Hydration Recommendations for Endurance Exercise

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) offers tips to help ensure proper hydration during endurance exercise. Staying properly hydrated before, during, and after exercise is imperative to optimize athletic performance and safety.

Here are some general guidelines recommended by the ACSM:11

• Before exercise: Make an effort to start hydrating several hours prior to your planned activity. Aim to 5 to 6 milliliters of fluid intake per kilogram of body weight.


• During exercise: If you're exercising for more than 60 minutes, or in warm weather, select a fluid replacement beverage (sports drink) that contains sodium (20 to 30 meq/L), potassium (2 to 5 meq/L), and carbohydrate (5% to 10%) for maximum hydration.


• After exercise: Consume similar sports beverages or drink water and eat foods that contain some sodium for proper rehydration. For each kilogram of body weight lost during exercise, slowly consume 1.5 liters of fluid.

Water is generally considered the best form of hydration. However, for endurance exercise, sports drinks can be more effective at getting your body to absorb fluid quickly. Unlike sports drinks, energy drinks are not considered a proper source of hydration, especially in regards to endurance activities when hydration is paramount.

The jolt of caffeine from energy drinks can have a positive effect on athletic performance and exercise, especially if it is taken about an hour before activity.12 Just make sure you read the label and stick to less than 400 mg of caffeine per day, and that includes other caffeine beverage as well. Make sure you are keeping an eye on the sugar content in the energy drinks as well. There are several new energy drinks on the market that have zero sugar or low sugar.

Kids, teens and pregnant women should steer clear of energy drinks. If the energy drinks make you feel jittery or have other side effects, stick to other caffeinated beverages such as coffee or tea.

There are caffeine-free alternatives to energy drinks to give you that boost of energy when you are exercising. For endurance athletes, consider energy chews or gels, which have a mix of carbohydrate sources to keep you fueled up and feeling energized.