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IS HYDRATION AN INDICATOR FOR PERFORMANCE?

david waredavid ware
in General Training Discussions

http://www.tanita.com/en/hydration-data/  AS someone who monitors my water percentage from my scale and regularly is in the 54-56% range this raises some concerns.   Any thoughts from the WSM on this, on how to raiose the body water %, etc?

Comments

  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    I didn't read through this in detail yet, but here are some initial thoughts: If you are on the course longer, you are going to be more dehydrated. That is the nature of the beast of Ironman. A vast majority of people, OK almost everyone, can't replace all the water they sweat out during training and racing. Proper hyrdation does play a role in performance. However, I don't necessarily think you can say that hydration is the only thing that causes a longer finish time.

    I'd say that you need to stay hydrated on a daily basis, do sweat trials to understand your body's unique hydration needs, and practice hydrating during training so you can execute it come race day.
  • bpick.renobpick.reno
    Pip Taylor did an interesting column on that study in Triathlete a month or so ago. From what I recall, the bottom line was that she would have rather seen before and after numbers, which makes sense. @David I've got the same concern w/ my hydration. I've got a scale that I watch it with, but regardless of how much water etc. that I drink I can't get it above 60%. No idea how some people in that study hit 70%...
  • Mark RobertsMark Roberts
    Hydration level as a percentage of body mass is tied closely to total muscle mass. Muscle tissue "holds" much more water than other body tissues which is why elite athletes measure higher on a bioelectric impedance scale. Superfit and ripped athletes see numbers of 70% due to their body composition. It is impossible to drink your way to that number if you don't have the muscle tissue to hold the water (excees water will eventually be lost through urination). The value of the Tanita scale and frequent measurement lies in the fact that as body composition improves over time (body fat drops, muscle mass increase) the highest hydration levels you can achieve at least on the scale will go up. The other benefit is that through frequent use an individuals "normal range" will be established, and then it is then a good predictor of your particular hydration level at any given point.

    That article is a bit misleading though as it implies that superior hydration leads to faster finishing times when it is more likely that the body composition of those at the pointy end of the field that allow them to measure higher.
  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg

    In addition, glycogen (spelling?) is stored together with water in the body. So, when your fuel supplies are low, your hydration status will be lower as well.

  • Matt SamojedenMatt Samojeden
    This research was done at IMLOU. At time of registration they had you get on a Tanita scale. I went and found my results for the prior 2 years ( they did not do it this year). I showed 62.5% and 62.9% water weight. This is inline with my Tanita scale at home.

    My scale shows last year I was in the 61-63% range, this year I am in the 63-65% range. These numbers tie to the analysis of a high end InBody scan machine that shows as I increased muscle mass and leaned down this year my % water went from 61 to 64%.

    @ Mark hit the key point that the high water levels are correlated to body composition and having higher levels of muscle content whose cells store a ton of water. I agree that the study showed that lean ultra strong athletes have faster IM times and oh by the way, this body comp has a high % water content.

    Here is a 2 part article on muscle growth and water content in the cells. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/vm15.htm

    David keep hitting Fitness Edge and the numbers will keep moving up.

    Matt
  • bpick.renobpick.reno
    Ahhh, great info guys. Hope I hit the body comp that gets me to 70% on race day!!!
  • Matt SamojedenMatt Samojeden

    I was thinking about this a little more and I wonder if body type has and impact on this % water measure. Say you take two 5’10” athletes and they are both at the same measure of body fat. One is small bone body type the other is large boned type structure. Does the larger bone structure end up changing the mix of bone to muscle to fat to water ratios? Don’t know.



    From what I have seen, the typical pointy end of the spear triathlete is relatively small framed so if the above is a factor this may help them get to the 70% numbers

     

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