Let’s talk about how to stay hydrated… There are a number of things you need to do. Most athletes get dehydrated in the hot Summer season, but you can get dehydrated in the Winter too. It’s important for athletes to know when, what and how much to drink. Water of course is most important, but there are a few other things you can add and subtract. Besides not drinking enough fluids, being in the sun the wrong shirts are the three main things that drain you.
When to hydrate before games
For games & high temp training you want to stay 36 hours ahead… Starting your hydration process a few hours before is too late.
Example: If your game is Saturday morning you should start drinking a few extra cups of water on Thursday evening.
If you have a tournament or the temperature is 90+ degrees add a little sports drink. I like this sugar free liquid iv
Start drinking a little sports drink 10-30 minutes before warm-up. Hopefully you have already been drinking enough water the day before and hours leading up to the game.
Continue drinking water before and during the game, as H2O should be what you drink most.
During and after warm up drink another 4-6 ounces of sports drink, plus water.
At halftime drink 4-12 ounces and then save 4-8 ounces for after the game, especially if you have another game that day or the next.
Get the best water jug OR get this less expensive one
AM vs PM practice… Even though mornings or cooler, some players struggle more because they don’t hydrate the day before. Then waking up and doing a 9am session will leave you low on fluids.
What you should be drinking
Water is the number one thing to drink.
There are other fluids you can add IF the weather is hot or you have multiple games or hours of training.
5 things to add besides water when hot or training many hours.
- Liquid IV [I liked this one] and also this sugar free
- Powerade zero
- Pedialyte [you don’t need to drink a lot of it] and it works good. There are different flavors.
- Gatorade zero
- Coconut water
Best clothing to wear during Summer
Dri-Fit is by far one of the greatest inventions ever made!
Wearing bright colors is helpful vs dark, but regardless the color dri-fit is KEY…
I’d rather wear black dri-fit vs white cotton any day!
In the Summer I never wear cotton shirts… Beside being in the shade & correct fluid intake – dri-fit is the most important thing to stay hydrated.
Favorite shirts:
- Boys like these white Nike shirts or these grey under armor
- Girls like these black Nike legends or pink Puma
- My personal choice is either Global Futbol Training custom dri-fit’s or these long sleeve by Columbia which protects the arms.
Bonus:
- Cooling towels for your neck
- Best Neck Gator
- Sleeves for your arms feel great and help keep your body temp lower
Fluids that dehydrate you
Coffee, tea and sodas/fountain drinks are 3 things you should avoid during tournaments, tryouts or games.
However, drinking tea and coffee in moderate amounts won’t do any harm.
The reason these drinks can dehydrate you is the stimulant caffeine and sugar.
Healthline states that caffeine [read story] becomes dehydrating only in doses around 250-300 mg, equivalent to 16-24 ounces of coffee.
If you have to have these, just don’t intake more than 1 cup and make sure you drink an extra water.
How much fluids should you be drinking to stay hydrated
Back in the day doctors said the average person should drink 8 cups of water per day… 1 cup = 8 ounces.
Nowadays some say a male should drink 15 cups and a female 11 cups. This isn’t even talking about athletes…
Best water jug OR the girls love this Stanley
Soccer players run more than most sports, so you have to stay safe by drinking enough water.
Therefore, get what the average person needs to drink and then add at least 2 cups if you’re out in the sun sweating.
Gage how you feel and try drinking more some days to see if you feel the difference.
Make sure you’re adding salt/sodium when drinking extra water. You’ll learn more about this in the bottom 2 subtitles.
How much you drink depends on several things:
- Temperature and even more important if you’re in the direct sun
- How active you are
- Humidity or altitude
- Age
- Size / weight
After training the average pro soccer player in a hot climate loses 2-3 lbs of water weight.
I had a teammate lose 7 lbs in 1 practice when we were in Charleston, SC [super hot and humid area]!
During the Summer we had to weigh ourselves before and after every session. It wasn’t common to lose more than 3 lbs.
After trainings or games [within 2 hours] you should drink the same amount that you lost in water weight.
Signs you are not hydrated enough
- Dry mouth
- The color of your urine is one of the easiest ways to know if you need to drink more water. Dark yellow means you are not hydrated and then there is light yellow all the way to clear which is best.
- Light headed
- Headaches
- Increased thirst… If you’re thirsty after 10 minutes of training or any activity means you’re probably not drinking enough water.
- Dry skin
Foods that help you stay hydrated
Not only are these 10 foods full of vitamins to keep you healthy they also help with hydration.
- Romaine lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Watermelon
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Pineapple
- Apples
- Oranges
- Celery
Why adding salt to your diet helps
Below in the next subtitle, you’ll read how adding salt to my food might have prevented leg cramps…
When drinking lots of water it’s important to add salt [sodium] to your diet. It’s not like you have to add so much that your food taste bad, but just spend an extra 2-3 seconds with the salt shaker over your meals.
Learn when and what to eat before and after games.
Drinking too much water can flush out the sodium, causing you to cramp or get dehydrated.
Is drinking too much water possible?
Yes, you can drink too much water…
Quick story: When I was playing pro with Toronto we flew across North America to play my old team, the Vancouver Whitecaps. While in the airports and on the airplane I drank 1 gallon of water. On gameday I cramped in my quads, which had never happened.
Long story short – The sodium was flushed out of my body.
If I had added salt to my food and had sports drink maybe it would be a different turnout.
So, don’t try doing things you’ve never done before, especially on game day.
It’s important to track how you feel when trying different foods or drinks, but try to not go overboard.
High heat training options
Again, stay in the shade if possible…
Stay away from high intense drills that require lots of running.
Instead do this ⇓
5 Stationary drills:
- Volleys groups of 2-3
- 1 & 2 touch passing with a partner
- 1st touch out of the air [1 person tosses while the other receives]
- Shooting [dead ball situations]
- Footskills – My GFT courses/app
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