DRINK BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE !

It is imperative that you drink sufficient fluid (of the right type) before, during and after any form of exercise.

It is equally important to drink plenty of water during your normal day.

For this article, we are only looking at fluid intake during your tennis practice or tennis match.

A good friend of mine Dr Sally Parsonage BSc, PhD, R.Nutr, a leading internationally recognised sports nutritionist and lecturer at the Greenwich University is an expert on this subject and at a seminar including the necessity to take in enough fluid, Sally put on a tennis display to emphasise the point.

The exercise was hypothetical but illustrated the point in question:

Two players started playing a set with normal rackets and it was assumed the set was completed, at the turn around, the winning player did not drink anything and the losing player did.

The second set was commenced with the drinker continuing as before, but the non-drinker played with a junior aluminium racket and lost the next set, this explained Sally, is showing the disadvantage which attacked the non-drinker, at the send of the set, the same scenario  occurred with the non-drinker

again not drinking.

For the third set the player was given an old plastic racket and naturally hardly won a point.

The object of the exercise was to illustrate the handicap you place upon yourself by not drinking, by the time you are feeling thirsty it is already too late.

See the fluid pyramid which shows the minimum drink necessary when playing or practicing tennis.