Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

It's summer time, the heat is spiking which means fluid intake should be spiking as well. If you are active--running, cycling, lifting, hiking, working around the house, walking to work, etc then you want to be sure to maintain fluid levels--which means water, water, and water. Muscles and blood are approx 70% water, so if dehydration sets in, then it could severly impact, limit performance.

What and how much to drink:
sports drinks such as gatorade, or powerade, should only be used during activities longer than 60min or so, anything shorter and water will be sufficient. Drink 8-16oz at least 60-90min before training, 4oz every 15min during activity and 16-20oz post-training. The post-training hydration is incredibly important, the preparation for the next training session starts with the recovery from the current training session. You can speed your recovery immensely by taking the time to properly re-hydrate after a training session, especially in the heat. Nutrition is critical as well, more on that later

weighs to monitor hydration:
If you're planning on a long run or ride during the summer heat, then weigh your body before the training session and then weigh immediately after; drink approx 20oz of water for every pound of weight lost during the training session. another method is to monitor the color of urine, when properly hydrated urine should be relatively clear. if dehydration starts setting in then the urine will turn yellow to dark yellow and have a distinct odor--if this happens, limit the activity and start hydrating.

to save money on sports drinks: add a little bit of sea salt and a pinch of natural sugar (the packets from starbucks work great) to the water--the sodium and glucose help the muscles uptake the hydration a little more effectively. Most sports drinks are about 8% concentration of glucose--this is what helps the muscles use the water more effectively, but sometimes thats too many calories, so save the $$ and the kcal and make your own sports drink!

Sorry about not posting for a while, but I was pre-occupied with the logistics of moving to a new house--which is actually a foreclose so it needed some TLC.