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Sweat Trial Instructions

penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
in General Training Discussions

Here are the instructions for conducting a sweat trial from the prior forum.  You should do sweat trials several times through the year to be sure you are consuming enough fluid and electrolytes.

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A sweat trial can help you figure out how much you should be drinking and can help you figure out a starting point for salt intake. You want to do it on a shorter workout so you don't have to also account for urine output. Here's the steps:



1) weigh yourself nude/dry before your workout

2) weigh yourself nude/dry after your workout

3) multiply the amount of weight you lost by both 16 and 24 (it takes about 16 - 24 oz, maybe more to replace every pound of fluid lost)

4) To the two numbers you got in #3, add the oz you drank (both water and sports drink). Again, you get two answers.

5) Divide the numbers you got in step 4 by the hours of your workout. This gives you an oz per hour to shoot for. Then, you can break this into 4, 15 minute or 6 10 minute drinking intervals. Some people find that marking their water bottle every 2 to 4 oz helps them track how much they are drinking and when.



For every 4 (about 32 oz) the guideline is you need to take betweek .5 and 1 gram of sodium. Some people need more, some less. This is a starting point. If you are crusty when you finish working out, you need to be on the higher end or perhaps even more.



Also, you should do sweat trials several times through out the year because we sweat differently in the spring than in the summer and fall.



It is always a good idea to weigh yourself before/after a workout to be sure you drank enough. For every pound lost, you need to drink 16 - 24 oz to rehydrate.

 

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