Dehydration And The Sprinter

Recently we told you about a new study showing that dehydration ruins weightlifting performance. Now along comes a study from Charles Sturt University in Australia showing that dehydration has little effect on repeated sprint performance in the heat. The subjects were nine male rugby players, who were required to perform two 50-minute workouts consisting of 15m sprints followed by hard running, jogging and walk to fill the balance of one minute. During one of the workouts the subjects were allowed to drink fluid to minimize dehydration. During the other workout they went thirsty.

The authors of the study, which was published in the Journal of Sports Science, reported that there were no differences in sprints times or distances covered in the two sessions, although the subjects slowed slightly more toward the end of the dehydrated workout then they did in the hydrated workout. There were also no differences in heart rate, core temperature, nude mass, capillary blood haematocrit, pH, lactate concentration, perceptual ratings of perceived exertion, or thermal stress. The only difference between the two session was that the subjects were thirstier after the one in which they did not drink!