By: Don Moxley, M.A. Exercise Physiologist, Hydrus Sport Science Director
I wrote about the challenge of keeping key metabolic hormones in check during your weight cutting period in my last post. In this segment I want to take some time to discuss your hidden competitor, fatigue, and how being dehydrated empowers fatigue and locks much of the progress and improvement you’ve trained for out of your reach.
Sport scientists define fatigue as a decrement in the force output of a muscle. Psychologists see fatigue as a ‘sensation’ of tiredness. Physiologists define fatigue as the failure of a specific physiological system. Exercise is terminated at exhaustion, and not at a point of fatigue. Many consider fatigue to be a safety mechanism evolved to prevent injury or death from over reaching. However, regardless of how you define it, fatigue is something we all fight with, and regardless of the preparation, fatigue will always be present.
What causes fatigue?
There are several factors that can cause fatigue, not the least of which is just engaging in a work event that is beyond your capacity. This type of fatigue is caused by our body’s inability to deliver the necessary oxygen or nutrients in the blood to the working muscles. This is why we train, to increase that capacity. But even if we have trained and have the ability to do the necessary work, other factors can creep in and block our ability to accomplish our goals. Hydration levels have a direct impact on the blood volume and contribute to success and failure.
Researchers have identified fatigue mechanisms that originate in the neuromuscular system as well. These seem to be protective systems in the body that can originate as high as the brain in the central nervous system. Research has shown that in some athletes this level of fatigue can limit work output by up to 32 percent. Researchers are not clear on all the factors that contribute to this “central governor” fatigue model, but some that have been clearly shown are an imbalance in electrolyte concentrations, and the brain’s perception of a lack of fuel. The ability to replace key electrolytes and in-turn draw water into the blood plasma is an important part of strategic rehydration.
Research has also shown that sweeter isn't better. In fact, scientists have shown that just the sensation of sweetness in the mouth will dampen the fatigue effect. In studies, athletes were asked to just “swish the fluid around in the mouth, then spit it out”. Those athletes saw an increase in performance against those who just drank water. Other studies using sugar have also been clear; more is not better. Athletes consuming concentrations as low as 2% have had similar exercise times to failure as those consuming 18% concentrations. In another interesting study, athletes were given glucose through an IV and those athletes saw no improvement in performance over water alone. This is an area that needs more research, but for now, be confident that a little sweetness goes a long way.
The brain monitors hydration levels closely, and if it senses dehydration, interpreted by the brain as stress, it will trigger a drop in performance. Too much dehydration alerts the brain to release stress hormones. The brain will limit the number of muscle fibers you can recruit. Remember, a drop in total body water will cause in a drop in blood plasma volume and will cause a drop in your body’s ability to deliver nutrients to your muscles. We see this in combat sports like boxing and wrestling and it’s been documented in sports as diverse as triathalon. Many times, hydration is a consideration of safety. Dehydration can lead to cramping, exhaustion, and even death in some cases from heat stroke. However, long before we get to the point of illness, dehydration is contributing to fatigue and limiting your performance. Be sure to harvest all the hard work you’ve done leading up to your event by leaving fatigue on the bench; Stay hydrated!
]]>Wrestling is hard! Perhaps the most difficult of all sports for which to prepare. Wrestling requires its champions to be strong, have great endurance, flexible as gymnasts and prepare technically and tactically for all comers. Wrestles aren’t just well rounded, they have to be exceptional at all aspects of the game. Then to make it even harder, the process of cutting weight injects a stress most other sports never experience. In order to be prepared, wrestling has no off season. As soon as the competitive season ends, preparation for the next begins.
The off season is dominated by strength and conditioning. Wrestlers building their bodies, increasing strength and muscle mass to take the largest body possible into their weight class. A huge price is paid for every ounce of muscle, wrestlers can’t afford to just give that away with bad weight cutting practices. It’s important to understand, that when weight is cut properly, the wrestler can gain an advantage. But done wrong, hours of hard work go down the drain.
As we said, cutting weight correctly gives a wrestler and advantage. Cutting weight correctly involves two elements: Stripping out as much fat as possible and wrestling lean. Then using short term dehydration to accomplish the rest.
In order to strip or use body fat, athletes have to understand the role of the hormone Insulin. Insulin is the dominant hormone when it comes to fat storage or usage. When insulin is low, stored fat can be used for fuel. When insulin is high, the body will not release fat for fuel. When insulin is high the body is trying to store more fat. The key to lowering insulin is lowering the glycemic index of the food and fluid you consume. If you’re a wrestler cutting weight, you should not be eating any refined sugar products. Drinking sugar based products is completely counter productive. Not only is the sugar creating a strong insulin response, it passes through the stomach quickly providing no appetite satiation. Hungry and burning up you valuable protein stores is no way to cut weight and win.
Many wrestlers can successfully dehydrate for short periods of time (less than 24 hours), rehydrating following weigh in with no remarkable impact on performance. The key though is to keep the dehydration period as short as possible. When you dehydrate for longer periods, you body produces another hormone called vasopressin. Vasopressin causes the kidneys to restrict water loss. Your body views this as stress and will not only restrict water loss through urine and sweat, but will also begin to regulate the amount of energy your can produce. Being fully hydrated at the time of completion is important. It’s also important to be fully hydrated throughout your training. Bad weight cutting caused you to lose muscle and lose energy.
Hydrus Performance Hydration Concentrate hits the two things wrestlers need to be lean and fully hydrated at the time of competition. Hydrus has no sugar! No sugar means no insulin response from hydrus and you stay in fat burning mode longer! When you’ve made weight and it’s time to re-hydrate, Hydrus’ exclusive NanosomeTM Technology provides higher electrolyte and water absorption—“5x and up to 8x more effective”*—than traditional hydration products. That means more water to the cells and your back to full strength at match time!
]]>