Read Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports, by Dr. Timothy Noakes.
From the publisher:
“Drink as much as you can, even before you feel thirsty.” That’s been the mantra to athletes and coaches for the past three decades, and bottled water and sports drinks have flourished into billion-dollar industries in the same short time. The problem is that an overhydrated athlete is at a performance disadvantage and at risk of exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) — a potentially fatal condition.
Dr. Tim Noakes takes you inside the science of athlete hydration for a fascinating look at the human body’s need for water and how it uses the liquids it ingests. He also chronicles the shaky research that reported findings contrary to results in nearly all of Noakes’ extensive and since-confirmed studies.
In Waterlogged, Noakes sets the record straight, exposing the myths surrounding dehydration and presenting up-to-date hydration guidelines for endurance sport and prolonged training activities. Enough with oversold sports drinks and obsessing over water consumption before, during, and after every workout, he says. Time for the facts — and the prevention of any more needless fatalities.
For further reading, consider:
- The original 2014 discussion on the CrossFit message board: Exercise Associated Hyponatremic Encephalopathy, Gatorade, and the American College of Sports Medicine
- Statement of the 3rd International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference, sponsored by CrossFit, Inc. in 2015
- A 12-part series by Dr. Noakes called The Hyponatremia of Exercise, published on CrossFit.com in 2019
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Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports