rate of glycogen breakdown (carbs stored in the muscles), which causes an intracellular increase in acids. As lactic acid is produced, pH decreases causing skeletal muscle fatigue. Dehydration may also increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol - which reduces testosterone levels and impacts muscle growth.

Keeping your body well-hydrated on a daily basis - as well as before/during/after exercise helps your heart pump blood more easily, protects your body from heat stress and allows oxygen to reach your muscles to help the muscles work efficiently.

To learn more about mastering or fine-tuning your hydration needs during exercise, check out my book Essential Sports Nutrition. Not only do I discuss how to best hydrate before, during and after workouts and races but I also provide many guidelines on how to best fuel your incredible body in motion in training and on event day. 

Nutrition tips for training in the heat

Triathletes and endurance athletes are very susceptible to dehydration and even more so, a heat-related injury at this time of the year.  Whereas in the cold/cooler months of the year, athletes can get away with haphazard fueling and hydration strategies, now is the time in the year when a poorly planned (or early-season) fueling/hydration regime will negatively affect training sessions, racing potential and health.  

Let it be known that training in the heat is incredibly stressful for the body. Seeing that training (in any environment) already creates difficulty for the body to adequately digest and absorb nutrients and fluids, you can imagine why so many athletes experience harmful health issues, GI struggles, extreme fatigue and so many more issues during the summer months when training for an event.

If you think about those who succeed well in endurance events, every athlete is getting tired from glycogen depletion and dehydration and central nervous system fatigue but those who can minimize these performance-limiting issues the longest (ex. proper pacing, great fitness, excellent nutrition/fueling/hydration), is the one who slows down the least and keeps the body functioning in good health and thus, the one who is the most successful on race day. It's also important to note that each athlete will have his/her own threshold for when the body begins to experience a decline in health and performance from dehydration and glycogen depletion - particularly in the heat. 
To keep your body functioning well (in training and on a daily basis), it's extremely important that you do your part and not let your fueling/hydration regime become a game of guessing - especially during the times when you feel your health/performance suffering during training.

Why athletes struggle to stay in good health and perform well in the summer months:

-Not staying well-hydrated on a daily basis (before/after workouts and during the day)

-Not bringing along fluids/nutrition when running (especially off the bike)

-Not comfortable drinking while running/riding 

-Rationing fluids to avoid stopping (or not enough places to refill bottles)

-Not enough hydration bottle cages on the bike (or if they are on, not easily accessible)

-Not using sport nutrition products properly (not enough or too much carbohydrates, fluids and electrolytes)
-Afraid to use sport nutrition products or not planning ahead and relying only on water (or nothing at all)

-It's only a "short" workout - you feel you don't need it

I could go on and on and on. 

There are dozens of excuses and reasons that athletes have as to why fluid/electrolyte/calorie needs are not being met during training and racing and not only is it holding you back from training consistently and executing well during workouts, it is also extremely damaging to the body - placing you at risk for injury, sickness, burnout and other serious health complications. 

Common side-effects of dehydration: 

• headache
• dizziness
• blurred vision
• loss of focus
• chills
• no appetite post workout
• excessive sleepiness
• extreme weakness
• low blood pressure
• stop sweating
• dry mouth
• dark urine
• dry skin
• no/little urination
• extreme cramping
• bloating/puffiness 
• excessive thirst/lost of thirst
• rapid, elevated pulse (despite effort slowing down)
• muscle spasms (during and post workout)

Are you currently experiencing any of the above? If yes, your current fueling/hydration strategy is NOT working for you. 

Every human body is different but we must pay very close attention to our body signs/symptoms/signals when it comes to training and racing in endurance events. If you do not make the effort to keep yourself in good with proper fueling and hydration (and pacing), you will be forced to spend a lot of time getting your body healthy again before you start even thinking about training again. 

