Remember... Dehydration is preventable!
1. Drink water throughout the day. Try to consume lots of water outside of practice. Check your urine color. Light colored urine(straw or lemonade yellow) is the goal.
2. Consume water and sports drinks during training. Drink at every practice, every day(every 15--20minutes if you can). Drink at halftime during games. Consistency in hydration is just as important as consistency in training.
3. Try to figure out how your body sweats. If you feel you are a salty sweater(white marks on your helmets, hats or dark shirts) you may be more prone to dehydration-drink your sports drinks, eat some salty foods-canned soups, pickles, olives, salted crackers and pretzels and lightly salt your foods.
4.Keep alcohol out of the equation when it comes to training and performance. The effects of even a small amount of alcohol can stay with you for 48-72 hours. Alcohol is a diuretic-which means it causes dehydration. Alcohol decreases testosterone function and impairs every aspect of training.
5.Remember that even a 1% drop in your body water level affects athletic performance. It will cause increased strain on your heart and reduced aerobic endurance. A 3-5% drop in body water(and that's only about 5 pounds for the 180-190 pound athlete) can cause reduced muscular endurance, reduced muscular strength, reduced mental capacity, feelings of fatigue, and cramping.
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