For athletes, especially long-distance runners and triathletes, hydration is a fundamental part of their performance. When we run a marathon or face the challenge of finishing an Ironman (3.8 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers by bicycle and 42.1 kilometers running) we must be absolutely clear about our nutrition and hydration strategy before, during and after the test. This will be a determining factor to achieve a good result or, where appropriate, to cause failure in the competition and throw away months of training.
But how much water should I drink? The question is not easy to answer. It is common to end up dehydrated for fear of drinking too much water and feeling full, or having to stop to go to the bathroom.
Gatorade dominates the sports drink market, followed by Powerade. And it is precisely the leader of this category who, through technology, seeks that we can hydrate ourselves better, launching a disposable patch that athletes must place on their arm during a training session, which will collect our sweat and through an application, it will give us an estimate of the amount of water and sodium that we sweat to replace them sufficiently.
The patch is relatively small and adheres to the athlete’s skin. On the surface it has a kind of ducts that, while doing physical activity, fill up with sweat painted orange. At the end of the exercise, by means of a cell phone application, a patch scan is performed, thus transferring to your cell phone the amount of fluid lost during the effort and the milligrams of sodium to be replaced. The tool is practical and easy to use. The information it provides allows you to accurately define your hydration strategy for the next competition.
There are deeper and more sophisticated studies to obtain similar information. Gatorade’s success has been to venture into the development of products and technology that allow us to be better hydrated. In addition to rehydrating liquid in different colors and volumes, it is common to find in its catalog reusable containers with different designs, capsules with syrup to dilute in water, powdered product, towels to dry the sweat, edible flavored gummies with electrolytes and today, patches to know the amount of sweat we lose and its sodium content.
In the planning process for your next event, in addition to the details of your training, prioritize a good hydration strategy outlined with the products and technology that the market offers; in this way, with the sweat on your forehead, you will obtain better results.