Hydration*

Below is a bullet point type list of important information pertaining to hydration during exercise. I hope you find it useful.


~ Working out can and SHOULD cause you to sweat. For the average person, if you're not sweating from your workouts, you're simply not working hard enough.

~ Ive met people (I have to say, mostly women) who have never really trained in a meaningful way only because they abhor sweating or think it's "unfeminine" to sweat. This is seriously flawed thinking.

~ Sweating is your body's way of regulating (cooling) it's temperature and that's good.

~ Some people sweat more than others, but on average you can lose more than 2 liters of water per hour if you're exercising hard on a hot summers day - that's not so good.

~ Sweating is not the only way you lose water. When you exhale you also lose water in the form of water vapor in your out breath.

~ Sweating causes you to lose not only water, but salt (sodium) and other vital electrolytes. "Electrolytes" (sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulfate, phosphate, chloride) in the context of exercise refers to certain minerals which act as electrical conductors essential for proper neural-muscular function. When you sweat during exercise, you lose electrolytes (in particular, sodium and potassium). Eventually these need to be replaced or your bodies functioning will be impaired (or worse).

~ Fluid replacement during training or during an endurance event can be key to staying healthy and performing at your best or highest potential.

~ Among other things, dehydration decreases blood volume and (therefore nutrient) flow, causes body temperature to increase due to lack of radiant heat dispersion, causes cardiovascular and neural muscular distress, may cause muscle cramping and neural-muscular dis-coordination due to electrolyte imbalances, increases the risk of heat exhaustion and numerous other negative physiological conditions.

~ There is one theory that says "it's best to TRAIN for endurance in a slightly dehydrated state" and in a "carbohydrate (glycogen) depleted" condition. The idea is that you teach your body to adapt and over-compensate for these shortages during TRAINING and then up these nutrients at the time of PERFORMING the big event (whatever that may be). Supposedly you can increase your blood flow volume and burn more fat with these techniques.

I would NOT advise using these techniques though as they are unproven at best. If you decide to try them, be careful, they may put a large increase in stress on your system including your heart. To me this approach would seem to promote fat storage as well so there's another reason to steer clear.

~ If you're working hard but doing it for less than 1 hour then plain water is fine because your body hasn't really had time to notice any significant metabolic imbalances. So the recommendation for a sub 1 hour workout is to simply take a 1/2 to 1 liter bottle of H2O along with you and drink when you feel like it (generally recommended at 4 to 8 oz every 15 to 20 minutes). In my own training, I simply take one 1/2 liter of fluids with me for every 1/2 hour of exercise I plan on doing.

~ Workouts lasting over an hour (some info Ive read puts it at beyond 90 minutes) can begin to be effected by metabolic imbalances caused by a lack of hydration, electrolytes (charged minerals) and carbohydrates (sugars). Studies have cited notable decreases in athletic performance in endurance activities lasting from 1 to 3+ hours when water, carbs and salt consumption is not maintained.

~ Please note, you can only "absorb" water at a maximum rate of about 1 liter per hour - drink more or faster than that and your gut can't keep up (and you will notice it).

~ Again, for endurance exercise lasting less than 1 hour, plain water is enough (provided you begin the exercise session in a well hydrated/nourished condition).

~ For endurance sessions going beyond 1 hours duration it's time to be using a "sports drink" of some kind which includes both sodium (salt/electrolytes - potassium) and carbs (sugars).

~ If you are dehydrated from exercising you are likely in need of carbohydrates as well. If an exercise session lasts long enough for dehydration to become a factor, then chances are that carbohydrate depletion also is a factor.

~ Workouts lasting beyond 1.5 hours should involve both hydration AND nutrition components (carbohydrates to help maintain glycogen levels) or you and your performance will suffer to some extent.

~ Carbohydrates for liquid nutrition basically means sugars which metabolize relatively quickly into glycogen or glucose (blood sugar) for quick energy. Note, the better sport drinks will use more than one type of sugar which enhances absorption.

~ It has also been claimed that during training, hydration and nutrition recovery processes are enhanced by the presence of protein in drinks containing carbohydrates at a ratio of around 1:4 protein:carbs.

The evidence is not conclusive yet on this but it probably wouldn't hurt to have the extra calories and lasting digestive properties of a little extra protein during an long workout. I tend to use these products my self especially if my workout session includes any strength building elements whereby protein supplementation is known to be beneficial.

A word of caution is in order here though in so far as it is known that protein in excess can in fact contribute to dehydration - which would seem to conflict with the benefits stated above. On this you'll have to come to your own conclusion for now.

THE DANGER OF HYPONATREMIA

During a long workout or event, if you are merely drinking water without electrolytes (specifically "sodium" supplementation) you are flirting with a potential fatal condition called Hyponatremia.

Hyponatremia is "low blood sodium" levels. In the context of training, this condition of metabolic imbalance can happen from not getting enough salt or from getting too much water in your system (which dilutes the blood sodium levels).

Once thought of as rare, this deadly condition is beginning to be in the news more and more often. You can avoid becoming a victim of it by remembering that water is for sub 1 hour (short duration) fluid replacement. Go past an hour and you'll need salt in your sport drink (probably it has it already included).

HYDRATION AND MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

The higher up we go the less air pressure and the dryer the air is. As a climber, probably you'll encounter a lot of sun and a lot of wind as well as a lot of intense physical effort. This presents a problem when it comes to hydration.

A person at altitude will lose more water due to higher respiration rates and dryer air among other things. Dehydration can mimic or make AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) worse and possibly contribute to its onset.

One of the keys to a successful climb (perhaps even surviving it) is to stay as hydrated as humanly possible ESPECIALLY WHILE AT A HIGH CAMP! Drink up to a half liter per half hour and don't forget the electrolytes as well.

On summit day, you WILL get dehydrated but try not to die from it at least. Most summits should require transporting (or melting and drinking) from 1-2 liters of fluids at a minimum.. but thats pushing it.

So drink up while in camp and get ready to suffer.



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