5 Performance Nutrition Tips for Exercise in the Heat & Humidity

What a crazy week it has been across the country - high temperatures combined with high humidity has lead to heat-related incidences being reported all over the news. This weather does not help athletes in peak training and competition time. Help yourself maintain your training intensity with the following 5 tips.

1. Hydrate
Hydration doesn't start one hour before your workout...it starts as soon as your feet hit the floor in the morning. Drink 2 cups of water as soon as you get out of bed - even before breakfast. This will help kick-start the rehydration process. During your workout, take on a bit more fluid than normal; drink cold beverages to help keep your core temperature controlled.

2. Mind your electrolytes
One of the reasons sports drinks are better than plain water for training athletes is because your body loses more than water when you sweat...it also lose electrolytes (mainly sodium). Also, electrolytes are imperative for muscle contraction during exercise. Taking in electrolytes with fluid helps your body hold on to more of that fluid. This means you hydrate your body better and visit the bathroom less frequently. During your workout, consider drinking a sports drink to help your body hydrate better. One possible cause of muscle cramping during or after exercise is an imbalance of electrolytes; this is prevented by appropriate hydration with sports drinks. If you are not a fan of added sugars, try a no-calorie electrolyte supplement such as Nuun tabs or a no-calorie drink such as Powerade Zero.

3. Wear breathable clothing
When the air is already saturated with water (i.e. in high humidity), sweat does not easily evaporate from your skin. Breathable fabrics wick moisture away from your skin, which helps your body be more efficient at cooling itself.  Since there is an indirect relationship between body temperature and performance, staying cool is key. Note there is both warm weather and cold weather breathable clothing, so pay attention to what you are buying. Shell out the extra bucks - these clothes are worth it! And whenever possible, use a towel to wipe off excess sweat on your arms, face, legs, etc. It is not the sweating that cools your body, but the evaporation of that sweat.

4. Look for fluid on your plate
In addition to hydrating with fluids, choose foods with a high-water content, such as WATERmelon, tomatoes, lettuce, and melons. This will add to your daily fluid intake while also providing vitamins and minerals that athletes need for proper recovery.

5. Take it easy
No athlete responds well to those words. However, decreasing intensity for a day or two is better than recovering for several days from heat illness. If you find that your heart rate is skyrocketing, you are dizzy, or that you are experiencing chills or nausea, you need to find some shade, take a break, and hydrate. Force yourself to drink, even if you are feeling nauseous. Assess your hydration tactics and increase your efforts before you continue exercise in the heat. (Note: if you feel faint, find help immediately or call 9-1-1.)

Remember that it takes approximately 7-14 days on average for your body to acclimate to exercise in the heat. So be patient if you're not hitting your goal splits or heart rate ranges for a few days. Using these 5 tactics, you'll soon be back to your normal intensity.

Be Extraordinary,


RDKate


Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crestedcrazy/

5 ways alcohol wreaks havoc on your training

While many athletes enjoy drinking for social reasons, there are certain realities about alcohol and its effect on your body. Aside from overall health effects of alcohol ingestion, many athletes are unaware that alcohol consumption affects performance and recovery too. Here is how...

1. Alcohol dehydrates
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases fluid losses in the body by blocking the normal signaling cascade that tells your body to hold on to fluid. Instead your kidneys continue to produce urine. This puts athletes at risk for dehydration, heat illness and muscle cramping.

Top 5 Nutrition & Training Tips as the Weather Warms

Unseasonably warm weather in many parts of the country are throwing many athletes' bodies into a state of confusion. From complaints of unexpected fatigue to headaches to sinus flare-ups, unexpected weather extremes take a toll on the training body.  So what can you do as the weather warms to help your body adjust?

1. Hydrate
Hydration doesn't start one hour before your workout...it starts as soon as your feet hit the floor in the morning. Drink 2 cups of water as soon as you get out of bed - even before breakfast. This will help kick-start the rehydration process. During your workout, take on a bit more fluid than normal until your body adjusts to the warmer temperatures.

