The effect of drinking water and isotonic sports drinks in elite wrestlers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sports drinks (isotonic) and water consumptions of the elite wrestlers during the exercise. Eighteen-trained elite wrestlers participated in this study. The subjects were divided into two groups according to their body-weight and were also given either water or isotonic sports drink. Water and sports drinks get rid of the dehydration during the trainings (P>0.05). Blood samples were taken before and after the exercises,and were analyzed for Sodium (Na), Potassium (K) and Chlorine (Cl). Body temperatures of subjects were measured as ºC. Post exercise sodium values of the two experimental groups were lower than the pre-exercise values (P<0.05) and there were nosignificant differences between sodium values of these two groups. Water could be replaced with sports drinks for shorter activities as compared to the sports drinks. Thus, water is very helpful for athletes when water is consumed before and during the exercise. © Kamla-Raj 2015.