Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate sweat loss in elite short track speed skaters across 6 different training sessions over a three day period, and sweat sodium loss in one on ice training session. Nine male and three female elite short track speed skaters participated in the study (age 22±3 years, Body Weight: 68.1±10.2 kg). Six training sessions, comprising of an on ice speed session (Sp), on ice endurance session (En), on ice speed endurance session (SpEn), off ice strength session (St), a 40 minute aerobic off ice session (Ae) and an off ice sport specific conditioning session (SpCo). Sweat loss was calculated for each session by weighing the participants before and after each training session, as well as weighing fluid/ food consumed and urine produced during training. Sweat sodium concentration [Na⁺] was calculated from forehead sweat patch analysis during En. Whole body sodium loss was calculated from sweat loss and [Na⁺] for En. A One Way ANOVA was used to compare sweat loss in different training sessions. There was a difference in sweat loss between training sessions (F_5,66=4.24, P=0.02), with both En (700±248 ml) and SpEn (681±304 ml) being different from St (299±162 ml). However, sweat loss in SP (514±242 ml), Ae (572±267 ml) and SpCo (522±128 ml) was not different from other sessions. During all sessions, no participants lost more than 2% in body weight, suggesting participants adequately consumed fluid during training to prevent dehydration. During En sweat sodium loss was 1.9±0.6 g, with a mean [Na⁺] of 51±16 mmol/L. In conclusion, short track speed skaters consume adequate fluid to maintain fluid balance during a range of training sessions.