Descriptive Analysis of the Water Balance in Swimmers of the Club Orcas Tuluá
2018
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.
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