Water, water anywhere this summer?

Mum Nature’s June heatwave experienced by many of us stimulated my log entry for proper hydration.  So very important – Yes?

As some know – too much of a good thing is NOT wonderful (pardon me, Mae West).  Isolated folks have died from OVER-hydrating in aerobic distance events. Hyponatremia is that rare occurrence of too low sodium from too much hydration.

Putting that outlying, scary fact aside – let’s remember that dehydration of ONLY 1-2 percent or so of your body weight is often an early and prominent sign of fatigue before, during and post- aerobic exercise.

I offer these Medicine Net guidelines -> http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79674

Simple things can be hard – yes?  Like ingesting 128 ounces of water a day. But then think about it – a 150 pound person has over 80-90 pounds of water in it; and about 4% of TOTAL Body Weight is exhaled / expired / secreted  daily.  The Math is pretty simple for even a sedentary person – that’s about 6 pounds of water gonzo even before you exercise.  See http://foodsafety.hubpages.com/hub/Hunger-or-Hydration-What-is-Your-Body-Really-Asking-For

What is a Layperson’s quick assessment of hydration/dehydration?

One’s urine color (DO peek before you exercise heavily). If DARK – DRINK!  Note: You may have some temporary colorations after taking multi-vitamins. Yet the watery bottom line is that Dark is NOT good unless you want to be tired and underperform.

See http://e-infopages.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Urine-chart.jpg

So what about  carbo / electrolyte supplements for exercise?  A rule of thumb I follow is that plain old water is fine for aerobics of 30 minutes or less (and I’m a sweat hog). When I do sip enhanced water – I drink variants with a tad of protein.

And to close out my Water, Water entry today – I thank the folks @ http://triabilitycoach.com/2012/03/01/a-reference-chart-for-your-body-fat-and-water-percentages/ for this comparison of male/female body fat percentages to average total body water

Total Body Water Percentage    

% Body Fate Range                              Normal % TBW Range

 Drink up, avoid fatigue and enjoy your summer aerobics!