Many people miss the importance of pre-hydrating. "Pre-hydrate and re-hydrate so you don't dehydrate."
I know Gatorade takes its lumps, and I'm one who gives them. Be careful hydrating/rehydrating with Gatorade. While it does contain the needed electrolytes, it also contains lots of sugar. This is fine for a world class athlete who is burning thousands and thousands of calories per day, but not so much for kids playing baseball and softball.
At risk of this sounding like a shill ... I cannot consume artificial sweeteners, so even the 'Zero' versions of things are bad news for me. I recently found two things that I can drink, enjoy drinking, and see benefits from:
Whichever it is, I only mix in one for every several bottles of water. During a 4-day varsity baseball tournament (14 games, avg. 2 hours each) in New Orleans' recent record breaking temperatures, I was drinking a half-gallon of water when on the bases, and 3/4 + of a gallon behind the plate. Between games I would alternate between a Body Armor Lyte and a Liquid IV.
- Body Armor Lyte ... the regular is 90 calories in a 16 oz. bottle while the Lytes are only 20 calories. The key for me ... these drinks are coconut water based, not sugar based. Coconut water provides the electrolytes and flavor needed to make these a go-to.
- Liquid IVs ... expensive but worth it. They claim it has 3 times the electrolytes of sport drinks and helps your body absorb the water faster. I don't know if that's true, but drinking these in moderation does help me on long hot days.
It was hot, I was miserable, but I never got dehydrated (or over hydrated, for that matter).
Warning!If on turf you can add 20+ degrees to the air temperature. It’s been so hot that it melted the bottoms on turf shoes
If on turf you can add 20+ degrees to the air temperature. It’s been so hot that it melted the bottoms on turf shoes
Like @The Man In Blue says, limit the Gatorade products. They are formulated for the athletes that go hard in bursts rather than all day exposure. I just sold a pallet of Sqwincher freezer pops to an industrial customer (free freezer too) this morning. This particular brand formulates it's ingredients for the industrial athlete to contain more potassium and less salt than other off the shelf products.
During training they emphasize the electrolytes need water molecules to transport the vitamins and minerals through the body otherwise it does not work properly. Water, Water, Water then 1 electrolyte product. And of course Proper Nutrition is key!!!!
Really, the adults that fund this should not be worried about proper hydration techniques but "Why are we even playing ?"
If it is to hot for games to be fun then it should not be played.
DD normally drinks a fair amount of water everyday. But, 3-4 days before a tournament I make her start ramping up her water intake. The day of is not the time to pound a bunch of waters before a game thinking you'll be hydrated properly.
Liquid IV is absolutely worth it. We found out about it from DD's hitting coach. It has helped DD get through some 95-98+ tournaments. We also deal with a good amount of humidity. She drinks one before a game. Then just water during the games. Depending on schedule may drink another between games or after a couple in a row. They help.
Great points. As far as hydration products go, they are all usually some combination of sodium, potassium and magnesium with some sort of sweetener and flavor to make them palatable. There are endless options but we primarily use Emergen C packets. They are cheap, portable and easy to stash so we always have them around.Many people miss the importance of pre-hydrating. "Pre-hydrate and re-hydrate so you don't dehydrate."
I know Gatorade takes its lumps, and I'm one who gives them. Be careful hydrating/rehydrating with Gatorade. While it does contain the needed electrolytes, it also contains lots of sugar. This is fine for a world class athlete who is burning thousands and thousands of calories per day, but not so much for kids playing baseball and softball.
At risk of this sounding like a shill ... I cannot consume artificial sweeteners, so even the 'Zero' versions of things are bad news for me. I recently found two things that I can drink, enjoy drinking, and see benefits from:
Whichever it is, I only mix in one for every several bottles of water. During a 4-day varsity baseball tournament (14 games, avg. 2 hours each) in New Orleans' recent record breaking temperatures, I was drinking a half-gallon of water when on the bases, and 3/4 + of a gallon behind the plate. Between games I would alternate between a Body Armor Lyte and a Liquid IV.
- Body Armor Lyte ... the regular is 90 calories in a 16 oz. bottle while the Lytes are only 20 calories. The key for me ... these drinks are coconut water based, not sugar based. Coconut water provides the electrolytes and flavor needed to make these a go-to.
- Liquid IVs ... expensive but worth it. They claim it has 3 times the electrolytes of sport drinks and helps your body absorb the water faster. I don't know if that's true, but drinking these in moderation does help me on long hot days.
It was hot, I was miserable, but I never got dehydrated (or over hydrated, for that matter).