Hydration before, during, and after exercise is a science; drinking correctly helps maintain fluid balance, ensuring the health and safety of fitness enthusiasts.
After sprinting on a treadmill for several minutes or playing an intense game of basketball, drinking water becomes a natural choice to quench thirst and relieve fatigue. Among the wide variety of beverages, iced and sweet drinks are particularly popular with young people. However, many people have also had this experience: drinking a lot of water but still feeling thirsty, or even thirstier after drinking, with some experiencing symptoms like elevated body temperature and muscle cramps.
"In fact, hydration before, during, and after exercise is a science; drinking correctly helps maintain fluid balance, ensuring the health and safety of fitness enthusiasts," said Fang Zilong, a researcher at the Sports Nutrition Research Center of the Institute of Sports Medicine of the General Administration of Sport of China. The American College of Sports Medicine, an authoritative institution in the field of sports medicine, has summarized the principles of exercise hydration into the following points:
First, drink about 500 milliliters of plain water 2 hours before exercise. "This is because pre-exercise hydration can improve the body's thermoregulatory capacity and lower the heart rate during exercise. Hydrating 2 hours in advance gives the kidneys sufficient time to metabolize, adjusting fluid balance and osmotic pressure to an optimal state and allowing enough time for excess water to be expelled from the body," Fang Zilong explained.
Second, during exercise, if the duration exceeds 1 hour, you should drink some light saline solution, adding 0.11—0.15 grams of salt per liter of water, and keep the water temperature between 15—22°C. "During exercise, you sweat profusely, and sweat contains many ion components. At this point, drinking plain water with no ion content will not be effective for rehydration. Light saline solution can replenish the lost ions in a timely manner and prevent adverse reactions such as hyponatremia," he said. He recommends carrying a thermos flask to prepare the light saline solution in the correct proportion before exercising. Even if you don't feel thirsty, it's best to take a sip every 20 minutes during exercise to balance the loss of sweat and prevent dehydration-related damage to the body.
Third, after exercise, drink electrolyte beverages, which are drinks containing minerals such as sodium, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Alternatively, you can add some sugar to plain water in a 1:15 ratio. "Adding sugar to the water is to maintain a certain blood sugar concentration, delay the onset of fatigue, and thus ensure the physical health of the fitness enthusiast," Fang Zilong reminded at the end.