The Truth About Hydration 🥵

If you drink PRIME, we have some bad news...

Author

Footy Tutor
November 13, 2023

Over the past 6 months, the rise of PRIME has been undeniable.

They've become the official sports drink of some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona.

Logan Paul and KSI must be some wizards when it comes to hydration, right?

Wrong, and couldn't be further from the truth.

It worries us that some of these clubs are taking them on as a sponsor. But.... money talks.

Long story short, PRIME didn't come close to making our list of hydration drinks.

The same goes for most other drinks marketed as hydration drinks.

Don't worry, we're going to break it down so you know how to hydrate properly and avoid the fakes. 

The athlete and hydration

Most people think that water is the only thing you need to stay hydrated.

As we perform, we lose water through sweat (obviously).

But sweat isn't only water - it has another important side to it.

It's so important that even a 2% reduction in body weight (through sweating) can lead to a massive drop in performance.

Water is only half of the hydration equation.

The other half is the five essential minerals that you find dissolved in water - also known as electrolytes.

They include sodium (salt), potassium, magnesium, chloride, and calcium.

Electrolytes are massively important to our everyday function.

They're responsible for:

  • Maintaining fluid balance

  • Nerve function

  • Muscle contraction

  • Bodily pH balance

  • Blood pressure regulation

If any of these things are off, you won't be performing anywhere near your best.

Don’t be scared of sodium

You mostly lose sodium and potassium when you sweat, and you lose them at a 2:1 ratio.

Playing 90 minutes on a hot day can have you sweating out up to 5,000mg of sodium and 2,500mg of potassium.

This is crucial to keep in mind because sodium is critical for peak athletic function.

You need to replenish what you've lost to keep up.

If you don't, it will lead to heavily decreased performance, cramps, and lower cognitive function.

Don't listen to the people who say salt is bad for you.

As an athlete, sodium is crucial to being your best.

The problem with PRIME

Well…PRIME brags that they have 825mg total electrolytes per bottle!

Doing the math with the golden 2:1 ratio, it should have 550mg of sodium and 275mg of potassium.

What does it really have?

10mg of sodium and 700mg of potassium.

Yikes. That's not nearly enough salt for ANY athlete to replenish what they've lost.

Not only that, but the potassium that's added (dipotassium phosphate) is low quality and does not absorb well in our body.

Overconsumption is actually linked to kidney issues.

So not only are you not getting much sodium, but you're getting low-quality potassium.

Oh, and the magnesium that they add is the compound that's prescribed for constipation.

Just keep that in mind next time you reach for a PRIME.

What does proper hydration look like?

Hydration is going to be different for everyone, but it’s actually pretty easy to figure out.

You have many indicators of whether you're in the right spot - urine color, how you feel, etc.

But here's how I break it down:

  • 240ml of water per hour for the first 10 hours I'm awake

  • An extra 175ml per 15-20 minutes of exercise

  • An electrolyte drink before each workout (1,000mg sodium & 400mg potassium)

This is something that you need to test and find out for yourself, though.

Here's a helpful link to help you figure out what your best is.

And here is the electrolyte drink that we love and use (footytutor10 for 10% off).

Resources to help you improve when you’re ready:

Our favorite mouth tape (code: footytutor for 10% off)

Until next time,

Footytutor