To help you out, here are a few very simple tips to ensure that you are staying hydrated during your workouts (and races): 

• Be sure to have a sport drink with you for all workouts lasting more than one-hour - this should contain a mixture of electrolytes, carbohydrates and fluids in an appropriate concentration to digest well and to be efficiently absorbed. I suggest a hypo or isotonic solution with no more than 10-14g carbohydrates per 8 ounces but at least 120mg of sodium per 8 ounces in the heat to optimize gastric emptying.
• For intense or very sweaty/hot workouts lasting less than an hour, you should still use a sport drink with at least 10g carbohydrates per 8 ounces and at least 120mg sodium per 8 ounces.
• Aim for 24-32 ounces of fluid on the bike per hour and at least 10 ounce fluid per 10-15 minutes while running (this should be in a sport drink - not plain water in the heat!).
• Aim to sip your bottle on the bike every 10-12 minutes (you need at least 3-4 gulps to ensure that you are getting in around 3-4 ounces of fluid) and 1-2 sips every 5-8 minutes while running. Frequent drinking on a schedule will not only help to delay fatigue and prevent dehydration but will prevent overdrinking on fluids (particularly ice cold water).
• While keeping your insides hydrated is critical, consider ways to keep your body cool on the outside. Suggestions include exercising early morning or in the evening and avoiding workouts in the heat of the day (10-5pm). Choosing indoor workouts over outdoor. Using water/ice to cool yourself while exercising. Wear a cooling towel/cooling sleeves. Use a visor over a hat. Choose shady areas over direct sunlight. Wear sunscreen to prevent burning.
• Always plan ahead with your bottle refill stops. Be sure to STOP before you really need to stop so you are never rationing your fluids or going without.
• Be sure you are setting yourself up for good hydration behaviors. Cages/hydration systems on the bike should be accessible and easy to use in ALL conditions (ex. bumpy roads, rain, technical courses, etc.). Your run courses in training should allow you to refill bottles that you bring with you OR set up bottles on your course. Everything you do in training should be practice for race day.
• Wear a hydration belt/pack so you can drink what you drink, when you want to drink it. There are many types on the market - find one that works for you and never run outside without it.
• Do not wait for thirst to kick in during endurance workouts/racing to start drinking. Start drinking/fueling early. An athlete who waits to drink until he/she is thirsty is already behind on fluid requirements and many times, this will cause an athlete to drink an excessive amount of water (as it may be more palatable as a race/training continues) and may cause hyponatremia (very serious) or may cause a sloshy stomach/bloating/stomach cramping by trying to drink too much at once (often a hypertonic/concentrated amount from guzzling a lot of drinks at aid stations or stops at gas stations in training).
• Make your fueling/hydration strategy during workouts as simple as possible. You should not be using several different methods of consuming electrolytes, calories/carbohydrates/sugars and fluids. Also, DO NOT overconcentrate your flasks/bottles.
• Pace yourself and be OK with slower paces but a higher RPE. Even mild dehydration can negatively affect performance and can cause drowsiness, irritability, loss of concentration and headaches - none of which are performance enhancing or healthy. When dehydration worsen, serious issues occur which affect the heart, brain, muscles and organs (ex. kidneys). Successful athletes know how to pace an effort so that nutrition/hydration is helping to fuel and hydrate the effort. If you overwork your body, it is not possible to overfuel/hydrate the body to meet your training/racing demands. 

And lastly, you have to be respectful of your body in the heat. If you are feeling any changes with your body that concern you, first slow down and don't be afraid to stop. Remind yourself that when your body starts to shut down or gives you signals/signs that something is wrong (ex. headache, chills, vision changes, etc.), your body is no longer trying t adapt to training stress but it's trying to protect you. Never get upset at your body for a bad workout or race if it is simply trying to protect you from a serious heat or other-related injury. 

 There are far too many athletes failing with workouts and experiencing negative health issues from poor fueling/hydration strategies before/during/after training and improper pacing. Sport nutrition is a complicated area with many misguided tips and suggestions that are not always practical or healthy. If you know someone who can benefit from this blog, please share. 

The dehydrated athlete - hydration tips

Many factors contribute to the total volume of fluid lost from the body on a daily basis - environmental conditions, size/surface area of an individual, metabolic rate, physical activity load (ex. frequency, duration, intensity), sweat loss, diet composition and volume of excreted fluids. 

The daily fluid loss in cool weather (less than 70 degrees F) can be around 2300 mL (with much of that as fluid lost in urine) whereas in warm/hot weather (above 85 degree F weather) it can total 6600+ mL (with most of that lost as sweat). 

Once again, as mentioned in my previous post, relying on thirst to initiate daily water (or sport drink consumption during workouts) is a false recommendation to ensure adequate fluid consumption. I hear it over and over again that athletes feel that they don't need to drink because they aren't thirsty but then when they do feel thirsty, they do not provide themselves with opportunities for frequent drinking and it becomes uncomfortable to fully replace what was lost earlier in the workout/race. When the body is already dehydrated, performance is not only already declining but there is already considerable strain on the body to digest and absorb adequate electrolytes and fluids and carbohydrates. 

