Keeping hydrated is important in Squash, especially after an intense rally, whether you are a novice or professional Squash player; so if you wondering how much hydration you need to perform, well let us elaborate for you.
If you playing in a major Squash tournament or just having a recreational game of Squash, when it comes to Hydration impacts considerably on sporting performance. variant folks skip the topic expression they ‘don’t drink water or they ‘don’t have to be compelled to drink’ and plenty of players can undergo matches while not having something over a sip of water from a drinking fountain.
Whether or not or not you realise it, keeping hydrated has an enormous impact on your Squash game performance, particularly within the latter stages.
Henceforth, once you begin hydrating yourself properly, you will be astonished at the impact has on both your physical and mental performance in-game, without stating the obvious you notice your gameplay start to improve.
According to fitness experts, who specialise in Squash fitness, feeling thirsty may be a sign of the onset of dehydration – albeit not at a significant level that is able to have an effect on your health; however at a tier vital enough to affect your performance.
Even though Squash has yet to become an outdoor sport (soon it will be), according to the Eatwell Guide suggests 6-8 glasses of fluid per day, even if the weather is hot or you are exercising you may need to drink more fluid. Putting into context young Squash players, their water intake will be far less than that of senior Squash players.
So if you are feeling thirsty, your concentration and physical performance can already be suffering – hence to remedy this you need to follow a simple plan of keeping hydration.
Start hydration before your game or match
Just before playing Squash, it is necessary to begin ensuring you are well hydrous earlier. In the context of a professional Squash player taking part in tournaments, in order to realize optimum performance, it is essential you begin hydrating at least two to three hours before that match.
Drinking throughout a game of Squash must be n gradual doses and you ought to look to consume around 400-500ml of water. This looks like plenty however is not all that a lot of once displayed across three hours, notably if you are close to beginning an associate degree intense match.
Note, you will not be in trouble for rushing to the toilet – it’s life and could make a difference in how you perform on the court.
As well as getting into a habit of drinking sufficiently, it is conjointly necessary to require steps pre-match towards aiding your concentration and getting into the zone.
Try having a 500ml bottle with you before you play a match that you will be able to swig from, before a game.
Hydration whilst in gameplay
You only would like to look down at your shirt to envision what quantity of water you have lost throughout a match, hence you will need to replenish.
Ideally, you will be ready to drink smaller amounts bit by bit once every game, instead of necking a bottle between a number of games is okay if you feel thirsty.
It is calculable that both a men’s and women’s Squash player has compelled to drink simply back of 500ml per half-hour of intense gameplay. If your match is lasting nearer to associate degree hour, then you will like over 900ml of water to take care of peak performance, which you do not would like telling may be a lot!
Here’s a suggestion, come your next shopping trip purchase a 1litre sports bottle quickly and keep it handy throughout matches, especially if you need to hydrate.
This quantity can vary in fact on however long and intense the rallies square measure and conjointly can modification if you are smaller than the typical male or feminine. You will have to be compelled to drink considerably a lot if you are larger or if you are enjoying intense matches.
These square measure all rather generic figures, as some folks can sweat over alternatives or would like a lot of water no matter body size and it conjointly varies betting on many other factors, therefore use what works for you.
Understanding the difference between sports drinks and Electrolytes
With so many sports drinks on the market, as a Squash player, it is important to know the key to your performance on the court.
Sports drinks square measure necessary for exchange the electrolytes that your muscles can have to be compelled to operate however most of them contain such a lot of sugar that they will bring down very important bodily energies removed from the muscles.
The most popular sports drink amongst athletes is Lucozade Sport, closely followed by Monster.
Personally, Lucozade Sport is a popular option given its marketability and more.
So when it comes to Electrolytes, as a Squash player you need to be ready to make full the stores of those electrolytes frequently throughout a match so as to stay your muscles getting efficient, which needs a sports drink of some kind.
So how does it compare to Lucozade? Good question, well with Lucozade isn’t higher than water, as their shibboleth suggests however it will have some necessary properties that water lacks, though it’s not smart on its own and not nice in pure kind.
Without sounding too scenically, drinking water will not be enough to rehydrate properly throughout once intense games of Squash; as the more you play your body will sweat off different minerals, hence you need to replace them.
You wish spare amounts of those electrolytes in order that the Sodium-Potassium pumps within the cell membranes of your muscles will build your muscles contract effectively. These pumps accept keeping a better concentration of Potassium outside the cell and metallic elements within the cells to create muscle contract.
If you find yourself playing many intense rallies, Potassium will move out of the cells therefore chop-chop that there is not a high enough concentration within the cell to take care of balance, and your muscles bit by bit contract with less and less power till you’re spent.
Know this, it is important to replace your fluids properly with a mix of diluted sports drink and water, you will not solely notice that your performance suffers however conjointly that you will get muscle cramps and pains plenty a lot of promptly.
In doing so, you will stave off these aches and pains with some analysis suggesting that carboxylic acid might not really be the reason behind the muscle ache, however, an excessive amount of K builds up outside of the cell membranes of muscle cells.
Post-game hydrating
There is a reason plenty of individuals drink milk-based mostly drinks once exercise which is to assist build muscle fibres also as give carbohydrates, metallic elements and atomic number 20, that square measure all necessary to ill physically from exercise.
However, drinking a large pint of milk or a healthy drink may be a smart plan to help aid your recovery post game, notably, if you’re at a tournament or enjoying once more in a very short house of time e.g. inside 24-48 hours.
Just remember, you can drink lots of water too.
The one thing most Squash players don’t realise is there are certain foods that contain high water content, which help you restore your hydration levels post a Squash match.
Final Thoughts
Not only is exercise important in playing Squash, but keeping hydrated is essential too; as well as nutrition.
Let us not forget Squash is the healthiest sport on the planet, hence keeping hydrated is going to be important as you play and post-game.
If you are in doubt about your optimum levels of hydration, speak with your Squash coach for advice or a fitness professional that can provide the necessary resources to help with your performance on the court when it comes to hydration.
