Hydration for women and sports performance

Last October, whilst cycling in Mallorca with my boyfriend in nearly 30-degree temperatures I found myself in a painful situation. Despite being well-prepared and having trained throughout the year, ensuring I was fit enough for the trip, I experienced severe cramps about 5km from home, due to dehydration. We had been out all day with no problems and I was consuming water with added electrolytes consistently throughout ride.

It was confusing as I was drinking more water than my boyfriend, yet he seemed unaffected by the heat while I struggled. This led me to delve into a deep dive of research on hydration and its crucial role in performance but more specifically hydration for women. The results of this have helped my performance hugely and I am excited to share them with you.

Let's start at the beginning.

Proper hydration is something you should always be aware of in your day to day life but even more so when exercise is included. Water helps to regulate body temperature, prevents dehydration and is essential for keeping muscles and joints lubricated during long rides and training sessions. Understanding the signs of dehydration, the numerous advantages of staying hydrated and how to properly maintain your hydration levels are essential to be able to perform at your best.

Importance of hydration for performance

Did you know poor hydration can halve your performance? Dehydration triggers various effects that significantly impact your performance, such as reduced blood volume, decreased skin blood flow, lower sweat rate, increased core temperature and increased muscle glycogen consumption.

Water in your body helps regulate your temperature during exercise. When functioning correctly this process is remarkably efficient; blood transports fuel and nutrients to your muscles, eliminating waste and heat produced during activity. It then carries heat to the skin for cooling through evaporation (sweating).

It's crucial to keep your body adequately hydrated for your cooling system to work efficiently. When you don't hydrate properly, your body lacks the fluid it needs to maintain high blood volume for effective sweating and cooling. Low water levels in the blood increase its thickness, making your heart work harder which can raise your heart rate and reduce muscle strength and endurance. As a result, your body temperature rises, leading to fatigue and decreased performance.

Dehydration doesn't just stop at the body; it also impacts your mental performance which is just as important as your physical performance. The brain is made up of 80% water and if we become dehydrated it can lead to slower reactions, increased fatigue and poor concentration, all of which will have a negative impact on your performance.

The difference between women and men

So now we know a bit more about hydration in relation to performance. But why did I struggle to stay hydrated dinking more than my boyfriend? If you are a female and find yourself struggling with hydration this next bit's for you.

The male human body consists of 60% water, whilst women's is closer to 50%, this is because we naturally have a higher percentage of body fat (cue boobs, bum, hips) which doesn't hold as much fluid as our skeletal muscle, which males have a higher percentage of. Therefore women are unable to store as much water. (If I compare the size of my quad muscle to my boyfriends, at 6.1ft his is almost double the size of mine).

Women are also more prone to cardiovascular and heat-induced stress, resulting in higher heart rates and core body temperatures. We have less total body water, blood volume and ultimately less fluid available to lose during sweating. Plus we also sweat less, causing our core temperature to increase twice as fast during exercise.

Our hormones also play a significant role. You might have noticed feeling warmer at certain times of the month. This occurs because during the high hormone phase (luteal phase), our core body temperature increases by around 0.3 to 0.5 degrees. Additionally, the effectiveness of our thirst mechanism decreases, making it easy to overlook dehydration even when your body needs water. This effect can be more pronounced during peri-menopause when hormone levels fluctuate. Dehydration symptoms can be subtle, including dry mouth, thirst, headache, fatigue, dry skin, muscle weakness, dark urine and dizziness.

So how much should I drink?

These findings made a lot of sense to me and explained why I had struggled with the heat more than my boyfriend. But it also begs the question how do I hydrate properly to avoid this in future.

When it comes to how much water you should drink, it varies based on individual body shapes and sizes. Generally, it is recommended to consume 1.5 – 2 liters of water daily to maintain hydration levels, before exercise. But it's really important to be aware of your hydration levels, starting by drinking when thirsty and using common sense.

When it comes to hydrating during exercise you must be cautious not to overdo it to avoid hyponatremia (a condition caused by excessive fluid intake leading to dangerously low sodium levels, which women are more prone to) or make sure you are adding electrolytes to your water. In temperatures around 20 degrees, aim for about half a litre of water per hour, and slightly more in temperatures above 25 degrees. I also really recommend adding extra sodium to you water, especially if you're a woman. For my cycling and running I’ve started using Styrkr SLT07 Hydration Tablets which has made a big difference to my performance. With 500mg sodium these are perfect for keeping my electrolyte levels up in this spring climate. The other addition I have made is to add creatine monohydrate to my diet. Creatine increases total body water by increasing the amount of water that can be stored in the muscles. So helps to reduce the risk of dehydration in endurance sports.

And there you have it. By staying well-hydrated you can enhance your focus, increase your endurance and fully enjoy your workouts or competitions. So grab your water bottle, have a sip and let's keep working towards our best performance.

My personal journey to uncover the reason behind my cycling cramps turned into a valuable lesson on the importance of proper hydration which I believe can benefit you as well. If you'd like to enhance your sports performance with a holistic approach that combines workouts and wellness then check out EmpowHer.6, our online programme for women who want to say yes to life!