2. Mind your electrolytes
One of the reasons sports drinks are better than plain water for training athletes is because your body loses more than water when you sweat...you also lose electrolytes (mainly sodium). Also, electrolytes are imperative to muscle contraction during exercise. Taking in electrolytes with fluid helps your body hold on to more of that fluid. This means you hydrate your body better and visit the bathroom less frequently. During your workout, consider drinking a sports drink as the weather warms to help your body hydrate better. One cause of muscle cramping during or after exercise is an imbalance of electrolytes; this is prevented by appropriate hydration with sports drinks.

3. Wear breathable clothing
Breathable clothing is expensive and popular for a reason - it works! Clothes with this type of fabric wick moisture away from your skin, which helps your body be more efficient at cooling itself. Since there is an indirect relationship between body temperature and performance, staying cool is key. Note there is both warm weather and cold weather breathable clothing, so pay attention to what you are buying. Shell out the extra bucks - these clothes are worth it!

4. Look for fluid on your plate
In addition to hydrating with fluids, choose foods with a high-water content, such as WATERmelon, tomatoes, lettuce, and melons. This will add to your daily fluid intake while also providing vitamins and minerals that athletes need for proper recovery.

5. Take it easy
No athlete responds well to those words. However, believe me when I say that decreasing intensity for a day or two is better than recovering for several days from heat stroke. If you find that your heart rate is skyrocketing, you are dizzy, or that you are experiencing chills or nausea, you need to find some shade, take a break, and hydrate. Force yourself to drink, even if you are feeling nauseous. Assess your hydration tactics and increase your efforts before you continue exercise in the heat.

Remember that it takes approximately 7-14 days on average for your body to acclimate to exercise in the heat. So be patient if you're not hitting your goal splits or heart rate ranges for a few days. Using these 5 tactics, you'll soon be back to your normal intensity.

Be Extraordinary,

RDKate

Do you like to drink?

If I had a dollar for every client that said, "I probably don't drink as much as I should", I would have hired someone else to blog for me by now! Whether it's before, during, or after a workout, many athletes struggle with staying hydrated properly throughout the day. Last week I talked about the huge variety of water bottles and belts available to help you stay hydrated during your workout. So lets continue on that theme and this week discuss what type of fluid and how much to put in that lovely bottle or belt that you all bought last week. Remember, the goal of drinking during exercise is to prevent excessive dehydration, which is losing more than 2% of your body weight during a workout.

Gatorade or water? G2 or Powerade Zero? Electrolyte tabs? Glycerol? The choices are plenty...

Gatorade or water?
Which you use depends on what type of workout you're doing. If the workout will be greater than an hour or a very intense workout (such as intervals or hill repeats) lasting at least 30 minutes, using a sports drink (i.e. Gatorade, Powerade, Lucozade, etc.) is the better idea. At this level of intensity or length of workout, you will start depleting your body's glycogen (stored energy, which comes mainly from carbohydrate) and will be loosing significant electrolytes (mainly sodium) in your sweat. Remember that electrolytes in a sports drink actually help your body hold on to the water in the drink. They also play a role muscle contraction and may help prevent muscle cramping.

G2 or Powerade Zero?

Many sports drink companies make specialty drinks such as G2, Powerade Zero, and Gatorade Endurance. These each have a specific purpose. G2 is low calorie; it contains half the amount of carbohydrate as regular Gatorade or Powerade. This is a great choice for kids, adults involved in a lower intensity workout, or adults concerned about their carbohydrate intake. Powerade Zero - as implied by the name - has absolutely no energy (calories), but still provides electrolyte supplementation. It is a good choice for kids or adults doing very low intensity exercise in intense heat. Either of these products may also be a good choice for those trying to lose weight. Gatorade Endurance has the same nutritional make-up as regular Gatorade, but it provides double the amount of electrolytes. If you are a heavy sweater, this is your product! How do you know if you sweat heavily? If your shirt is drenched when others' are slightly damp or when you see white salty stains around the neckline of your shirt, chances are you would be labeled a heavy sweater. Those prone to cramping may also benefit from this product.

