Rowers have high fluid requirements. Long training sessions on and off the water (even in cold weather) lead to significant sweat losses, particularly when training twice a day. Two-a-day training is common this time of year, as you prepare for the spring race season. In the U.S., regattas are mainly held over the warmer months and often involve long hours in the sun. Rowers should monitor their fluid intake and loss by consuming numerous water and sports drinks. Rowers can assess how much fluid they lose during a training session by weighing themselves pre and post training. For roughly every pound lost, 36 ounces of fluid needs to be replaced.
Some practical tips on staying hydrated:
- Rowers should begin every training session well hydrated
- Sufficient water bottles are needed during training
- The aim is to drink every time there is a break in the training session
- During long sessions, hard training cycles or hot weather, sports drinks are the recommended fluid choice as they supply carbohydrate and electrolytes together with fluid.
Sports drinks are suitable fluids during long training sessions (more than 60 mins) or if training for maximum performance and are ideal during competition as they provide electrolytes and carbohydrate along with the fluid in between events. Moreover, they can also help to achieve high fuel goals, especially in the case of adolescent male or heavyweight rowers’ development, strength goals and training needs.
For more training tips from The Stroke Master visit: thestrokemaster.com/blog.
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