Ingesting A Sports Drink Enhances Simulated Ice Hockey Performance While Reducing Perceived Effort

Abstract

This study determined whether ingesting a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution (CES) vs. progressive dehydration affected skeletal muscle glycogen use and performance in ice hockey players during simulated ice hockey exercise comprised of 3 active "periods". Seven males (21.3±0.3 years, 184.7±1.2 cm, 84.2±3.9 kg, and 49.6±1.8 mL·kg·min) performed a hockey-specific protocol on two occasions and either dehydrated progressively (NF), or stayed well-hydrated by ingesting a CES. Muscle biopsies were taken at rest, before the 3 period (P3), and after the final sprint in the protocol. Compared to dehydration in the NF trial (-1.8% BM), CES ingestion enhanced voluntary performance (151.0±8.0 vs. 144.1±8.7 kJ) and glycogen use (177.5±31.1 vs. 103.5±16.2 mmol·kg dm), and reduced perceived exertion (16±1 vs. 18±1) in P3. Mean core temperature was reduced by CES ingestion throughout the protocol (38.0±0.2 vs. 38.1±0.1°C). These results suggest that compared to progressive dehydration, staying hydrated by ingesting a CES helps preserve performance, while reducing thermal and perceptual strains, in P3 of cycle-based simulation of ice hockey exercise. These benefits are observed despite greater glycogen use in P3 with CES ingestion.

Carbohydrate Mouth-Rinsing Improves Overtime Physical Performance in Male Ice Hockey Players During On-Ice Scrimmages

“…The present findings exhibit the most favorable performance responses to CHO MR in intermittent high-intensity sport to date. Moreover, these results demonstrate that performance improvements observed in earlier hockey research with ingestion of exogenous CHO, as compared to nofluid ingestion, may have been partially related to oral exposure to CHO (15)(16)(17).…”

“…Despite greater external loads with CHO MR, internal loads were not different between conditions. The absence of diverging RPE values between CHO and PLA MR with the development of physical fatigue opposes previous CHO-ingestion ice-hockey research (15)(16)(17). However, this observation has been frequently repeated in existing CHO MR exercise research (18)(19)(20).…”

“…Though the present MR design was novel to ice hockey, future trial parameters should expand to include combinations of MR and ingestion. This would determine if previously observed performance benefits with CHO ingestion were due to oral exposure to CHO alone, or if there might be an additive effect with MR and ingestion (15)(16)(17). Additionally, special attention should be paid to nutritional control in forthcoming research, as it is possible that the absence of pre-trial nutritional restrictions in the present work may have impacted the findings herein.…”

“…In previous research, it was established that the consumption of CHO electrolyte solutions (CES) improved physical performance and helped reduce fatigue across time in ice hockey (15)(16)(17). This was observed as increased voluntary work performed, skating speed and time at high effort, and reduced ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) with CES ingestion.…”

Sweat Loss and Hydration Habits of Female Olympic, Varsity and Recreational Ice Hockey Players

“…It is well established that sweat loss resulting in decreases in body mass (BM) of as little as 1.5-2 % (mild dehydration) can negatively impact athletic and cognitive performance in numerous intermittent team sports for both male [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] and female athletes [10][11][12][13][14]. With this in mind, measuring individual sweat rates and hydration habits of athletes can identify players who become mildly dehydrated and are at risk of experiencing impaired performance.…”