Contents:
- Medical Video: Do sports drinks and energy bars make you a better athlete? (CBC Marketplace)
- Is water enough?
- Why do you need sports drinks?
- What sports drinks are recommended?
Medical Video: Do sports drinks and energy bars make you a better athlete? (CBC Marketplace)
When exercising, it is important for everyone to keep their fluid needs met. On the other hand, we often see sportsmen who drink sports drinks, not just water. Sports drinks are drinks that contain electrolytes / salt and sugar in a certain amount. This drink is considered to increase performance during exercise. However, do sports drinks need to be taken? Or is enough water? How do you consider football?
Is water enough?
Energy shortages can be a problem when competing, especially for players whose position requires them to run more than others. This can be tricked by consuming lots of carbohydrates before competing and by consuming calorie drinks while competing.
The consumption of fluids and energy during the game can prevent players from experiencing fatigue towards the end of the match, which is the moment that determines a team's win or lose. In addition, players who experience fatigue are also more at risk for injury.
Therefore, a player needs more than white water to achieve optimal performance. White water can keep someone well hydrated or in other words, can meet their fluid needs. But unfortunately, water does not contain carbohydrates needed to avoid fatigue conditions (fatigue) which can reduce the performance of a player.
Why do you need sports drinks?
Meeting the needs of carbohydrates during a match is more difficult than meeting fluid needs. Players do not have time to eat while competing. However, carbohydrate needs can be met through drinks containing carbohydrates. Quoted from the book Nutrition for Football- a nutrition guide book made by FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Center (F-MARC) -, the fluid and energy requirements during the competition can be fulfilled by consuming commercial sports drinks containing carbohydrates as much as 4-8% (4-8 gr / 100 ml). Consumption of carbohydrates as much as 20-60 grams per hour is considered beneficial for performance during competition.
In addition, sodium consumption is also needed when exercising for 1-2 hours. Sodium is needed especially by those who are more vulnerable to losing salt through sweat or also called "salty sweaters" People who belong to this group will have a circle of salt on their clothes at the end of a heavy exercise session on a hot day.
Players who are vulnerable to losing a lot of salt are at risk of experiencing muscle cramps. Drinking commercial sports drinks containing sodium helps in replacing lost sodium.
What sports drinks are recommended?
Quoted from a scientific journal Sportscience, sports drinks or sports drink recommended is a drink containing salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) of 20 mM and sugar (carbohydrate) of 6% (6 grams per 100 mL). However, this recommendation is only recommended for consumption in competitions that require endurance (endurance), not during training sessions.
The composition of sports drinks that are right for the training session requires further adjustments based on the type of training session and various other factors.
