• Question: why do athletes need to drink so much water

    Asked by NIamh 13 Pets!!! to Stephanie, LauraAnne, Katy, Helen, Emilia, Dan, Andrew on 3 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Helen Hanstock

      Helen Hanstock answered on 3 Nov 2016:

      Nice question Niamh!

      It depends on the athlete really. Our bodies need to replace water that we lose. If we exercise in the heat, our bodies sweat to help cool us down, and we lose water as we sweat. Athletes, particularly in endurance sports, will prepare for competition in the heat by training in similar environments for a couple of weeks before a competition, which helps them to adapt to perform well in the heat, partly by increasing their sweat rate. Top endurance runners might sweat more than 3 litres per hour during a race in the heat!

      If we are losing that much water through sweat we need to be able to replace it, otherwise we will become dehydrated which may negatively affect our performance in longer races. Athletes running in the Rio Olympic marathon, for example, may not have been able to avoid dehydration completely, but having a few regular drinks throughout the race will help to offset the negative effects of dehydration. Then, when they get to the finish line they will be able to fully rehydrate. This is when they might seem to drink quite a lot of water!

      It’s possible to estimate your sweat rate by weighing yourself before and after exercising. 1 litre of water lost through sweating would result in a fall in body weight of about 1 kg. If you lose 2% of your body weight through sweating then you may start to become dehydrated. However, the best way to tell if you are dehydrated is by listening to your body. Your body knows when it needs more water and lets you know through the mechanism of thirst. So the rule of thumb is quite simple – drink when you feel thirsty!

    • Photo: Stephanie Millward

      Stephanie Millward answered on 4 Nov 2016:

      Because they sweat it out!! Whenever you are doig any form of exercise you burn off energy and release sweat which is water. You therefore need to replenish the lost water otherwise you get dehydrated and often very dizzy

    • Photo: Emilia McAllister-Jepps

      Emilia McAllister-Jepps answered on 6 Nov 2016:

      Hi Niamh, good question!

      The average human body is 50-60% water, so it is a pretty vital thing. When athletes are in training, they need to replace and of the water lost by the body through sweat.

      Being hydrated is also key to recovery and helps digestion. So whilst a lot of people focus on the water lost during exercise as a reason for athletes level of water consumption. It is also important to remember that without hydrating well and regularly when you are resting between training sessions, you can often not be in the best condition possible for your next session.

    • Photo: LauraAnne Furlong

      LauraAnne Furlong answered on 7 Nov 2016:

      Athletes sweat out a lot of water when exercising as it is a way of ensuring we don’t overheat, with some studies reporting losses of 1-2 litres of water in an hour long training session. When exercising in the heat athletes will sweat more. If they don’t try to replace as much of the fluid lost as possible, they will become dehydrated and if they lose more than 2% of their body weight due to water loss, this can affect their performance over both short and long-distance, their memory capacity, and their ability to concentrate and react. In sports where athletes need to be under a particular weight such as boxing or horse racing, athletes often use sweat loss as a quick way to bring themselves under the weight and these effects are a serious concern as it can affect their ability to compete at their best and to stay safe.

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