Saturday, August 25, 2007

Q & A: Hydration and Running


Q: Do I need to drink on runs that are less than an hour long?

A: It depends a lot on the weather. You can get by without fluids on easy runs on cool mornings, but go without during a hard, 50-minute effort on a midsummer afternoon, and you’ll likely pay a price. You may fatigue sooner, recover more slowly, or even temporarily put your body in “stress mode,” which affects the immune system. Studies repeatedly show that losing 1 to 1.5 percent of body weight through fluid lost can hinder performance, and it’s easy for most of us to lose that in warm conditions in less than an hour. Hydration needs vary from person to person, but a good rule of thumb is to drink about two ounces (a couple of mouthfuls) every 10 minutes during warm-weather runs. –John Seifert, Ph.D.

Use the same guidelines at the gym. If you are sweating a lot, you should be replacing fluids. Sports drink vs. water? If your workouts are of moderate intensity or less and under 2 hours long, water should be just fine.

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