There are many physical benefits of training. But because almost all athletes in the Northern Hemisphere train throughout the summer in hot temperatures, minimizing dehydration is critical to receiving the adaptations to following a training plan. 

By developing a fluid replacement program that prevents excessive dehydration, you provide your body with the following benefits:

-Lower heart rate
-Higher stroke volume
-Higher cardiac output
-Higher skin blood flow
-Lower core temperature
-Decreased RPE
-Improved performance

Every time you start, continue on or finish a workout dehydrated, you put yourself at a competitive disadvantage to other athletes who are maintaining hydration status OR you are limiting your full athletic potential as an athlete (and risking serious health consequences). 

Without going into estimating sweat loss/rates, here are a few very simple tips to ensure that you are not sabotaging workouts with improper hydration. 

HYDRATION TIPS BEFORE, DURING and AFTER workouts

PRE:
-Understand the warning signals of dehydration 

-Plan your hydration strategy before a workout (rather than waiting until the last minute)

-Drink ~5-7 mL per kg body weight 4hours before exercise (appropriate for afternoon workouts or races) OR 17-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before workouts/races. 

-Drink 7-10 ounce water 10-20 min before workouts/races (in addition to above recommendations if you have 3 hours before your workout/race) 

-Add additional electrolytes (in a well formulated pill/powder) like sodium, chloride and potassium to pre workout/race fluids when exercising in warm environments (or for long durations).
NOTE: Glycerol has been promoted to help with hyperhydration. Glycerol is a WADA banned substance and should not be used by athletes (it also comes with dangerous side effects).
-Avoid drinking large volumes (more than 30 ounces in the 3 hours prior to a workout/race) before a workout/race which can cause GI discomfort, low blood sodium levels or excessive urine production.
-Plan to bring fluids/electrolytes/sport drinks with you for the start of your workout (generally at least 1 hour of running and 2-3 hours of cycling and 1 hour of swimming) so that you do not have to ration your fluid supply. Plan to stop as needed so you can voluntarily drink as needed. 

-According to the Institute of Medicine (2005), daily fluid needs are ~3.7L (or 130 ounces, 16 cups) for men and ~2.7L (95 ounces, 12 cups) for females. Around 20% of daily water intake is from water in food (so long as you consume a wholesome diet) so around 80% of your fluid intake should be directly from  fluid ingested. 

-In warm environments when you anticipate sweating (indoors or outdoors), start your workout with a comfortable full stomach full of fluid. 

DURING/POST
-Be consistent in training with fueling/hydration during workouts.

-Always have fluids/sport drink with you and plan to refill bottles along your route/course. 

-Practice consuming liquids while you are working out - specifically running while drinking and grabbing bottles from cages while cycling. 

-1 mouthful of fluid is around 1 ounce. I suggest to take 2-3 swallows every time you drink from a bottle while cycling and 1-2 sips every time you drink from a cup/flask while running. 

-Bring money in the case you need to stop for fluids while cycling. Always have enough fluid on your bike to last 1 hour of cycling and enough fluid to last 30 minutes of running.

-Record body weight before and after workouts. You want to avoid losing more than 2% body weight and you do not want to weigh more after your workout. Any weight lost during a workout is not fat, it's fluid! You do not want to be proud of your weight loss during workouts as it can affect your health and performance. Some weight loss is fine but be mindful of signs of dehydration. You can estimate sweat loss/fluids needs with basic calculators or get yourself tested in professional lab. 

-Better hydration = better performance = better health. Aim to consume frequent intakes of fluid (sport drinks) starting around 15 minutes into your workout/race and be consistent throughout your entire workout/race. Prioritize liquid calories and vary your flavors so you prevent taste bud fatigue (ex. choose a different flavor drink for running versus cycling and if riding more than 4 hours, opt for 1-2 bottles of a different flavor than your other 2-3 bottles).
Drink no more than 10 ounce fluid every 15-20 minutes (best as 4-5 ounces every 10 minutes).

-Put more fluid in your stomach than on your head. Use cold water to cool yourself but don't go long periods without drinking. 

