Are you drinking enough fluids?

‘Tenders Tips #3

If you aren’t properly hydrated your performance will suffer – even a small loss of weight due to water loss will make a big difference. The goalie who wants to be the best that he can will drink plenty of fluids during games and practices.

Chances are you don’t drink enough – goalies need more than other players. Younger goalies may not have a problem but as you get older and you train and play with more intensity you’ll need more fluids.

The only way to really know if you are getting enough fluids is to weight yourself right before and right after a practice or game. If you weigh more than 2% less after a practice then your performance was probably affected by not drinking enough.

Calculating this is simple:

(weight before – weight after ) / weight before

If it is greater than 0.02 then you didn’t drink enough. 

This test won’t work by weighing yourself at home – you need the scale in the dressing room. If you wait until you are at home a lot can happen to affect the results between the rink and home.

Do you want to be the best goalie that you can? Try using your body weight to check your hydration until yo know how much you need to drink in a given session.

For more on this topic check out our interview with scientist Dr. Lawrence Spriet.