Hydrating For Performance

Hydrate-Hydrate-Hydrate !! As we say goodbye to the cold weather (I hope I don't jinx anything by saying that) and hello to the hot and sunny days more and more people will be taking activities and training outside. While hydration is always important, it is especially important in hot weather.

Dehydration will affect your endurance performance and will also affect your strength, strength and endurance ... you will need to work harder to do the same exercises when you are in a dry state. In addition to impairing performance, dehydration also lowers short-term memory, coordination, attention and mental focus ... is it bad?

Drought may be the first indication that you are dry - you may actually be dry if you are thirsty. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, headache, redness, lightness, fatigue, rapid breathing, weakness and muscle cramps. So, it's pretty clear that you should avoid this situation as it's not very fun.

So now you ask how much do you need to drink? Well, I'm glad you asked because I'll tell you. Most studies are done on inactive people to ensure that men should take on average 13 cups of water a day and women 9 cups daily. I was talking about the cup being measured not to find the biggest cup in the house and drinking 9-13 cups of it. Also, everyone is unique so here are some guidelines.

Since this is the base for inactive people, those involved in sports or exercise programs need more. So, it's a good idea to pre-hydrate before exercising, drink during your workout and then take more fluids after your workout. The goal is to keep your liquid loss below 2% ... the point at which your performance will begin to suffer. For pre-hydration, expect to drink 2-3 cups of water 2 hours before your activity (it's really 1.75-2.75 cups but I'm round ... I'm good at maths like that) During practice you want to be in 1 cup of water each 15-20 minutes range (or if needed if it is too hot) and then after running 2-3 cups for each lost weight. Yes, I know, it's going to be difficult but if you want to do it right, you need to consider before and after training. So if after jogging you find you lose 2 pounds, you want to drink 4-6 cups of water ... then maybe go to the bathroom with all the water you drink.

Is sports drink OK? They're not bad. In general, if your activity is 1 hour or less, stick to the water. If you experience difficulty for approximately an hour then sports drinks are recommended. A sports drink containing 8% carbohydrate is the best choice ... the biggest beverage brand like Gatorade.

Don't forget the kids ... they need water too !! Youth need to be careful with proper hydration. Youth do not adapt to high temperatures like adults do. Children actually produce more heat than adults and have lower sweat capacity. As a result, their body temperature can rise to insecure levels during warm-up exercises until parents, monitoring them closely as they come out to engage in their summer sports.

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