What drink makes your hart beat recover the fastest
Problem
The problem I am trying to figure it out is, what sports drinks help your pulse rate go back to normal after a workout the fastest. There are a few reasons why I picked this topic. First, I love running and was curious if the fluids I drank affected me. The second reason is that my sister was passing out while running Cross Country for Seton Hall University. As part of her treatment, the doctor told her to drink Gatorade because it would raise her blood pressure and pulse and replace the salt her body had lost during training. I did this project to test that medical treatment.
Hypothesis
My Hypothesis is that Gatorade is going to do the best. Gatorade is a drink that can hydrate you and replace the lost electrolytes. The main reason for predicting that Gatorade was going to do the best, is that it was created by researchers at the University of Florida for the purpose of helping sports players deal with issues created by dehydration.
Steps
First I bought my drinks, Gatorade, Vitamin water and water.
Then I borrowed a automatic blood pressure machine that measured blood pressure and pulse rate.
I went to my kitchen and got a measuring cup.
I measured the subjects resting pulse rate and recorded it in my data log.
I got my iPhone and set it for ten minutes.
Subject then exercised on treadmill at 5.0 setting for 10 minutes.
After exercise, checked pulse rate to establish an active pulse rate.
Subject then drank one cup of one of the Fluids
After 10 minutes, a resting pulse rate was recorded.
I0.Determined if there was a change in pulse rate and
recorded the difference
11.I did the same order of steps for all three drinks
12.Each drink was tested three times for each subject
Conclusion
This project had its challenges. I had done some research and knew that Gatorade had been created to help athletes recover quicker due to loss of fluids and salt due to sweating. I selected Vitamin water due to my theory that it would have materials in it that would help the body. Lastly, I chose water because most people that exercise know the importance of hydration. I went to the store and bought Blue Gatorade and vitamin water. I decided that I would drink one cup of each drink after exercise. I used my grandfather’s blood pressure machine to measure my pulse rates before and after exercise. I put 10 minutes on my iPhone and put the treadmill at a 5.0 pace. Once I got off the treadmill, I tested my heartbeat again. Than I drank a cup of one of the three fluids. I waited ten minutes. Once the time was up, I checked my pulse again. I recorded the change of pulse rate in my data log. I did this three times for each of the drinks. I had one other subject repeat these steps to duplicate this experiment.
Abstract
Which drink makes your pulse go back to normal the fastest?
The problem I am trying to figure it out is what sports drinks make your pulse go back to normal after a workout the fastest. There are a few reasons why I picked this topic. First, I love running and was curious if the fluids I drank affected me. The second reason is that my sister was passing out while running Cross Country for Seton Hall University. As part of her treatment, the doctor told her to drink Gatorade because it would raise her blood pressure and pulse and replace the salt her body had lost during training. I did this project to test that medical treatment.
My project went well. I modified this test after initially testing to see if drinking before exercise had an effect on the body. However the early results did not show much promise. I looked back over the articles that I had previously reviewed and notice that Gatorade had always tested better as a recovery drink. So I changed the testing to providing the drink after exercise, which produced the results I believed I would get. Gatorade was the best out of all the fluids with an average of negative -12. The older subject had his pulse rate reduced and average of -30 after 10 minutes of strenuous exercise and then drinking Gatorade. Vitamin water was a close second with an average of negative -11.7 on younger subject and negative -25.6 on the older subject. Water was consistently the worst performer with an average of negative -5.7 on younger subject and negative -18.6. on the older subject.
I learned a lot while I was doing this project. Most people assume if you drink water you would be fine since dehydration could be fixed by drinking water. However, after my sister a long distance runner, had her problems with passing out, I decided to learn more about what happens to the body when subject to extreme exercise. I am also a long distance runner and hoped to learn how to avoid any problems for myself and improve my performance if possible. After, doing my research and looking at the results of my testing, I now know that water may be ok for the non-serious runner, but it is not good enough for the serious distance runner. When the body is forced to work hard for long periods of time, it sweats and loses electrolytes that need to be replaced by a drink that contains sodium. Gatorade is a drink that can hydrate you and replace the lost electrolytes. In conclusion, my hypothesis was correct. I had guessed that Gatorade was going to do the best. When Gatorade was first developed in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida, it was made just for the reason of helping sports players regain their salt content. My tests confirmed that drinks with sodium and fluid work to keep the body functions in balance. My results may also show that it is even more important for older adults to hydrate with electrolyte-based drinks than younger people, since the drops in pulse rate were much bigger. If I had more time, I think I could have improved this project by testing more subjects. I would have also liked to see if the results changed at all if I let more time pass between drinking the beverage and taking the pulse. Gatorade is the best drink to replenish your body during exercise. Now, during my long distance running career, I will try to drink more Gatorade to hopefully give me an edge in performance.