WAG hydration (water vs. sport drinks, juice, etc.)

[wallinbl]

No, I would definitely stick to water! Anyone who says you need more is flat-out lying to you. Water has all you need for hydration and juice, even if 100% juice, just has unnecessary sugar in it.

Sugar is not inherently evil, and provided your juice doesn't have extra sugar added and still has the pulp, it's fine. In fact, if you get a Ninja or one of those small smoothie blenders, you can throw whole fruit in it and "hide" a good amount of vegetables in there without the kiddos even noticing. You'd be surprised how much spinach you can "sneak" in with fruit before they notice the taste. Kale, however, is a very strong flavor, and there's no getting that past them.

 

[gasrgoose]

Gymnastics is not an aerobic sport.

Our practices are very much aerobic, particularly floor and bar conditioning, even for the lower levels. But only water during practice! ( our gym only allows water in the gym area, no food or drinks). Gatorade or powerade are good for replenishment. It's particularly effective for eliminating headaches related to extreme physical output. We prefer G2 or equivalent.

 

[profmom]

Maybe your practices run differently than my kids'. The longest aerobic stint either has is about 15 minutes. When I'm talking "aerobic," I'm thinking about the kind of conditioning my soccer player does. The gym coach recommends chocolate milk at the end of a workout rather than sports drinks.

 

[COz]

Ours are also very aerobic with a very long warm-up/conditioning section at the start. Across the floor over and over doing things like tuck jumps (only) to get there etc.
Bars and vault are aerobic too.

In this heat the girls are going through a litre or more of water in a 3-4 hour session with a single toilet break - and none of them are going to the toilet when they finish either. I know how much they're going through because I'm filling up their water bottles at break time.
They all drink water only, I wonder if some kind of Gatorade stuff would actually be beneficial in this case.

 

[gasrgoose]

Maybe your practices run differently than my kids'. The longest aerobic stint either has is about 15 minutes. When I'm talking "aerobic," I'm thinking about the kind of conditioning my soccer player does. The gym coach recommends chocolate milk at the end of a workout rather than sports drinks.

Got it. I'm probably arguing over what we consider aerobic. I guess it just comes down to personal preferences. Sport drinks are probably consumed more often than is necessary generally speaking. But they are not inherently bad or never needed. Chocolate milk is another good post workout drink that we use. We try to stay away from having the same thing after each practice and let the kid decide what they need.

 

[billise]

This just made me laugh out loud
Australia. Mid-thirties (95 degrees farenheight) outside in the shade. Metal roof in the sports center. No aircon. That's been this week for us.

They did open the roller door to the carpark, so eventually there was a bit of a breeze going through. They also turned off the (fluorescent) lights, because they think that this makes it at least feel a bit cooler

You guys are allowed to drink some Gatoraide

 

[COz]

You guys are allowed to drink some Gatoraide

I don't think it has occurred to any of us parents I'll ask around.
I do the milk thing by the way.

 

[Aussie_coach]

As CO2 said, gyms in Australia are hardly every climate controlled. Right now it's the height of summer and I am preparing to go and coach in today's predicted 97 degree heat.

The kids only drink water and they are fine.

The sports drinks companies have done a great job of convincing everyone that they are necessary.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i read an article today specifically for gymnasts that suggested sports drinks or juice during practice and slow, steady water consumption throughout the rest of the day.

my daughter (age 9 & training 3 hours X 4days/week) only drinks water- ever.

do i NEED to introduce more than water for better performance like the article suggested? what are your gymmies doing and what are your thoughts?

baloney. water during practice and chocolate milk after for recovery. remember KISS...

 

[COz]

baloney. water during practice and chocolate milk after for recovery. remember KISS...

We should feed them baloney?!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

are


yeah- i agree that claim is pretty abstract. even so, it did make curious enough to post and see others' opinions about sports drinks. like other posters have mentioned, i've only given them when there was an activity that caused a lot of persperation (so not at gymnastics).

Was there a reference for the 33% increase in the body's ability to do gymnastics? The scientist in me smelling bs.

In general, sports drinks have too much sugar proportionally to electrolytes and thus are not the ideal.

I think water is fine as well as long as she is not doing something like a marathon (and yes I know the fond phrase about gymnastics, but not what I mean) in which you would worry about sodium levels.

HA! Rockygym...if it looks like, smells like, and in this case tastes like...YOU ARE RIGHT! HAHAHAHAHA.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

I would be happy if my DD was allowed to drink anything. Her coach thinks "water breaks are a distraction and an excuse to stop working" so he doesn't allow them. Nor does he allow water bottles. Grrrrrr.... Because my child is significantly underweight and probably always dehydrated (school doesn't give her time for a water break either), I pretty much let her drink whatever she wants when she will drink!

 

[sce]

I would be happy if my DD was allowed to drink anything. Her coach thinks "water breaks are a distraction and an excuse to stop working" so he doesn't allow them. Nor does he allow water bottles. Grrrrrr.... Because my child is significantly underweight and probably always dehydrated (school doesn't give her time for a water break either), I pretty much let her drink whatever she wants when she will drink!

What?!? That is unhealthy and so controlling.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Yes, gymnasts who are in the gym for long practices need water breaks. Period. If she's working out for more than an hour at a time and not being allowed to take water breaks, I would highly encourage you to complain, and if it doesn't change, pull her out and go to another gym.

As far as electrolytes go, it really shouldn't be a big deal. But if you need more electrolytes, all you need to do is add a pinch of salt to whatever you're eating/drinking.

 

[Alie21]

My DD suffers from headaches periodically, which got worse after moving to the 4hour class. I'm pretty sure they are somewhat hydration related even though our tin shed gym recently put in air conditioning. She has water and chocolate milk (made with Haigh's chocolate sauce for any Aussies reading the post - delish!) throughout her practises and this has helped a lot. I've only seen the other girls have water during practise ....but many visit the ice cream fridge after practise! We don't unless we are celebrating

 

[COz]

My DD suffers from headaches periodically, which got worse after moving to the 4hour class.

Do you notice the difference between water and milk and just water during training?
The headaches could also be blood sugar related.

 

[Aero]

I would be happy if my DD was allowed to drink anything. Her coach thinks "water breaks are a distraction and an excuse to stop working" so he doesn't allow them. Nor does he allow water bottles. Grrrrrr.... Because my child is significantly underweight and probably always dehydrated (school doesn't give her time for a water break either), I pretty much let her drink whatever she wants when she will drink!

This is definitely a problem. I agree that water breaks can be distracting and take longer than necessary if the girls are fooling around, but this simply means they must be regulated and observed. Water breaks are essential! The fact that this coach doesn't allow them would seriously worry me if I were a parent.

I can't tell even tell you how many times I have cured headaches and lethargy by simply saying, "go take a nice big drink of water. Come back in two minutes when you feel refreshed." All my girls know the importance of water during a workout and I actually require them to have a water bottle with them in the gym. Dehydration can lead to a drop in performance, which is totally counterproductive. Isn't that precisely what the coach is trying to avoid? I would definitely complain.

 

[COz]

I wonder if the coach would listen to a letter from her doctor?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I would be happy if my DD was allowed to drink anything. Her coach thinks "water breaks are a distraction and an excuse to stop working" so he doesn't allow them. Nor does he allow water bottles. Grrrrrr.... Because my child is significantly underweight and probably always dehydrated (school doesn't give her time for a water break either), I pretty much let her drink whatever she wants when she will drink!

okay...that coach is whack.

 

[profmom]

That's idiotic. Both the boys and the girls have a water break between every rotation. More in the summer when it's hot. How long are your practices?