Confused About Hydration? Don't Sweat It - Reposted from Articles
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2018-10-29 9:35 AM |
Official BT Coach 18500 Indianapolis, Indiana | Subject: Confused About Hydration? Don't Sweat It - Reposted from Articles Confused About Hydration? Don't Sweat Itauthor : Team BT comments : 0 How to know how much to drink, without damaging your performance or getting sick.At first glance, hydration seems simple. We’ve all heard the same stale quips a million times: Consequences of dehydrationFailure to hydate during exercise can lead to some pretty serious consequences. First, and *most* (read: least) importantly, it will slow you down. There’s evidence that losing just 2 percent of your body weight in sweat can significantly degrade performance. For a 150-lb triathlete, that’s only 3 pounds of sweat, or a little over a quart. The performance inhibiting effect of dehydration can be linked to a number of physiological mechanisms. Your body uses water to regulate temperature and cool itself down through sweat. But water is also necessary for other essential organs and processes, including carbohydrate metabolism and as lubrication and padding for tissues. When you lose too much water, your body diverts blood (i.e. water) from your muscles and and sweat glands to keep your interal organs - like your heart and brain - alive and well. As a result, your body releases less sweat, which makes your body temperature rise, which makes it even harder to keep your interal organs cool, which makes your body release less sweat, which makes your body temperature rise…. see where I’m going? When water isn’t enoughOn the other hand, drinking too much water can also be an issue. Proper hydration doesn’t just mean guzzling gallon after gallon of Adam’s ale. Athletes who do so can suffer from hyponatremia - which Latin speakers can tell you literally means “below normal sodium disorder.” It’s also known as “water poisoning”. The signs of hyponatremia are paradoxically similar to those of dehydration, much to the chagrin of race health staff who are responsible for triage. Hyponatremic athletes may show symptoms including headache, nausea, fatigue, and irritability (which, now that I think about it, is pretty much how I feel at the end of every race anyways), but in extreme cases it can lead to seizures, respiratory arrest, coma, and death. That got dark pretty fast, but here’s the bright side: to avoid hyponatremia, you need (read: get) to eat all the salty food! Pickles, pretzels, tomato juices, and many other sodium-laden foods that have been demonized by the American Heart Association are actually essential for triathletes who soak through more than more set of workout clothes each day. Sports drinks can also be a good source of sodium and other electrolytes including potassium, magnesium, and calcium. But be wary of marketing ploys involving athletes secreting unnaturally vibrant sweat: Gatorade and Powerade contain too much sugar and not enough electrolytes, which usually makes them a poor choice for rehydration. Instead, opt for endurance-sport nutrition brands like Hammer, Clif, Infinit, Skratch Labs, and Maurteen. Some of these products might cost a pretty penny, but you really only need them for workouts that last longer than 60-90 minutes. And they’re much cheaper than an ambulance ride to the ER. “How much water should I drink?” The quick answer is “enough so that you’re never thirsty and your pee is consistently pale yellow.” The long answer requires a bit of math. You can use the technique below, or check out this nifty calculator: http://www.triharder.com/thm_swrate.aspx “How many salty snacks should I eat?” Sodium can be a bit more tricky. You could head to a “Sweat Testing Clinic” (yes, they exist) and pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to run on a treadmill in front of strangers wearing starchy white coats. Or, if you’re not interested in paying to play lab-rat for a day, or finding out what a “Sweat Testing Clinic” smells like, just experiment yourself. Try out different sports drinks (most are also sold in single-use packets), slowly introduce more salty foods into your pre- and post-workout meals, and see what works for you. If you’re craving pepperoni pizza with a side of dill pickles after every ride, it might be a sign that you need to add a dash of salt to your morning oatmeal, or bring another bottle of sports drink next time. Sources: Caffeine and diuresis during rest and exercise Hydration and physical performance Will Krakow is a mathematician with a writing problem from Chapel Hill, NC. He qualified for the 2017 70.3 World Championships (but gave up his spot to attend Oktoberfest), owns a 12:09 beer mile PR, and has won the local group ride sprint exactly one time. In his spare time, he enjoys long runs on the beach and candlelit trainer sessions. |
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