Absorbability is the most important difference for athletes between isotonic, hypertonic and hopotonic. These drinks also differ in the amount of calories and minerals. Maintaining water balance before, after, and during training affects your athletic performance, so it's important to see which sports drinks work best.

There are three types of drinkssports drinks-isotonic drinks ,hypertonic drinksand hypotonic drinks , which differ among other things in osmolality and the content of mineral s alts. Osmolality affects the degree of blood concentration and determines how quickly the drink is absorbed. If the body loses water, the osmotic pressure rises in the body, which should be equalized by a suitable drink.

Drinks for sportsmen - what is the body's needs?

The amount of drink an athlete should drink is individual and depends on many factors. This is influenced by:

  • type of sports discipline,
  • athlete's weight,
  • biochemistry and physiology,
  • value of weight loss during training,
  • training intensity.

Accurate calculations of water requirements should be left to professionals who, taking all these factors into account, are able to develop an accurate irrigation plan. After all, it can be very generally stated that the minimum required amount of fluids during training is 0.5 liters for every hour of physical activity. More fluids may make training more difficult.

You need to drink in small sips, thanks to which the body will absorb fluids better and will not hinder the training.

If there is a run or a race ahead, watering should be started two hours before the start. Drinking 0.5 liters of fluids will allow you to run the first kilometers in good condition. After that, you should drink regularly on the route and do not forget to hydrate your body also after the run.

Liquids in the diet of athletes play a particularly important role, so they should be drinks specifically intended for athletes, which stimulate thirst, are quickly absorbed, effectively hydrate and provide energy to the muscles.

Sports drinks - hypotonic

Hypotonic drinks are, for example, ordinarywater or very diluted fruit and vegetable juices. They contain 5 to 7% carbohydrates and are less valuable in terms of minerals and other components than the body fluids of an athlete.

Hypotonic drinks are quickly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, but at the same time they quickly dilute plasma and lower osmotic blood pressure. On the one hand, the advantage of these drinks is the immediate quenching of thirst, on the other hand - these fluids hinder effective hydration. They also do not contain the right amount of sodium to supplement its deficiencies in the body.

Hypotonic drinks are not recommended for drinking during and after prolonged exercise. The caloric value of these drinks is negligible, so these fluids will not compensate for the energy deficiencies caused by exhausting training. However, they are very good at hydrating the body in hot weather.

Sports drinks - hypertonics

Hypertonics are, for example, 100% undiluted fruit and vegetable juices, sweetened drinks and conditioners. The osmolality of hypertonic drinks is greater than that of body fluids. They contain over 10% of carbohydrates and quite effectively replenish the electrolyte deficiencies in the body during sports, although they are discouraged in the case of very intense exercise, because then they may result in disturbances in metabolism. Drinking hypertonic drinks carries the risk of deepening the lack of water in the cells, because these fluids increase secretion and slow down the process of water absorption in the intestines. After all, these fluids are good for supplementing energy deficiencies in the body. Their disadvantage, however, is the poor hydration of the body.

Sports drinks - isotonic drinks

The greatest advantage of isotonic drinks is that they achieve an osmolality almost the same as the osmotic pressure in body fluids. Their carbohydrate content reaches the level of 6-10%. These drinks also contain a large amount of minerals that complement the deficiencies in the body, e.g. sodium, potassium, electrolytes and vitamins.

Isotonic drinks best satisfy thirst during very intense training and at the same time provide the body with the missing energy.

An interesting fact is that at low temperatures, an isotonic drink can thicken, so it is best to drink these drinks at a temperature of 15 to 21 degrees Celsius.

Important

Isotonic and energy drinks - they are not the same!

It's a big mistake to compare energy drinks with isotonic drinks. These are completely different types of liquids, although unfortunately they are often confused with each other.

Ifthe task of sports drinks is :

  • hydration of the athlete's body,
  • electrolyte replenishment,
  • providing calories.
  • quenching thirst,

o so muchEnergy drinks are primarily to stimulate the body to work . They contain solid doses of caffeine or taurine to stave off fatigue and sleepiness. However, these are not sports drinks, because their nutritional value is negligible. Energy drinks are almost always high in sugar and are highly carbonated, making them difficult to consider he althy.

Important! Therefore, drinking an energy drink during sports training is a very bad idea.

Water balance in physically active people is of particular importance - when practicing sports, it speeds up metabolism, which causes water loss much faster than normal. The athlete loses the most water with sweat. Sweat is not only water, but most of all electrolytes, so the loss of these values ​​may disturb the body's electrolyte balance. It is related to, among others. increase in osmotic pressure, which puts the athlete at risk of dehydration.

The effects of dehydration for an athlete are very severe and affect not only sports results, but most of all - he alth. Insufficient hydration of the body before exercise causes an increase in body temperature, acceleration of the heart rate, reduced oxygen supply to the muscles, consumption of glycogen and weakening of mental and cognitive functions. And reducing the amount of blood in the body reduces its performance. The athlete's body is unable to work at the current level and begins to tire. Metabolic processes are disrupted, there is a risk of exhaustion and heat stroke, which can even result in death.

The first symptoms of dehydration such as weakness, headache, drowsiness, speech and orientation problems should be an immediate signal to stop exercising and replace fluids.

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ABC of exercises