Sports Nutrition for MMA

"Fluid Needs for Fighting"

Your mom may have told you: "drink 8, 8oz. glasses of water per day". Although this advice is considered conventional wisdom, it surely isn’t based on any science. If that advice does apply to anyone, it certainly isn’t mixed martial artists who spend a good amount of their day jumping, punching, and wrestling in a hot, stuffy gym. Your fluid needs are unique, and as such, need a unique approach. As you likely know, dehydration results in a tremendous reduction in performance capacity. If you’re dehydrated, your body and mind will suffer. In the ring, this is a formula for disaster. There are two major reasons why an MMA practitioner has different fluid needs than both your average Joe and other athletes: one is that your activity level is much higher than most other athletes. Because MMA training is unusually intense and usually has a long duration, there is significantly more fluid loss than a steady-state activity like jogging. Secondly, because of the level of conditioning required to be competitive, mixed martial artists tend to have significantly more muscle mass than most. Glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrate, needs a lot of water. The vast majority of glycogen is stored in muscle, so you need to drink more fluid just to keep the glycogen in your muscle hydrated.

How Much Fluid Do I Need?

Simple, everyone is different. Alright, so figuring out exactly how much fluid you need isn’t quite so simple. But, with a little bit of work up-front and a commitment to monitoring your progress; you can ensure you’re getting the right amount of fluid. Here are some general guidelines that you can use as a baseline:

Hydration Before Training

• Drink at least15-20 fl oz. 2 hours before training/competition

• Drink 8-10 fl oz. 15-30 minutes before training/competition

Hydration During Training

• Drink 8-10 fl oz every 10 minutes

• If you’re training more than an hour and a half, drink 8-10 fl oz. of electrolyte replacement drink every 30 minutes.

It’s possible that what you’re already doing closely resembles these guidelines. However, because the variability of one’s training varies so much, there is a more accurate way of going about staying hydrated.

Easy Ways for Mixed Martial Artists Assess Hydration

Although following the guidelines above gives you an excellent baseline, there are many variables like altitude, humidity, and clothing that can make generic guidelines inaccurate. One of the most accurate ways to assess hydration is to check out your urine color. If it’s cloudy and yellow, then you know that you’re dehydrated. This is because the toxins that your kidneys filter out aren’t diluted in a large enough urine volume to be invisible. On the other hand, if it’s clear, you’re likely getting enough fluid. It’s normal to have a slight color in your urine, especially first thing in the morning or after taking a multivitamin.

Another fantastic way to monitor your hydration is to weigh yourself before and after your training session. Although you do burn a bit of fat during training, the vast majority of your weight loss is fluid. For example, if you weighted 155lbs. before your training session and weigh in at 153lbs. after your training, which means that, you lost 32oz. of fluid. (1 pound=16 ounces of fluid). A 2-3% loss of bodyweight during training can impair your performance and put added stress on vital organs. You should try to maintain adequate levels of hydration during training and replenish any losses within 1 hour of training. If you weigh more after training than you did before, that’s a sign you overdid it and drank too much.

The Hydration Plan Recap:

1. Mom may know best in most cases, but not when it comes to your hydration!

2. Everyone’s fluid needs are different from yours-so learn what your body needs.

3. Use the hydration guidelines as a starting point. Adjust to your training and body needs.

4. Check the color of your urine. Dark Yellow/Brown=severe dehydration, Yellow=moderate dehydration, Slight Yellow/Clear=Hydrated!

5. Weight yourself. Before and after training to get an idea of how much fluid you have lost and drink according. Sipping works better than chugging.

Train hard, eat smart and stay hydrated!

Daniel M. Solomon, Registered Dietitian (RD)

Reference: (1)Benardot, Dan. Advanced Sports Nutrition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2006. Print.

(2)Clark, Nancy. Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook . 4th. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.

(3)Judelson, Daniel. "Hydration and Muscular Performance: Does Fluid Balance Affect Strength, Power and High-Intensity Endurance?." Sports Medicine 37(2007): 907-921. Print