Electrolyte tab or Glycerol?
Electrolyte tabs have grown in popularity over the last few years. Athletes often add them to Gatorade or water during training and races to help stay hydrated or to prevent cramping. Add them to Gatorade and you've got a version of Gatorade Endurance; add them to water and you've got a version of Powerade Zero. Not an exact science, but you get the idea. Electrolyte tabs can be a great tool, but how many you use and how often is best determined by consulting with a sports dietitian. Glycerol is often taken by athletes trying to over-hydrate themselves for a race. While in theory it could work, this technique has some pretty uncomfortable digestive side effects and has not shown to improve performance.

But how much?
Once you choose your fluid, next you need to figure out how much of it you should be drinking. Fluid needs during exercise are ~6-12 ounces (~1-1.5 cups) every 15 minutes. There is a range because of the difference in sweat rates among athletes. Gender, body size, body composition, environment, clothing, genetics, sport, and position all affect sweat rate. American football players can lose up to 2 L of fluid per hour during summer training! As you can see, this makes it difficult to provide a blanket recommendation, but starting with 6-12 ounces every 15 minutes will likely get you in the ballpark.

Carbohydrate needs during exercise are ~60 gm per hour after the first hour of exercise. All that carbohydrate does not HAVE to come from fluid, but athletes often just use a sports drink because it is the easiest and best tolerated option. Again, 60 gm per hour is just a guideline, so consulting with a sports dietitian for your individual needs is the best advice.

So grab that water bottle or belt, pick a fluid, and have a great workout!

Hydration - don't leave home without it

Yesterday was Day 1 of my marathon training for the Detroit Marathon in October! Unfortunately, the heat index yesterday in Chicago was a comfortable 101 degrees. Because I was going out for a 6 mile run, I knew that hydration was going to be important for me to have a successful run. Although I had hydrated well during the day, I know that it easy to lose 2% of my body weight during even a short run. Any weight loss above 2% drastically affects performance due to increases in heart rate and core temperature. If you're exercising in a gym or on a court, keeping hydration close by is fairly easy. However, for endurance athletes - particularly runners - this can tricky. It is from these athletes that I typically hear, "Well, I would have drunk water during my run but there wasn't any along my route." So sad, but this is no longer a valid excuse. Endurance runners now have many options when it comes to staying hydrated...

What type of hydration apparatus or fuel belt you use is dependent on the length of your workout. If you are doing a run longer than 50-60min, you might opt for a fuel belt. The fuel belt brand offers belts that have anywhere from one to eight bottles. Bottle size varies but can be as high as 22oz. per bottle. Of course the larger the bottle, the fewer bottles you will need to carry. However, I would caution you to be sure to train with the belt before using it in a race, as the belts can be HEAVY and also somewhat awkward, so do take some getting used to. The nice thing about these is that most also have a zipped storage area for holding keys, an ID, or energy gels/chews.

Even if not running for a full hour, some runners don't like holding even one water bottle. Therefore, using a fuel belt that holds only one bottle is a great option. Here is one specifically advertised for trail running; the water bottle side typically is worn in the back. Personally, I just love the camo:

Another option if you only need one bottle is a palm holder (assuming you don't mind holding the water bottle). There are also many varieties and sizes of these, but here is one designed for a relatively longer run (because the bottle is 22oz). It has a convenient strap that wraps around your hand, which surprisingly makes it leaps and bounds easier than just carrying a water bottle alone. Plus the strap typically has a storage area for keys, an ID, or perhaps some type of energy gels or chews.

Although these are all great options, my personal favorite is the Vapor bottle. I love it because my small, feminine hands often hurt after using a palm holder for too long. Plus as the bottle becomes less full, it can actually be folded in half, which is doubly convenient when running.

Although these come in a variety of sizes, they don't hold a huge amount of water, so wouldn't be good for a long run. However, if I'm running less than 50 minutes, this is my go-to hydration partner.

Any fuel belt or water holder is only as effective as it is used. So find one that you like and that you will actually drink from. Remember you should be drinking 8-12 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes. Add in sports drink if your workout will be longer than an hour or if you are doing an interval workout. The more you sweat, the more fluid and electrolytes you need. Happy drinking!