Question: What is the best way to stay hydrated during training camp and two-a-days? Is there a certain hydration “procedure” during hot weather workouts, which may or may not be limited to a certain form of drink mix.. ( ie, fruit, vitamin supplements, change of food intake, etc.. )
Despite the best efforts of football staffs, we seem to hear of disasters in this area every year……I want to just try and give my son every advantage that I can…
Answer: The best thing I’ve found, that I I’ve used with great success over the last few years, is coconut water. It’s the perfect sports drink. Like nature’s Gatorade, only way better for you and more effective. I recommend it to all my athletes and they have never had a problem with dehydration since we started using it. A few years ago it was impossible to find but these days a lot of health food stores and organic markets carry it. If not, you can order cases of it online. Zico and One are the two brands I use most. Along with the gallon of water you should be drinking daily during two-a-days, you should chug a carton or two of coconut water during practices.
On top of that I would make sure your diet contains an adequate amount of sodium. So be sure to add some sea salt to your meals. My other favorite “secret performance enhancing food” is pickles. Some times when athletes are feeling fatigued during intense training in the hot weather I simply instruct them to start eating a few pickles per day. They look at me like I’m nuts, but it always works.
Give those two tips a try and I think you’ll notice a nice boost in performance while pretty much eliminating your risk of dehydration.
Jason
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