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You train hard. You eat well. You pay attention to recovery. But if hydration is an afterthought — something you deal with when you feel thirsty — you may be limiting performance before your workout even starts.
Here’s what actually matters, and what doesn’t.
First: not everyone needs to stress about this
First, some reassurance. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, most people who exercise for less than 60–90 minutes in normal weather conditions are unlikely to become significantly dehydrated or depleted of electrolytes.
If that’s you — a lunchtime walker, a weekend cyclist, someone hitting the gym a few times a week — water and a normal diet will cover you just fine.
But if you’re a distance runner, triathlete, soccer or tennis player, or anyone training hard in heat or humidity, hydration deserves real attention. The longer and harder you go, the more it matters.
The key is understanding when hydration shifts from a basic health habit to a true performance variable.
Why water alone isn’t always enough
When you sweat, you lose more than fluid. Sweat contains electrolytes — especially sodium — that help regulate muscle contractions, nerve signaling, and fluid balance. Replacing water without replacing electrolytes can leave you feeling flat and crampy, even when you’ve technically had plenty to drink.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, athletes can lose up to 2 quarts of fluid per hour during activity — up to 3 quarts for endurance athletes. That’s a gap plain water struggles to close on its own.
For extended or high-intensity sessions, pairing water with an electrolyte source helps maintain that balance. That can be a sports drink, an electrolyte tablet, or simply salty food — all three work. The playbook below covers when and how to use each.
What dehydration actually does
Even mild dehydration affects performance faster than most athletes realize.
The goal, per the ACSM, is simple: lose no more than 2% of your body weight during a workout. For a 150-pound athlete, that’s about 3 pounds of sweat. Cross that line and performance starts to slip — your muscles, heart, lungs, and brain all work less efficiently, and heat makes every effect worse.
Three things most athletes don’t know:
- Thirst is a lag indicator. By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already 2–3% dehydrated. Drink on a schedule, not on demand.
- You can’t adapt to dehydration. You can get used to the feeling — but your body never actually performs better in that state.
- Cold weather isn’t a free pass. Sweat evaporates faster in cool, dry conditions, making it easy to underestimate how much you’re losing.
” Most of the athletes I see aren’t thinking about hydration until something goes wrong — a cramp, a wall, an injury that won’t heal. Building a simple before, during, and after routine is one of the easiest performance gains available, and it costs almost nothing. “
Thomas Mullin, MD
Welia Health Sports Medicine Physician
Your hydration playbook
Before exercise
Drink 16–20 oz of water 2–3 hours before activity, and another 8 oz about 20 minutes before you start
Check your urine — pale yellow is the target. Dark yellow means you’re already behind; clear means you’ve overdone it
Heading into heat or a long session? Add 500 mg of sodium to your pre-exercise meal — as simple as extra salt on eggs or oatmeal. It helps retain fluid and delays dehydration during extended efforts
During exercise
Under 60 minutes in normal conditions: water is sufficient for most people
Over 60 minutes of training in heat: add electrolytes. Aim for 6–8 oz every 15–20 minutes
Choose a sports drink with sodium, not just sugar — or use an electrolyte tablet with water. Lower-sugar options work just as well as traditional sports drinks for most athletes
Skip energy drinks — they’re not sports drinks. The stimulants they contain can increase fluid loss and elevate heart rate
More isn’t always better. Drinking too much plain water without sodium can dilute blood sodium levels — a dangerous condition called hyponatremia, most common in endurance athletes during long events
After exercise
Drink 20–24 oz for every pound of body weight lost during exercise
Pair fluids with sodium and carbohydrates — your body absorbs fluid more effectively when both are present
Chocolate milk is a legitimate recovery drink — its natural carb-protein-electrolyte combination outperformed commercial electrolyte drinks in ACSM research
Real food works just as well as commercial products. String cheese, beef jerky, crackers — salty snacks replace sodium effectively after a heavy sweat session
Hydration doesn’t need to be complicated — but having a plan matters, especially for athletes training hard or recovering from injury.
More from the blog 👉 Hydration hacks when you’re sick of water
Questions?
Do you have questions about sports performance, injury prevention, or recovery? Welia Health’s Sports Medicine team can help. Call Welia Health Rehabilitation Services at 320.225.3356 to schedule an appointment.
