Visual stimulus does not alter fluid replacement in women practicing zumba fitness

Hydration is an important component of physical performance. The lack of adequate hydric replacement can lead to severe dehydration and early fatigue. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using visual stimulation on the hydration status of women Zumba fitness practitioners. Sixteen women practicing Zumba fitness (age = 42.3 +/- 12.0 years, weight = 75.6 +/- 16.8 Kg, height = 1.62 +/- 0.58 m, BMI = 28.3 +/- 4.6 Kg/m(2), WC = 89.4 +/- 10.1 cm, %BF = 38.0 +/- 6.0) participated in the study. Hydration status was assessed in three moments: 1) familiarization, 2) usual training (Control) and 3) training with visual stimulus for hydration (VS). Body mass before and after training and fluid intake during training were obtained. Sweating rate (SR), fluid intake rate (FIR), and dehydration percentage (D%) were calculated. Temperature and humidity were recorded during training. Hydration status in the recovery period was assessed using urine specific gravity (USG) and urine color (UC) which were measured on the mornings of the training days and the day after training. Although the workouts were performed under similar temperature and humidity conditions, SR was significantly higher in the VS (p=0.002). There was no difference in D%, FIR, USG, and UC between control and VS (p > 0.05). Strong correlation was observed between USG and UC (r = 0.76; p < 0.001). It was concluded that the students performed adequate fluid replacement which provided a low degree of dehydration during training sessions and that the use of visual stimulus in only one session was not enough to significantly increase fluid intake during training sessions and in the recovery period.