Why Is It Important To Stay Hydrated? Doug Knows

“Simply, water is the building block to your body. I remember a lesson where a huge percentage of each cell in the body is made of water. Water is used in everything the body does. You really must work to keep yourself hydrated. You cannot judge how much you need on how much you are sweating. Much of that depends on the humidity of the envronment you are in.

You can”t go by your thirst. Your thirst will only lead you to replace 70% of the fluids that you lose during exercise. In fact there are some tennis players that have been tested and they have shown that losing 2 to 3 or even 4 liters an hour during exercise is very possible.

Andy is a huge sweater and I am sure he is loosing between 2 and 3 liters every hour he is on court.

Hydration for Andy starts the night and day before he plays. He will drink at least 6 liters of water before he sleeps the day before a match. When he wakes up it is time to just keep a bottle in front of himself and drink several more liters of fluid before he plays.

He must drink while he plays and then after also. The best time to replace fluids is in the first 2 hours after exercise. The body uses what you put in it more efficiently then.

The amount of fluid you need is individual and it is an experienc thing. You have to play with the amounts you put in you to find what is right. One clue that you are hyradted is that your urine should be fairly clear and not bright yellow.

If you do not stay hydrated you are in danger of having muscle cramps, and heat illness. Believe me, it is not fun to have muscles that are cramping. Also if you are not hydrated your performance will suffer. Your body just will not be able to work at 100% .

Also sport drinks are good but don’t just relie on them. A good rule is 50% sport drinks, 50% good old fashion water.” Thanks Doug!