PAL
+
Athlete
Leaping Further
Hydration is essential
to maintain performance
Water makes up 60% of our body.Atheletes tend to have much higher persentage of water because they have higher amounts of muscle that contain more water, while also having less fat.
It is said that we lose 2.5 liters of water by urination or skin evaporation even through everyday life.Taking in the same amount of water through eating and drinking helps to keep a balance of water and maintain the body.
Although it depends on the individual and their environment, it is said that we lose 1 to 2kg of water due to sweating from exercise, such as training or games.
When the rate of weight loss exceeds 2% of the body weight, it causes a decrease in our concentration and skill level, an excessive increase in heart rate and body temperature, and has a great impact on athletic performance.
Conditioning that includes hydration is essential for athletes to perform well.
Ordinary people
Athlete
Assessment of dehydration using urine
Keeping normal amounts of water is important not only to keep normal body function, but to maintain sports performance.
By the time you feel thirsty, a significant amount of water has already been lost. Before the throat feels dry, rehydrate frequently.The amount of fluid intake needed depends on the environment you're excercising in as well of the intensity of the exercise, so it is important to know the amount that is needed for you.
You can use urine checks to know the amount of water in the body.There are some methods that use urine to know the dehydration level such as urine specific gravity, urinary osmolality, and urine color. However, urinary osmolality is not easy to measure in sports, and urine color is only a visual inspection. It is reccomended to measure the specific gravity of urine with a refractometer that shows the numerical value of dehydration objectively.
Please use a refractometer regularily to measure the specific gravity of your urine to help with hydration recovery after exhaustion from matches and training.
A urine specific gravity of 1.026 or higher is a sign of danger.
Standard value | 1.009~1.025 |
High value (1.026 or higher) |
Dehydration etc. |