-In the case of GI upset or a sloshy stomach, slow down for 5-15 minutes and consume additional sodium with a little water to help empty contents from gut. Diarrhea will increase electrolyte loss so be sure to stay up with sport drink consumption during and post workout/race in the case that you experience loose stools while working out/racing. 

-Drink on a schedule, don't wait until you are thirsty. You are better off drinking earlier in a workout/race when your body temperature and heart rate are more controlled. 

-Hydrating with a sport drink that contains carbohydrate, electrolyte and water before and during workouts/races will help replaces losses and provide your body with sustainable energy. 

-Post workout, consume around 16-24 ounces for every lb of body weight lost during the workout. DO NOT consume all fluids at once. Start with an electrolyte rich beverage of around 16 ounces and aim to replace weight loss (in ounces) within 4-6 hours post workout.
For example, if you lost 5 lbs in a workout, aim to consume 80 ounces of fluid in a 4-6 hour time period in the form of an electrolyte beverage, recovery drink, food and water. 

If you find that you struggle with hydration or consuming adequate fuel during workouts or races, consult with a sport RD to help you fuel smarter in your athletic development. 

Information in this blog collected from Sport Nutrition: A practice manual for professionals. By Christine A Rosenbloom, PhD, RD, CSSD and Ellen J Coleman MA, MPH, RD, CSSD. 

The dehydrated athlete

It surprises me how many athletes assume they are just fine just "getting by" in workouts by not fueling or hydrating during the workout.

Could you be underfueling and more importantly, underhydrating during your workout?

Maintaining adequate hydration during workouts and especially in races is one of the most important nutrition strategies for optimizing performance and for keeping the body in good health. 

Every athlete knows that even losing a small percentage of body weight can affect health and can impair performance so why even think twice about going for a swim, bike or run without adequate fluids?

I find myself spending a lot of my time educating athletes on what they are not doing well (or consistently) which could be sabotaging workouts and one area is speaking to triathletes and runners to try to get them to consume adequate fluids during workouts.
With so many athletes coming to me looking to boost performance, improve health or to reach body composition goals, you wouldn't believe how many of these athletes (runners or triathletes) struggle to remember (or make an effort) to put on a fuel belt when they run or bring a bottle to a swim workout or stay on top of fluids during a long bike. They will easily put in the work training but taking a few minutes to fill a bottle and drink from it during a workout can be quite difficult (or it's an afterthought).

With so many hydration belts, packs and handhelds on the market, it really saddens me that athletes don't think more about the physical and health consequences of dehydration. 

Let's talk first about sweating and thirst. 

When we sweat, we experience a decrease in plasma volume and an increase in plasma osmolality. 

As vascular pressure receptors and hypothalamic osmoreceptors respond to the increase in sodium and chloride concentrations in blood plasma, ADH (antidiuretic hormone) is released from the pituitary gland, renin releases from the kidneys and aldosterone and angiotensin II increase water and sodium retention by kidneys and ultimately, we feel thirsty. Yes, all that happens before we "feel" thirsty. 

There has been a lot of talk lately about athletes not needing to drink during workouts or that athletes should simply rely on natural thirst mechanism to let us know when to drink when we workout or race. Because of this advice, athletes will many times train and race underhydrated and express afterward "but I didn't feel thirsty" or "but I didn't feel like I needed it."

Relying on thirst may work for the average fitness enthusiast but when it comes to athletes, it can be quite difficult to offset the large volume of sweat that we lose AND meet carbohydrate and electrolyte needs without risking GI issues by "just waiting" until we are thirsty.

More so, many athletes go into workouts in a dehydrated state which doesn't make it any easier to train consistently in a training cycle.

Before I give some basic hydration tips for athletes to help ensure that you are making an effort to meet hydration needs, consider the following: 

-To assure rapid gastric emptying of fluids/electrolytes/carbohydrates, you need a comfortable volume of fluid in the stomach (pre and during workouts/races)

-It's very easy to get distracted, feel you don't need it or to consider carrying fluids as a nuisance so thirst signals may be ignored or overlooked. 

-If fluids are not available, it won't be convenient to act on your thirst. Whereas on race day, with ample aid stations, you may find yourself acting too often, in too large of amounts. 

-Based on plasma osmolality, there is a specific amount of fluid that needs to be lost from the body before thirst is stimulated so it is true that by the time thirst is perceived, the body may already be dehydrated.

-Carbohydrate stimulates rapid water absorption in the small intestines with sodium, chloride and potassium replacing electrolytes.

