Eating/recovering in heat during tournament; 4+ singles matches

[sir_shanks_alot]

I am a singles player. It will be 85+ deg, sunny, and 60% or more humidity everyday; asphalt courts = 100+. I may play more than one match a day so obviously eating right, drinking, etc is important. Please offer some advice.

The main problem will be my legs recovering. They basically turn to rubber after 4-5 singles matches in these conditions.

I've done this before and could not re-hydrate fast enough during some days of the tournament. I knew because I took scales.

Would like food/drink suggestions, recovery (ice, water, heat, etc), gels, vitamins or whatever. Thank you!

 

[ace18]

I'm 45 and played in a state tournament a week ago, 3 days/3 singles matches and a few dubs matches too. This might not be advised, but I used powerbar gel, pedialyte for kids and 5 hour energy along with my normal powerade and water. I only used small amounts and plenty of water but it helped keep me hydrated and feeling better in the Georgia heat. Oh, and very important, a wet towel in my cooler, the cold towel over my head between games was huge.

 

[KSJ1979]

get a foam roller!!!! amazon, target...easy to find....great for recovery!!! i use mine everyday before and after matches. also look into the theracane....www.theracane.com

ice down after play and stretch like crazy!!!

good luck and stay healthy!!!

 

[Puredrivetennis]

fluids! water and gatorade, something with a little salt( peanuts are great) and bananas. stretch before and after matches and get into the shade to relax on your downtime. in terms of ice/heat, wont do you any real good unless you have multiple hours between each match

 

[charliefedererer]

First of all, I would not consider it "healthy" to play mutiple matches in these hot conditions.

That aside, in the short term, the biggest thing you can do is to try and stay hydrated.

It has been shown that it is nearly impossible to drink enough on court to keep up with the fluid losses on court in hot conditions and not develop intestinal cramps.

So a key is to start hydrating before the first match, taking in about a liter in the two hours before the match starts.

Then keep drinking during every change over. Do not wait until you are thirsty.

Most agree that a sports drink such as Gatorade which supplies sodium (most important) and potassium in addition to sugar is the best liquid. Some have intestinal cramping if drinking full strength sports drinks in very large amounts over a prolonged tennis on a hot day. I usually dilute my Gatorade with water, while alternating Gatorade and some water is another strategy.

If you can weigh yourself, you will probably see that even with drinking on court, you may still be down a couple of pounds of water weight after a tough match. Thus, hydration needs to continue after the match as well.

Some easy to digest protein soon after a match help your muscles recover quicker. Chocolate milk, whey protein, and perhaps the Gatorade 03 Recover may be alternatives.

Certainly starting the day with complex carbohydrates on board from your breakfast would help. How much you eat will depend on the timing of subsequent matches.

Since you play so hard, you really should review this 20 page booklet from the USTA on the multiple aspects of Recovery: http://www.usta.com/USTA/Global/Pla...nce/RECOVERY PROJECT 22410 EMAIL VERSION.ashx

Indeed, you may even want to tackle the 400 page version:
http://www.usta.com/USTA/Global/Pla...ent/SportsScience/RECOVERY PROJECT FINAL.ashx

 

[ubermeyer]

Impossible... for me

 

[BMC9670]

Everyone mentions fluids - yes, BUT... make sure you are hydrating properly DAYS before this tournament, especially if you are training in the heat as well. You mention not being able to re-hydrate fast enough during the tournament and this will help.

I read once that Jimmy Connors started specifically hydrating for hot conditions 2 weeks in advance of a major. Runners do the same. You need to think of hydrating well in advance of the event.

 

[rich s]

Everyone mentions fluids - yes, BUT... make sure you are hydrating properly DAYS before this tournament, especially if you are training in the heat as well. You mention not being able to re-hydrate fast enough during the tournament and this will help.

I read once that Jimmy Connors started specifically hydrating for hot conditions 2 weeks in advance of a major. Runners do the same. You need to think of hydrating well in advance of the event.

Can you elaborate a little on how to hydrate in advance.... how much per day and what you drink?.... seems like the more I drink the more I p**......not quite sure I understand how I am more hydrated if I am making more trips to the restroom....
thx.

 

[ProCoach]

Can you elaborate a little on how to hydrate in advance.... how much per day and what you drink?.... seems like the more I drink the more I p**......not quite sure I understand how I am more hydrated if I am making more trips to the restroom....
thx.

You need to drink a minimum of 8 large glasses of water for two or three days before your tournament. If you want to hold the water, add a slight amount of salt to your diet. It will help you hold water. Drink pedialyte as well as it will have electrolytes. You food intake needs to be quite a bit more starting two days or better before you play. You will be burning an calories like crazy and you should definitely have a good pasta meal the day before you play. Eat plenty as you will be burning everything in you and you don't want to burn muscle fibers. Your body will look for something for energy and if you have stored enough, it will find it somewhere. The morning of you tournament, begin with oatmeal or a bagel with peanut butter about an hour and a half before you take the court. After that, it's fluids and simple carbs. Bananas, gels, water, and pedialyte. The pedialyte will replace electrolytes and give your body something to burn besides your reserves and muscles. Don't skimp on the water either. It isn't good to drink pedialyte or gatorade only. Munch on bananas or small bits of plain old bagels. Not much though.

