As you guys know, I’ve been working with Propel on their Add Flavor Challenge. For this month’s challenge, Propel has asked me to take a look at my personal hydration strategy, to make sure that I’m getting the most out of each of my workouts, by staying properly hydrated.
Last week, I had a phone conference with a few people at Propel, as well as Laura Daray, the scientist and “resident hydration expert” at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. During the hour-long call, we discussed the importance of staying hydrated, and also had the chance to further analyze my own hydration and fueling habits.
Prior to our call, I had provided Laura with some stats/measurements so she could calculate my “sweat rate,” and get a better idea of my personal fitness level, hydration and fueling habits. The whole conversation was pretty interesting, and I had actually never heard of a sweat rate before. Have you guys?
But I learned that it’s used to provide an estimate of how much fluid you lose through sweat in a particular environment. And since every person has a different sweat rate, the results of the test help to develop a personal plan for fluid intake. Who knew?!
So in order for Laura to calculate the sweat rate (since I knew nothing about it before our call), I gave her the following:
- Weight pre-exercise
- Weight of workout beverage pre-exercise
- Workout type and duration (in minutes)
- Weight post-exercise
- Weight of workout beverage post-exercise
It was super easy to come up with the calculations, so if you want to try giving it a shot, just follow the details below:
How to Conduct the Sweat Rate Test
- Immediately prior to exercise, record body weight (lbs) in minimal clothing.
- Record weight of workout beverage(s) in grams or mL just prior to exercise
- Perform workout and record time to completion (in minutes)
- Immediately post-exercise, towel off excess sweat and record body weight (lbs) in same clothing as pre-exercise measurements
- Record weight of workout beverage(s) in grams or mL immediately after exercise.
Once Laura had a chance to calculate my sweat rate and analyze my info, she was able to create a personal hydration plan just for me to follow during my challenge week. Here’s a breakdown of my results:
A couple of notes about my sweat rate:
- Based on the notes above, Laura said I did a great job at staying hydrated (woot!), which is evidenced by the 0% dehydration and zero change in bodyweight.
- I did my calculations with doing a T25 workout video.
- I performed my workout at 5:45am and had not had anything to drink prior to it.
- I actually did not sweat as much as I usually do for this particular workout, so I’m not sure I’d always be considered a “light” sweater.
- I don’t own a food scale, so I had to estimate the amount of Propel I drank during my workout.
So now that I’ve learned what my sweat rate is and how much fluid I should be taking in, I’ve been challenged to keep properly hydrated for an entire week, both with workouts and just with my day-to-day life.
Typically, this isn’t really an issue for me for my day-to-day; I always have my water bottle with me at work and feel like I’m basically drinking water all day long.
But I think keeping properly hydrated with my workouts is something that I’m going to need to keep track of more consistently. I’m officially starting my challenge today, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ll recap the challenge next week, but I’d love it if you guys wanted to participate with me! What do ya think, who’s in?
Would a little giveaway work as an incentive to join me? 
Well, either way, I’ve got a fun giveaway comin’ atcha anyways! I’m giving away a Propel prize pack to a lucky STSL reader, including all sorts of awesome Propel product, a Propel towel and water bottle.
To Enter:
1. (mandatory) Leave a comment on this post sharing how you stay hydrated and/or some of your favorite tips for staying hydrated.
2. (optional) Share the giveaway on Twitter, and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did (I entered to win a @Propel_Water prize pack from @SweetToothCourt! Check it out: http://wp.me/p1g6nA-d9o”)
Open to U.S. and Canada residents only
I’ll be announcing the winner in my recap post next week, so stay tuned. Good Luck! 
Disclaimer: This promotion is solely sponsored by Sweet Tooth Sweet Life and has not been endorsed or approved by PepsiCo, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates. By entering, you agree to look solely to Sweet Tooth Sweet Life for any claims in connection therewith, and not to PepsiCo, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
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