Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of Hypohydration on Muscle Endurance, Strength, Anaerobic Power and Capacity and Vertical Jumping Ability: A Meta-Analysis

Sports Medicine volume 45, pages 1207–1227 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

How hypohydration impacts non-bodyweight (BW)-dependent muscle performance and vertical jumping ability remains to be determined using meta-analytic procedures.

Objectives

Our objective was to determine the impact of hypohydration on muscle endurance, strength, anaerobic power and capacity and vertical jumping ability using a meta-analytic approach.

Data sources

Studies were located using database searches and cross-referencing.

Synthesis methods

Effect summaries were obtained using random-effects models; method of moments mixed-effects analysis-of-variance-like procedures were used to determine differences between groups; and restricted maximum likelihood random-effects meta-regressions were performed to determine relationships between variables, impact of confounders, and interaction effects.

Results

A total of 28 manuscripts met the inclusion criteria, producing six (upper body muscle endurance), ten (lower body muscle endurance), 14 (upper body muscle strength), 25 (lower body muscle strength), nine (muscle anaerobic power), nine (muscle anaerobic capacity), and 12 (vertical jumping ability) effect estimates. Hypohydration impaired overall muscle endurance by 8.3 ± 2.3 % (P < 0.05), with no significant difference between upper body (−8.4 ± 3.3 %) and lower body (−8.2 ± 3.2 %). As a whole, muscle strength fell by 5.5 ± 1.0 % (P < 0.05) with hypohydration; the difference between lower (−3.7 ± 1.8 %) and upper (−6.2 ± 1.1 %) body was non-significant. Anaerobic power (−5.8 ± 2.3 %) was significantly altered with hypohydration, but anaerobic capacity (−3.5 ± 2.3 %) and vertical jumping ability (0.9 ± 0.7 %) were not. No significant correlations were observed between the changes in any of the muscle performance variables or vertical jumping ability and the changes in hypohydration level. Using an active procedure to dehydrate participants decreased muscle performance by an additional 5.4 ± 1.9 % (2.76-fold) (P = 0.02) compared with using a passive dehydration procedure. Trained individuals demonstrated a 3.3 ± 1.7 % (1.76-fold) (P = 0.06) lesser decrease in muscle performance with hypohydration than did untrained individuals.

Conclusion

Hypohydration, or factors associated with dehydration, are likely to be associated with practically important decrements in muscle endurance, strength, and anaerobic power and capacity. However, their impact on non-BW-dependent muscle performance is substantially mitigated in trained individuals or when hypohydration is induced passively. Conversely, it is possible that body water loss (~3 % BW) may improve performance in BW-dependent tasks such as vertical jumping ability.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

References

  1. Judelson DA, Maresh CM, Anderson JM, et al. Hydration and muscular performance: does fluid balance affect strength, power and high-intensity endurance? Sports Med. 2007;37(10):907–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kraft JA, Green JM, Bishop PA, et al. The influence of hydration on anaerobic performance: a review. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2012;83(2):282–92.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Cheuvront SN, Kenefick RW. Dehydration: physiology, assessment, and performance effects. Compr Physiol. 2014;4(1):257–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hedges LV, Olkin I. Vote-counting methods in research synthesis. Psychol Bull. 1980;88:359–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Goulet ED. Effect of exercise-induced dehydration on time-trial exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2011;45(14):1149–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Goulet ED. Effect of exercise-induced dehydration on endurance performance: evaluating the impact of exercise protocols on outcomes using a meta-analytic procedure. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(11):679–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Evetovich TK, Boyd JC, Drake SM, et al. Effect of moderate dehydration on torque, electromyography, and mechanomyography. Muscle Nerve. 2002;26(2):225–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Bigard AX, Sanchez H, Claveyrolas G, et al. Effects of dehydration and rehydration on EMG changes during fatiguing contractions. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001;33(10):1694–700.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Wilkie DR. The relation between force and velocity in human muscle. J Physiol. 1949;110(3–4):249–80.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bobbert MF, Casius LJ. Is the effect of a countermovement on jump height due to active state development? Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005;37(3):440–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Judelson DA, Maresh CM, Farrell MJ, et al. Effect of hydration state on strength, power, and resistance exercise performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(10):1817–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Webster S, Rutt R, Weltman A. Physiological effects of a weight loss regimen practiced by college wrestlers. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1990;22(2):229–34.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Jones LC, Cleary MA, Lopez RM, et al. Active dehydration impairs upper and lower body anaerobic muscular power. J Strength Cond Res. 2008;22(2):455–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Cheuvront SN, Kenefick RW, Ely BR, et al. Hypohydration reduces vertical ground reaction impulse but not jump height. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010;109(6):1163–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM, Leiper JB. Errors in the estimation of hydration status from changes in body mass. J Sports Sci. 2007;25(7):797–804.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Montain SJ, Cheuvront SN. Fluid, electrolyte and carbohydrate requirements for exercise. In: Taylor NAS, Groeller H, editors. Physiological bases of human performance during work and exercise. Philadelphia: Elsevier Limited; 2008.

  17. Cheuvront SN, Carter R 3rd, Haymes EM, et al. No effect of moderate hypohydration or hyperthermia on anaerobic exercise performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006;38(6):1093–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Bowtell JL, Avenell G, Hunter SP, et al. Effect of hypohydration on peripheral and corticospinal excitability and voluntary activation. PLoS One. 2013;8(10):e77004.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Montain SJ, Tharion WJ. Hypohydration and muscular fatigue of the thumb alter median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010;35(4):456–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Minshull C, James L. The effects of hypohydration and fatigue on neuromuscular activation performance. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2013;38(1):21–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Lipsey MW, Wilson DB. Practical meta-analysis. Sage Publications; 2000.

