NUTRITION FOR COLLEGIATE SKIERS
HYDRATION BASICS
The most important fluid to consume for any human is water. As endurance athletes, skiers need to consume water before, during, and after exercise in order to maintain proper hydration status. Following both training and competition, the amount of weight lost during training needs to be replaced. The general rule of thumb is to consume 1.25-1.5 Liter of fluids for each kilogram of body weight lost during training (1) Along with water, sports drinks are essential to consume for endurance athletes. As a skier, during longer distance training + race efforts, the electrolytes within the cells can become depleted, and hinder performance (7). Sports drinks contain the electrolytes that the body is using constantly during ski training, and are therefore essential to include into your hydration plan.
HYDRATING FOR WINTER COMPETITION
Fluid loss while performing in cold environments tends to be less than in warmer environments, however skiers have been shown to lose 2-3% body weight during events lasting 45 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes (8). Displayed in the image, you can see a skier ingesting sports drink during the middle of an event that lasted about an hour (15-20k events). By ingesting fluid during longer competitions, skiers maintain fluid balance, replenish glucose stores, and lower percieved exertion (9).
SKIING IS YEAR-ROUND
Although skiers compete in the winter, skiers train many hours during the summer and fall months where the environment can be hot and humid. Skiers tend to always train with a 1 L drink belt containing a combination of water and sports drink. However, this is often not enough fluid and can lead to deydration, which in turn lengthens recovery from training sessions. In order to avoid dehydration, skiers should consume sports drink with electrolytes every 20-30 minutes (7). Follow the same guidelines for rehydration following training sessions described earlier in this section.