Most athletes drink less fluids during exercise than they lose as sweat, that is, they become dehydrated. Severe dehydration can be life threatening, and even a small degree of dehydration can lead to diminished performance in sports.

Tips Help Improve Fluid Intake During Training

• Determine your typical "fluid shortfall" during exercise by measuring your body weight before and after practices and competition with your normal fluid intake. (Measure your fluid intake too.) For each pound of weight you lose during the exercise period, your fluid shortfall is about 16 oz. For example, if you lose three pounds during a two-hour training session, you have sweated away 3 lb. x 16 = 48 oz. more of fluid than you have consumed.

• Your body can adapt to increased fluid intake, so during future training sessions, gradually increase your fluid intake - even when you don't feel thirsty - until you can replace at least 80% of your sweat losses during the exercise. In the example above, this means that you would need to increase your drinking during exercise by 0.80 x 48 oz. = 38.4 oz. (If you can replace your entire fluid shortfall, that's even better, but don't drink so much fluid that you gain weight during a training session.)

• Use an alarm wristwatch or some other method to remind you when it's time to take a drink.

• Ask athletic trainers, teammates, or friends to have drinks available at appropriate places and times during training and competition.

• Experiment with different beverage containers to determine which one makes it easiest for you to drink while training. Some athletes may do better with a squeeze bottle, while others with a wide-mouth bottle.

• Drink smaller volumes more frequently (every 15-20 minutes) to minimize stomach discomfort.

• Choose a beverage that tastes good and contains carbohydrate plus a small amount of sodium chloride. The carbohydrate can help improve performance, and the sodium is important to minimize dehydration and maintain body sodium balance.