 

[rich s]

thanks Coach

 

[Sherlock]

The best advice I heard for maintaining proper fluid levels was this. At least the day before, start drinking a lot of water. Drink water until you discharge is nearly clear. At this point you have reached your maximum fluid intake where any more isn't going to be of any use.

Now you should eat around 2000-3000g of sodium. The easiest way to do this is to eat 4-5 servings of pretzels with the highest sodium content (yay! an excuse to eat something unhealthy). The sodium will allow you to absorb even more water, and will be used for your muscles. Cramps are not caused by lack of fluid, though this does contribute to cramps, but instead by a lack of electrolytes (a byproduct of sodium) causing your muscles to be unable to contract.

After loading up on the sodium, drink a little more water at night but not much is necessary. The next day, perform your typical hydration preparation.

Since doing this preparation, I've never had any problems with cramps. Of course you can't avoid the other preparations as others have said, like loading up on carbs for extra base energy.

 

[sir_shanks_alot]

2000-3000 MILLI grams, not grams. We knew what you meant.

 

[HookEmJeff]

If you can find a hot tub if you can and if there is someway to squeeze it in between matches, I certainly would. It always helps me. The foam roller is great, too.

Sleep as much as you can if this is a travel tournament and you're back at the hotel or house.

Tons and tons of water, always tons of water! Glutamine post-match. Protein shakes and chocolate milk. Eat when you can. Those Powerbar Gel things are pretty good, too.

If it's all on one day and they're crazy, long matches...do your best to save and conserve your energy (40-0 games, go for it) for when you need it.

The best thing you can do is obviously work out like a beast and be ready to go before a tournament like this. Prepping in that type of weather will put you a leg up on your competitors.

Fight til the end. Remember pain is temporary, but glory lasts forever (or until the doctor bill arrives).


Jeff

 

[Slazenger07]

Drink lots of water and when you play drink some kind of sports drink with electrolytes, like Gatorade.

I usually have a couple big bottles of Gatorade with me when Im gonna be playing for long periods of time in the heat...like tomorrow.

I find it really helps me maintain a high level of play even in upper 90's to 100's temps like we have in Texas.

 

[ProCoach]

Drink lots of water and when you play drink some kind of sports drink with electrolytes, like Gatorade.

I usually have a couple big bottles of Gatorade with me when Im gonna be playing for long periods of time in the heat...like tomorrow.

I find it really helps me maintain a high level of play even in upper 90's to 100's temps like we have in Texas.

You guys be careful drinking too much Gatorade. It has a tremendous amount of sugar in it. I had a heat stroke back in 1995 (one of the reasons I stopped playing professionally) and the doctors think it is due to the fact that I was losing so much water and was replacing it with a Gatorade. Grant it that I drank a gallon plus of the stuff over a 3.5 hour match, but it screwed my system up for 6-7 months after that. Just be careful. Drink plenty of water with the Gatorade or Pedialyte. During those 6-7 screwed up months, I would have these episodes where it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and I couldn't breathe and it would cause me to panic. It turns out that my electrolytes were so screwed up in my body that the muscles surrounding my heart were actually cramping down on my heart and squeezing it. It took 3 months of that happening before a doctor from John's Hopkins figured out the problem. Then another 3-4 months of drinking nothing but water before my system found it's way back to normal. That was not a fun time. I had issues with heat for at least a year after that. Just a helpful heads up on that.........

 

[North]

Everyone so far has mentioned hydrating ahead of time, starting the day before. I have done that and it really does help. In addition, there are several little things I do that add up to a lot more comfort in those conditions.

I bring a spray bottle (like for spraying plants) and keep my body hydrated outside as well as drinking fluids constantly while I play. It feels great to spray my hat/head/wherever and instantly cool off a little. I bring a LOT of changes of socks and change socks frequently - every set if I have enough socks to do that. If you can afford to have two pairs of shoes and they are both broken in, changing shoes helps. I've only been able to do that when I have a new pair that is broken in and I have not yet got rid of the old pair, which still has some use left in them. When I put on the alternate shoes, I pull the insoles out of the other pair and let them dry out.

I drink water (lots and lots and lots..... you get the idea) and Gatorade at a ratio of about 3:1 (3 litres water for every one litre Gatorade). I have also, on ridiculously hot/humid days, brought a big lunch cooler full of ice packs and water. I also eat at intervals (only a little at a time) and find that things like grapes, fresh figs, raisins, and such are easily digestible and provide energy without making me feel bloated.

All white clothes, to reflect the sun, and one of those foreign legion type hats probably helps a little, too.

And, as other posters have mentioned, just make sure you are acclimated to the heat.