Football season is here. Friday nights beneath the lights are nostalgic for many, but most don’t fully understand one of the vital components to sustaining performance — hydration. Between grueling workouts, practices, and games, you spend several hours a day performing intense physical activity. Not to mention, much of this time is often spent wearing protective equipment (pads and helmets), sometimes in hot, humid environments. For a football athlete like yourself, practicing good hydration habits is a key to maintaining personal safety as well as performance.

Impacts of dehydration

Your body temperature rises during physical activity. As a result, sweat is produced in an attempt to keep your body temperature at a normal level. Intense physical activity combined with other factors, such as hot weather conditions and football equipment, can cause high sweat rates in football athletes (3). Fluid loss from sweat can lead to dehydration if an athlete does not adequately replace the fluids. In fact, a dehydration amount of 2 percent or more in body weight loss (for example, a 4-pound loss for a 200-pound athlete) can have a negative impact on performance and also places an athlete at a greater risk of heat illness, especially in hot and humid conditions (2,6).

Dehydration may decrease:

• Muscle power
• Performance
• Mental function
• Motor skills
• Fluid absorption
• Heat tolerance

How to monitor hydration

Monitoring hydration status is important for developing a proper hydration strategy. A simple way to keep track of your hydration is by checking the color of your urine throughout the day, especially before practices and games.  You probably don’t think much about the color of your urine, but take a look the next time you use the bathroom. The goal is to have pale yellow urine, the color of lemonade. Do determine if you’re drinking enough on the field. You can also weigh yourself before and after a practice. Be sure you focus on the change and not your absolute weight — weight loss during practice is a result of fluid loss, and the amount can help you know how much to drink.  A good rule of thumb is to add ~16 ounces of fluid for every pound lost in your next practice in a similar environment. But remember more is not better. If you gain weight, you're drinking too much.

For example:

A player who loses 2 pounds of fluid over the course of practice should add 32 ounces of fluid to their next practice or game.

Tips for proper hydration

Football athletes should drink regularly throughout practices and games, taking advantage of breaks, especially when the weather is hot and humid. Fluids should be sipped instead of guzzled in order to avoid potential stomach discomfort.

When developing a hydration strategy, it’s important to remember that athletes lose electrolytes (like sodium) in addition to fluid when they sweat. Therefore, drinking fluids with sodium, such as sports beverages, is recommended. The purpose of sodium is to help the body retain the fluid consumed (4). Sports beverages will also provide carbohydrate, which is the body’s primary energy source during intense physical activity (1).

In summary, you can utilize these simple strategies to get ahead and stay in the game:

• Evaluate: Monitor hydration status daily by checking urine color. Beginning practices and games hydrated is a great strategy.
• Hydrate: Replenish fluid loss during play with beverages containing sodium and carbohydrate (when playing for an hour or longer) (5).
• Perform

To learn more about the impacts of hydration on athlete safety and performance, check out the video below:

References

Burke, L., Hawley, J., Wong, S., & Jeukendrup A. (2011). Carbohydrates for training and competition. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29 Suppl 1, S17-27.

Casa, D.J., Armstrong, L.E., Kenny, G.P., O’Connor, F.G., & Huggins, R.A. (2012). Exertional heat stroke: New concepts regarding cause and care. Cur. Sports Med. Rep. 11:115–123.

Godek, S.F., Bartolozzi, A.R., Burkholder, R., Sugarman, E., & Peduzzi, C. (2008). Sweat rates and fluid turnover in professional football players: A comparison of National Football League linemen and backs. J. Ath. Train. 43:184–189.

Maughan, R.J. & Murray, R. Sports Drinks: Basic Science and Practical Aspects, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. 2001;7-8:183-224.

Sawka, M.N., Burke, L.M., Eichner, E.R., Maughan, R.J., Montain, S.J., & Stachenfeld, N.S. (2007). American College of Sports Medicine position stand: Exercise and fluid replacement. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 39, 377–390.

Shirreffs, S. & Sawka M. (2011). Fluid and electrolyte needs for training, competition, and recovery. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29 Suppl 1, S39-46.