Hydration & Recovery
Andy Galpin's hydration equation tells you exactly how much fluid and sodium to drink during hard exercise. Even mild dehydration measurably degrades strength, endurance and focus, and Galpin treats sleep, down-regulation and clean bedroom air as equally non-negotiable parts of recovery.
Galpin's research repeatedly shows hydration is one of the highest-impact controllable variables in a session, and that recovery (sleep, down-regulation, environment) is what lets you sustain hard training. This protocol pulls those together: the Galpin Equation for fluids, getting sodium right, and the recovery basics he treats as non-negotiable.
Why it worksâ–¼
Hydrate with the Galpin Equation
A simple systematic rule that removes the guesswork. Start sessions already hydrated, with electrolytes in the fluid, not just plain water.
Get your sodium right
Aim for roughly a 2:1 sodium-to-potassium ratio. If your kit dries with white salt residue, you're a heavy-salt sweater and need more.
Fuel and carb-load intelligently
For long or intense work, carbohydrate sustains performance. Carb-loading means raising intake over several days, not one giant pasta dinner.
Treat sleep as recovery #1
Sleep is where training adaptation is consolidated. No supplement or modality outperforms simply sleeping enough, consistently.
Fix your bedroom air
High CO2 in a closed bedroom worsens sleep onset, causes wakeups and dents next-day cognition. Cracking a door/window or monitoring CO2 helps.
Deliberately shift into recovery mode
Slow nasal breathing activates the parasympathetic system. Galpin notes a short down-regulation session can do the job of an afternoon nap.
- Anyone who under-hydrates or only drinks plain water
- Hard trainers who recover poorly between sessions
- People with restless or unrefreshing sleep
- Athletes who want a simple, systematic hydration rule
- If you have kidney disease, heart failure or are on sodium- or fluid-restricted medical advice, do not raise sodium or fluid intake without your doctor.
- Very high water intake without electrolytes can dangerously dilute blood sodium (hyponatremia); replace electrolytes, don't just drink more water.
- Persistent unrefreshing sleep or loud snoring can signal a disorder worth investigating with a doctor.
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- July 3, 2026 Protocol published.
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Not medical advice. This page is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical care. Consult a qualified clinician before changing your health routine.
Independent curation. YourProtocol.ai is an independent platform. This protocol is based on the publicly available work of Andy Galpin and is not created, reviewed, endorsed by, or affiliated with Andy Galpin or Exercise scientist.