Hydration and why it is very important.

With the summer only getting hotter, July and August are the hottest months of the year here, it is very important that you are properly hydrated if you are to participate in any physical activity. Especially the strenuous physical activity that is demanded of high end track athletes.

I did a little research and discovered some interesting facts. Your muscular tissue is 75% water. In other words, once you start to get dehydrated, your muscles are feeling it big time. Average sedentary humans need about 2.5 liters of water a day. However, athletes working out at 70% of their VOmax for two hours (a normal Saturday workout) need 6-7 liters of water!! Just to take care of the fluid loss from that individual workout! Wow! Dehydration not only leads to decreased athletic performance, it can lead to some serious health issues. We don't want to go down that road.

Coach Monfre preached this in middle school, and it bears repeating here. You cannot hydrate yourself the day of your event. Proper hydration is something that must be a lifestyle choice. You need to be super hydrated all the time! Even on days where you are not working out, you need to be hydrated. You need to be properly hydrated on vacation, in school, before long runs, after interval sessions, all day you should be sipping some water to replace the water you lose due to heat and exercise!

Water vs sports drinks, whatever your tongue is a fan of, drink it. The great thing about hydration is that water in this country is easily accessible, and no matter what the media says, overhyrdataion (hyponatremia) is not going to happen to you unless you are drinking so much you are in the bathroom every two minutes. (Hyponatremia is an imbalance of sodium and water in your body. Anyone reading this blog should be working out enough to keep that balance in check.)

So, start drinking some water, start getting ready for tomorrow night, and stay hydrated!!