-Sodium plays a critical role in maintaining the osmotic drive to drink and provides an osmotic stimulus to retain fluid in extraceullar space (plasma and interstitial fluid compartments).

-Drinking plain water dilutes sodium concentration in blood and removes the osmotic drive to drink.

 Drinking plain water as a means to stay hydrated during long duration or intense activities causes premature satiation of thirst which results in a decrease in fluid intake before adequate fluid has been ingested. OR the opposite happens. Excessive water intake (or consuming low sodium/low carb sport drinks) can quickly dilute plasma sodium concentrations. This can lead to hyponatremia or more serious, water entering the brain as the osmotic balance across the blood-brain barrier becomes disrupted. 

-Drinking plain water during long distance or intense exercise will cause plasma osmolality to decrease which suppresses thirst and increase urine output. When sodium is added to drinks, the osmotic drive to drink is maintained and urine production is decreased. 

-Plain water can quench thirst but is not adequate to serve as a rehydration beverage during or post workout. 

-A properly formulated sport drink (one that contains carbohydrates, sodium, chloride and potassium) not only improves palatability but also helps maintain an osmotic drive for drinking, reduces the amount of sodium that the blood has to supply to the intestine prior to fluid absorption, helps maintain plasma volume during exercise and serves as a primary osmotic impetus for restoring extracellular fluid volume after exercise. Carbohydrates will provide sweetness in a drink to improve palatability, will help fuel muscles and will stimulate fluid absorption from intestines. 

In my next post I will give some tips to help with hydration before, during and post workout. 

Information in this blog collected from Sport Nutrition: A practice manual for professionals. By Christine A Rosenbloom, PhD, RD, CSSD and Ellen J Coleman MA, MPH, RD, CSSD. 

Avoid dehydration with these hydration tips for endurance athletes

Triathletes and endurance athletes are very susceptible to dehydration and even more so, a heat-related injury. 

What must be understood is that the body is compromised when we place intentional training stress on the body through training and racing. However, what is even more serious is that many athletes are not taking the daily precautions to be "healthy" on a day to day basis. So as you can imagine, when an athlete throws in 8,10 or more hours of training per week, there is even more confusion on how to meet daily and sport needs but very little time to even make time/energy to ensure that the body is healthy going into workouts and well fueled/hydrated during workouts. 

Because endurance racing is far from normal or easy for the human body to handle, health professionals acknowledge that metabolic demands during training/racing in long distance events are not easy to meet. That is, it is very hard for the body to take in the appropriate amount of calories, carbohydrates/sugars, electrolytes and fluids, in the right concentration and at the right time, consistently throughout an event in order to postpone fatigue and to prevent dehydration. These are two limiters for endurance athletes. 

If you think about those who succeed well in endurance events, every athlete is experiencing fatigue from glycogen depletion and dehydration but those who can minimize these two performance-limiting issues the longest, is the one who slows down the least and thus, the one who is the most successful on race day. 

Because endurance racing is extremely contagious for those who want to push the boundaries, challenge the limits and prove that anything is possible, it is extremely important that you do your part and be responsible for your health when training for endurance races. 

I see it and I hear about it all the time!

-I don't like water

-I didn't finish all my bottles on the bike

-I don't like to carry anything when I run

-I am not comfortable drinking while running/riding my bike

-I don't have enough cages on my bike

-I don't like sport drinks

-It's only a "short" workout - I don't need it

I could go on and on and on. 

There are dozens of excuses and reasons that endurance have as to why they are not meeting their fluid/electrolyte/calorie needs during training and racing and not only is it holding athletes back from reaching performance goals but it is also extremely damaging to the body. 

Because the human body is extremely complicated, we must understand that there is never a perfect plan that works 100% of the time. Just like in life, we have lessons. Learning lessons. 

The goal is to always learn from what doesn't work in order to not make the same errors/mistakes twice. So if you are an athlete who keeps struggling with your performance/health and can't seem to figure it out, contact a sport RD who can help you out...before it's too late. 

The problem that many athletes face when it comes to training in the heat or just training in general is that the body suffers to adapt to training stress. Certainly we all have our own definitions of this suffering but we can all agree that to reach our potential as endurance athletes, there has to be a steady, consistent training load on the body (with ample recovery) in order to prepare for the upcoming event. 

