Performance
behind the science
H2PRO
PRECISION
HYDRATION
The loss of electrolytes in sweat can adversely affect your performance,
but new brand H2Pro claims to have the answer – a personalised
hydration strategy. Mat Brett perspires in the name of science…
W
hen we sweat we lose
electrolytes. If you
don’t replace those
electrolytes – mainly
sodium – your performance could
suffer. Precision Hydration say that a
sweat test will identify the amount of
sodium you need to take in during
exercise to perform at your best…
Frank Wechsel, Dave tyrrell
They say…
Andy Blow,
Precision Hydration
What you get from a
sweat test is an accurate reading of
sodium loss during exercise. This
is relevant, as sweat sodium loss
is stable in an individual (it’s
genetically determined and
changes little throughout your
lifetime), but is highly variable
across the population.
From the result of a single sweat
test we provide you with a
personalised hydration strategy. This
advises you on the most appropriate
level of electrolyte replenishment
(using H2Pro Hydrate products) to aim
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for when drinking before, during and
after exercise.
We say…
The concept behind
Precision Hydration is
that, in order to perform
at your best, you need a
sports drink that contains the right
amount of electrolytes for your
individual physiology. I’ve come to
the Porsche Human Performance
Centre at Silverstone,
Northamptonshire, to
meet Precision
Hydration’s Andy Blow,
have my sweat analysed
and find out what’s most
suitable for me.
Electrolytes are vital to
your body. Sodium
regulates your fluid balance
– among other things – and
plays a role in muscle
contraction, as well as
influencing your cognitive
processes. A lack of sodium
can lead to cramp or even
AUGUST 2012
The H2Pro
Hydrate range are
dissolvable tablets
tailored to your
individual needs
hyponatremia (when the sodium
concentration in your blood drops to
dangerous levels – it’s potentially fatal).
One study found that 13% of athletes
who finished the 2002 Boston Marathon
were in a hyponatremic condition.
Even if things aren’t that serious, your
performance can start to suffer
through sodium depletion, so you need
to replace what you sweat out during
exercise. The complicating factor,
though, is that one size doesn’t fit all.
We all know that some people tend to
sweat more than others, but that’s not
the issue here (although the volume of
sweat obviously has a bearing on the
amount of sodium you lose). It’s the
concentration of sodium in your sweat
that interests Precision Hydration. The
amount of sodium in your sweat might
be as much as eight times the level of a
training partner’s. That, they say, has an
influence on what you both should both
be drinking while you train and race.
Although the amount you sweat
might vary, your sweat’s sodium
content will be consistent no matter
whether you’re doing an easy recovery
ride or racing as hard as you can. That
behind the science
How it works... the sweat test
No exercise is necessary to have your sodium levels tested – just sit back and let the experts do the work...
First, a chemical called pilocarpine is applied to your forearm via
a small disc. Electrodes apply a low current for several minutes
to deliver the pilocarpine, which stimulates your sweat glands.
The electrodes are removed and a macroduct sweat collector is
strapped to the site of one of them. The sweat you secrete over
the next few minutes is collected in the spiral tubing.
Once enough sweat has been collected, a syringe is connected to
the tubing to collect it. Then your sweat is fed into the Sweat-Chek
Analyzer, which calculates its sodium content in millimoles per litre.
Based on your test result, Precision Hydration will recommend
an appropriate product to replace the amount of sodium you
are losing through sweat during exercise.
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3
makes a hydration assessment pretty
straightforward. Precision Hydration
just need to get some sweat from you,
and it doesn’t have to be from a
high-intensity training session.
RELAXED MONITORING
I expected to be cranking up the effort
until the sweat flowed out of every pore,
but not a bit of it. The process (see How
it works box above) is more civilised
than that. All you need to do is take a
seat and let the experts – Chris
Chamberlin and Vikki Voysey, in this
case – get on with the job. It’s painless
and takes minutes. In fact, the whole
sweat test procedure took maybe
25mins – it varies a little from person to
person according to the rate at which
you sweat. You end up with a sodium
reading expressed in millimoles per litre
of sweat. The figure probably won’t
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mean a great deal to you until the
Precision Hydration guys interpret it.
A low sodium reading might be 10
millimoles per litre; a high reading up to
80. Whatever your result, Precision
Hydration will suggest a product from
the H2Pro Hydrate range that contains
the appropriate amount of sodium for
you. These are tablets that, when
dissolved, will give you somewhere
between 250 and 1,500mg of sodium
per litre (one £6.99 pack makes 7.5
litres; you save 20% per tube forever if
you’ve had a test). Of course, they’d like
you to continue using their products in
the future but you’re not tied into that.
My reading was 32 – fairly low – and I
don’t seem to suffer from a lack of
sodium. I rarely get cramps, for
instance. A check of the labels tells me
that the sports drinks I’m using already
gives me the amount of sodium that
Jargon
buster
Electrolyte
An electrolyte
solution contains
acids, alkalis or salts.
They’re used to
replenish the body’s
stores of various
substances lost
through sweating
during exercise.
Precision Hydration suggest I need to
perform well, so the sweat test won’t
revolutionise my drinking strategy. But
for many, it could.
At £95 it’s not exactly cheap but as
your sodium levels remain pretty
constant over your lifetime, you’ll only
need to have your sweat tested once,
and it clearly takes the guesswork out
of your fuelling strategy.
Replacing the sodium you lose is
important for all of us. If you don’t, you
might get away with it in a shorter race.
But the longer you’re out there, the
further sodium reserves will drop to the
point that it makes a difference, so
Ironman athletes stand to particularly
benefit from taking a test. 220
For more info and to find a sweat
test location near you, go to
www.myh2pro.com
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