Water Talks — Rehydration During Endurance Exercise: Challenges, Research, Options, Methods

Join us for a discussion about the importance of balanced rehydration in endurance athletes. The dangers of not drinking enough water is dehydration, but what about the dangers of drinking too much water? For endurance athletes, it is important to find that sweet spot between staying hydrated, while not becoming over-hydrated.

Why does this matter? During extreme events:

• An athlete can lose about 11–12% of body weight in an Ironman triathlon in a cool environment.
• In a hot desert, someone hiking or walking all day can lose 14–18%.
• On the other hand, drinking too much during an ultraendurance triathlon can actually make someone gain more than 10% of body weight.

Lawrence E. Armstrong holds the rank of professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, where he served for 28 years in the Human Performance Laboratory and held joint appointments in the departments of nutritional sciences and physiology and neurobiology. His research interests include the effects of dehydration on cognitive and exercise performance, water-electrolyte balance during exercise in hot environments, and the sensation of thirst. As a result, he has authored and co-authored over 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He formerly served as a physiologist at the Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts, and served on committees of the National Academy of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Prof. Armstrong now works as an independent consultant in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has been a member of the American College of Sports Medicine since 1980 and served as its international president from 2015 to 2016.