However, there are some symptoms that are not 'normal' when it comes to training for endurance events and we want to do everything possible to minimize or avoid these: 

-headaches

-dizziness

-blurred vision

-loss of focus

-chills

-no appetite post workout

-excessive sleepiness

-extreme weakness

-low blood pressure

-stop sweating

-dry mouth

-dark urine

-dry skin

-excessive urination/little urination

-extreme cramping

-bloating/puffiness 

-excessive thirst/lost of thirst

-rapid, elevated pulse (despite effort slowing down)

-muscle spasms (during and post workout)

Are you currently experiencing any of the above and have you been associating these with a "hard workout"? 

Every human body is different but we must pay very close attention to our body when it comes to training and racing in endurance events. If you are not focused on making sure your body stays healthy during a workout or race, you are going to have to spend a lot of time getting your body healthy again before you start even thinking about training again. 

To help you out, here are a few very simple tips to ensure that you are staying hydrated during your workouts (and races): 

-Be sure to have a sport drink with you for all workouts lasting more than 1 hour - this should contain a mixture of electrolytes, carbohydrates and fluids in an appropriate concentration to digest well and to be efficiently absorbed. 

-For intense or very sweaty workouts lasting less than an hour, have at minimum an electrolyte tab in a bottle of water. 

-Aim for 24-28 ounces of fluid on the bike per hour and at least 16-20 ounces of water per hour while running. 

-Aim to sip your bottle on the bike every 10-15 minutes (you need at least 2 gulps to ensure that you are getting in around 3-4 ounces of fluid). 

-Aim for around 8 ounces of fluid every 20 min while running, Small sips more frequently will help with digestion and hydration. 

-Cool your body during all workouts in the heat (ex. bike/run). Be sure to bring liquid calories for every hour of training but additional water can be consumed as well as used for cooling the body. 

-Be sure you are setting yourself up for good hydration. Cages/hydration systems on the bike should be accessible and easy to use in ALL conditions (ex. bumpy roads, rain, technical courses, etc.). Your run courses in training should allow you to refill bottles that you bring with you OR set up bottles on your course. Everything you do in training should be practice for race day. 

-Do not wait for thirst to kick in during endurance workouts/racing. You need a fueling regime to meet needs and a schedule. Your body is very smart and it works really hard to correct itself during all scenarios. So any cues that you receive or changes in performance, this is simply your bodies way of trying to fix itself. For some, the body may eventually start shutting itself down so that you do not risk very serious injury to your body. This isn't because you didn't train hard enough or because you are weak but rather because you did not pace and fuel smart. 

-Although you do not need to overhydrate (especially on water), start your fueling strategy early in training/racing (ex. start drinking your sport drink within 10 min of working out/racing) and sip frequently. An athlete who waits to drink until he/she is thirsty is behind on fluid requirements and many times, this will cause an athlete to drink an excessive amount of water (as it may be more palatable as a race/training continues) and may cause hyponatremia (very serious) or may cause bloating by trying to drink too much at once (often a hypertonic amount from guzzling a lot of drinks at aid stations or stops at gas stations in training). 

-Make your nutrition during workouts as simple as possible. You should not be using 3 different methods of getting electrolytes, calories/carbohydrates/sugars and fluids. This is not only extremely difficult to master since you are not a sport nutrition chemist but it can also be very difficult to ensure that you are meeting your needs. 

-Pace yourself. Mild dehydration affects performance and can cause drowsiness, irritability, loss of concentration and headaches. When dehydration becomes worse, serious performance inhibitions occur which also affect the heart, brain, muscles and organs. Successful athletes know how to pace an effort so that nutrition/hydration is helping fuel the effort. If you overwork your body it is not possible to overfuel the body to meet your training/racing demands. 

And lastly, you have to be respectful of your body if the plan doesn't go as planned. If you are feeling any changes with your body that do not feel normal, first slow down. If you are not able to get yourself to that "feel good" place that you have felt in past workouts, you can not continue to push your body for it will eventually be unable to meet any physiological demands that you are trying to place on it. Never get upset at your body for a bad workout or race if it is simply trying to do what it knows to do and that is protect you from a serious heat or other-related injury. 

If you know someone who can benefit from this blog, please sure. Sport nutrition is a complicated area with many tips and suggestions that are not always practical or healthy. To better help endurance athletes, it is my goal to ensure that athletes know how to better fuel and hydrate a body in motion.