Descriptive Analysis of the Water Balance in Swimmers of the Club Orcas Tuluá

Problem: Hydration is considered as one of the most important nutritional ergogenic aids. However, there are very few coaches and athletes in Colombia who really focus on fulfill this requirement. Actually, those who know or were instructed about the importance of being well hydrated, only try to accomplish the fluid intake during competitions or training sessions, disregarding the moment before and after each sports / training event. Objective: The aim of this research was to describe the water balance levels of swimmers belonging to the Club Orcas Tulua, Colombia. Methodology: Eight young swimmers (men = 6; women = 2; age = 13.8 ± 1.4 years) participated in this descriptive study. After being advised of the experiment and asked to sign an informed consent form (parent/guardian), the following variables were measured in all subjects during 7 days: pre- and post-training weight, length of training, volume of fluid intake during exercise, and self-perceived hydration was assessed using the urine color eight-point Armstrong scale at four time points. Results: Our results showed a mean pre-exercise body mass of 58.0 kg while mean post-exercise value was 56.8 kg, which lead to a 2.06% hypohydration status in the group of young swimmers. After calculation mean body water loss and sweat rate was 1.88 L·h-1 and 0.73 L·h-1, respectively. The athletes were placed at a level 4 of hydration classification, which corresponds to not sufficiently hydrated. Interestingly, hypohydration status and post-exercise body mass change were less in female athletes in comparison to male. Conclusion: Even though studied athletes consumed water or isotonic drinks during exercise, they do not hydrate properly throughout the day. Based on these results we establish some easy-to-understand and practical recommendations for coaches, family and young athletes to improve hydration status in Colombian population.