  22. Follmann D, Elliott P, Suh I, et al. Variance imputation for overviews of clinical trials with continuous response. J Clin Epidemiol. 1992;45(7):769–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Hopkins WG. Calculating likely (confidence) limits and likelihoods for true values (Excel spreadsheet). In: A new view of statistics. 2002. http://sportsci.org/resource/stats/xcl.xls. Accessed May 2014.

  24. Del Coso J, Estevez E, Mora-Rodriguez R. Caffeine effects on short-term performance during prolonged exercise in the heat. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008;40(4):744–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Hayes LD, Morse CI. The effects of progressive dehydration on strength and power: is there a dose response? Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010;108(4):701–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Hopkins WG. How to interpret changes in an athletic performance test. 2004. http://www.sportsci.org/jour/04/wghtests.pdf Accessed May 2014.

  27. Borenstein M, Hedges LV, Higgins JPT, et al. Introduction to meta-analysis. Wiley; 2009.

  28. Higgins JP, Thompson SG. Quantifying heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. Stat Med. 2002;21(11):1539–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Thompson SG, Sharp SJ. Explaining heterogeneity in meta-analysis: a comparison of methods. Stat Med. 1999;18(20):2693–708.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Bijlani RL, Sharma KN. Effect of dehydration and a few regimes of rehydration on human performance. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 1980;24(4):255–66.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Bosco JS, Greenleaf JE, Bernauer EM, et al. Effects of acute dehydration and starvation on muscular strength and endurance. Acta Physiol Pol. 1974;25(5):411–21.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Bosco JS, Terjung RL, Greenleaf JE. Effects of progressive hypohydration on maximal isometric muscular strength. J Sports Med Phys Fitn. 1968;8(2):81–6.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Caterisano A, Camaione DN, Murphy RT, et al. The effect of differential training on isokinetic muscular endurance during acute thermally induced hypohydration. Am J Sports Med. 1988;16(3):269–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Ftaiti F, Grelot L, Coudreuse JM, et al. Combined effect of heat stress, dehydration and exercise on neuromuscular function in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2001;84(1–2):87–94.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Greiwe JS, Staffey KS, Melrose DR, et al. Effects of dehydration on isometric muscular strength and endurance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998;30(2):284–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Gutierrez A, Mesa JL, Ruiz JR, et al. Sauna-induced rapid weight loss decreases explosive power in women but not in men. Int J Sports Med. 2003;24(7):518–22.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Jacobs I. The effects of thermal dehydration on performance of the Wingate Anaerobic test. Int J Sport Med. 1980;1:21–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Kraft JA, Green JM, Bishop PA, et al. Impact of dehydration on a full body resistance exercise protocol. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010;109(2):259–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Montain SJ, Smith SA, Mattot RP, et al. Hypohydration effects on skeletal muscle performance and metabolism: a 31P-MRS study. J Appl Physiol. 1998;84(6):1889–94.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Naharudin MN, Yusof A. Fatigue index and fatigue rate during an anaerobic performance under hypohydrations. PLoS One. 2013;8(10):e77290.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Periard JD, Tammam AH, Thompson MW. Skeletal muscle strength and endurance are maintained during moderate dehydration. Int J Sports Med. 2012;33(8):607–12.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Schoffstall JE, Branch JD, Leutholtz BC, et al. Effects of dehydration and rehydration on the one-repetition maximum bench press of weight-trained males. J Strength Cond Res. 2001;15(1):102–8.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Stewart CJ, Whyte DG, Cannon J, et al. Exercise-induced dehydration does not alter time trial or neuromuscular performance. Int J Sports Med. 2014;35(9):725–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Viitasalo JT, Kyrolainen H, Bosco C, et al. Effects of rapid weight reduction on force production and vertical jumping height. Int J Sports Med. 1987;8(4):281–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Wilson G, Hawken MB, Poole I, et al. Rapid weight-loss impairs simulated riding performance and strength in jockeys: implications for making-weight. J Sports Sci. 2014;32(4):383–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Racinais S, Oksa J. Temperature and neuromuscular function. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010;20(Suppl 3):1–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Morrison S, Sleivert GG, Cheung SS. Passive hyperthermia reduces voluntary activation and isometric force production. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2004;91(5–6):729–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Thomas MM, Cheung SS, Elder GC, et al. Voluntary muscle activation is impaired by core temperature rather than local muscle temperature. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2006;100(4):1361–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Beedie CJ, Foad AJ. The placebo effect in sports performance: a brief review. Sports Med. 2009;39(4):313–29.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(2):377–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Wall BA, Watson G, Peiffer JJ, et al. Current hydration guidelines are erroneous: dehydration does not impair exercise performance in the heat. Br J Sports Med. 2013. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-092417.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to this review. No sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this review. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and should not be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Army or the Department of Defense. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Physical Activity Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de ľUniversité, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada

    Félix-Antoine Savoie & Eric D. B. Goulet

  2. Research Centre on Aging, Université de Sherbrooke, 1036 Belvédère Sud, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 4C4, Canada

    Félix-Antoine Savoie & Eric D. B. Goulet

  3. US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, USA

    Robert W. Kenefick, Brett R. Ely & Samuel N. Cheuvront

  4. Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Brett R. Ely

Authors
  1. Félix-Antoine Savoie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert W. Kenefick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Brett R. Ely
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Samuel N. Cheuvront
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Eric D. B. Goulet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric D. B. Goulet.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Savoie, FA., Kenefick, R.W., Ely, B.R. et al. Effect of Hypohydration on Muscle Endurance, Strength, Anaerobic Power and Capacity and Vertical Jumping Ability: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med 45, 1207–1227 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0349-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0349-0

Keywords

search

Navigation