Move Over Bobby Boucher
For 40 years now, Gatorade has helped re-energize millions of athletes across the world. As I'm sure you already know, Gatorade is a sports drink that is used to help re-hydrate and give athletes the energy they need to do their best throughout a contest. The need for Gatorade came in 1965 when University of Florida football players, the "Gators", would come in the locker room at halftime of the football game and would be so dehydrated that they couldn't even use the bathroom.
Dr. Robert Cade, the inventor of Gatorade, found that this new sports drink would provide athletes with something water didn't, electrolite and carbohydrate energy. Electrolites and carbohydrates are needed in order to refuel tired muscles in the body and can keep you energized longer. Another reason that Gatorade is better than water is because it actually has a taste. Many athletes become dehydrated because they don't drink enough water mainly due to its lack of taste. Gatorade on the other hand comes in several different flavors including Fruit Punch, Lemon Lime, Riptide Rush, and many more. With such savoring tastes, athletes are more inclined to drink greater amounts of Gatorade than water and in turn stay hydrated longer.
Some people do not realize how dehydrated they become during sporting events until it is to late. You should start drinking fluids before participating in a physical activity rather than when you start to feel thirsty. By the time you start feeling thirsty your body is already at a low level of hydration. Gatorade has devoted so much research into the area of maximizing sports performance that they have the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI). One of the areas that Gatorade heavily focuses is on is keeping athletes hydrated and from their research they developed a Fluids Calculator. You can click on the link at the bottom of the page for the Calculator to pop up. This will enable you to find out how much you should be drinking before, during, and even after exercising.
posted by Beebe at 5:59 PM
9 Comments:
I did not know that the name for Gatorade actually was derived from the University of Florida Gators. That is a really interesting fact! I must say that I never really drink Gatorade too often but I feel like after reading this that I should be drinking more of it. I often do get tired after participating in sports for awhile or after exercising. I really should rethink always bringing water to the gym. Maybe I will start alternating between water and Gatorade every other day. I could also, like you said drink a bottle of Gatorade during the day before I go the gym at night. All of your advice so far has been really helpful. I really look forward to more of your tips in the future.
3:48 PM
The history of Gatorade was very interesting, I had no idea where the name came from. It definitely makes sense. Gatorade is a great thirst quencher, my personal favorite. I usually mix gatorade with water because it's can be a little overwhelming if you drink a lot of it. I also like to drink gatorade and water separately during the same activity because water is a good dehydrater but gatorade is a good energizer. I feel like everytime I go into a 711 there is a new gatorade flavor and quite honestly, powerade doesn't have the first mover advantage like gatorade. The fuilds calculator was really cool, there is also a lot of relevant information on that website. It's amazing how quickly your body loses fluid and a lot of people don't drink as much as they should during exercise and end up getting sick. On really hot days, I drink water all day long before I exercise so that there is less of a chance for dehydration.
5:32 PM
I always wondered if Gatorade actually rehydrates the body and replenished your electrolytes. I know that they advertise these benefits, but there are a lot of people who disagree. I remember when I used to play basketball in grade school, my teammates and I would bring Gatorade to the games and my coach would take it away from us and told us that it would give us cramps. He said it was nothing but sugar and that is why people think that it gives them energy. Now that you have explained what Gatorade does for an athlete, I look back and think it is so funny that he would say those things just to sound like he knew what he was talking about.
I personally don’t drink it for two reasons. The first is because I workout to stay in shape. It’s not like I am running and jumping around for a two-hour practice. I just do a little bit of cardio and lift light weights to stay toned. When I finish I don’t feel overly exerted. The second is because I count calories, and rather than drinking a bottle (which contains 125 calories) I would rather drink water.
5:07 PM
First of all, I never thanked you for recommending the heart rate calculator, "Thanks." Anyway, I agree with you about doing the little extra things like walking to class and taking the stairs. When I lived on-campus, I never walked. I used to drive to class everyday, usually because I was running late; but that would always make me even later. I think I just used it as an excuse to drive because I was too lazy and I always had my car at school. Now I realize that it definitely helps to move as much as you can throughout the day. Like I said earlier, the secret is “calories in/calories out.”
When I drink, I drink vodka and diet coke. This way the only calories I am consuming are from the alcohol. Bacardi also makes low-carb fruit flavored drinks that are also very low in calories and contain no sugar. I would definitely recommend these drinks because they taste great and get the job done. Ha Ha.
5:42 PM
It is amazing how much research Gatorade has put into their sports drink. I went on the link that took me to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and enjoyed looking at all the tips they gave to athletes. I have always been a fan of Gatorade and drank gallons of it when I played lacrosse in high school. You’re right the taste of it makes you want to drink more of it keeping you hydrated. I could never seem to make myself drink enough water during the games but I had no problem pounding down bottles of Gatorade. I don’t drink as much Gatorade as I used to but I often drink it when I run or go golfing during the hot summer months.
6:00 PM
Gatorade is only good for people that are true athletes. It you dont work out your muscles vigoriously then all that carbohydrates and electrolites that you are taking in to fuel your muscles wont get used up. That is why the sport drink is an athlete drink. In the commercials they dont tell you that its not good to drink Gatorade, if your not an athlete because they are only after profits not preserving health. Your tips are important even though its not for everyone.
9:12 PM
I used play football and high school, and gatorade was very important for us, sometimes we didnt realize we needed something so we keep on playing then when we got even more tired the trainer was right there to give us either water or gatorade, water was good, it got your breathe back, but gatorade just gave you a boost of energy. To go out there and make plays,and just do our best to win. It might of been a psychological thing too, sometimes just a bottle a gatorade but with water in it got me real hype, I thought it was gatorade but it ended up being water. I thought that was drinking it so i just dug deep within and found some energy with out gatorade. I dont really drink gatorade much now because im not as active as I used to be, but when i get back in the gym i will definetly start drinking it again.
5:00 AM
yea, this is the post i needed to see - it's about sports and how dehydrated you get. with the gatorade subject, i have heard many conflicting ideas about whether gatorade is better or water. we all know what bobby thinks, and i believe that water, in general, is better. however, in sporting events it seems that the extra stuff they put into gatorade really does help. in addition, i would always rather have a good berry and fruit punch x factor taste in my mouth, rather than just drinking bland water
10:14 AM
I love gatorade. As an athlete I've always been told to hydrate and as a cheap kid, I would always buy water assuming it was the same. It wasn't until college that powerade was provided on the sidelines that I could tell the difference. The extra stuff in powerade and gatorade really does help in keeping your body running at an optimal level. So now that I know this, I hydrate with every flavor I can get my hands on. The night before games, during games and after games its gatorade city. Also would like to offer the free tip that pathmark by Kmart almost always has one dollar big gatorades on sale. Also try the dollar store by La Tolltecca has gatorade cheap.
1:56 PM
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