Staying hydrated during the summer
Summer is upon us, the kids are almost out of school, virtually everyone’s getting ready for vacation, and sports enthusiasts are preparing to play more of their favorite sport(s). So it’s time to make sure that you have the right exercise gear and accessories for the summer.
Whether you enjoy running, hiking, tennis, biking, golf, swimming, baseball, soccer or football, when exercising or playing your favorite sports during the summer months, it’s important to stay hydrated.
Many people become dehydrated during the summer months when exercising or participating in competitive sports events -- even when it’s not particularly hot or sunny. Dehydration impairs both physical and mental performance in levels of sport, but it can be avoided by utilizing common-sense hydration strategies.
To stay hydrated during the summer, a good rule-of-thumb is to drink two glasses of fluid two hours before your outdoor exercise activity, whatever it may be – walking, running, biking, or tennis. During exercise activity, you should drink 4 to 6 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes to keep yourself well hydrated. If you are planning an hour-long walk or gym workout, carry a water bottle with you that has about 2 glasses of liquid in it.
Below are some of the drinks and products that can help keep you hydrated while exercising or playing sports during the summer months …
Water: Good old H2O still cannot be topped for making up fluid loss when you exercise! You should aim to sip 4 to 10 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise to stay hydrated during your workout. However, don’t drink too much water, as it can lead to overhydration and hyponatremia. This occurs when excess water in your body dilutes the sodium content of your blood.
Sports Drinks: If you’re working out for longer than an hour or doing a particularly strenuous exercise, like training for a marathon, you should consider drinking a sports drink, or electrolyte-enhanced water. Sports drinks, such as Powerade and Gatorade, and electrolyte-enhanced water like Smart Water, can help rehydrate your body during prolonged exercise sessions - since they contain electrolytes and most tap and bottled water does not.
Coconut Water: If you aren’t really into sports drinks, but need to replenish your electrolytes and fluid loss, you should consider drinking coconut water. Compared to typical sports drinks, coconut water has fewer calories, less sodium, and higher amounts of potassium. Coconut water can also help maintain proper fluid balance in the body and helps avoid cramps during a strenuous workout.
Fruit: Many fruits are a great source of both electrolytes and fluid, though the electrolyte content varies from fruit to fruit. Bananas and dates are good for long runs, as they have high amounts of potassium. To stay hydrated, its important to combine water with fruits to replenish your fluid balance, since fruits do not contain as much fluid content as needed during intense workouts.
Fitness and Designer Waters: Fitness waters such as Propel are lightly flavored and have added vitamins and minerals. Fitness waters fall somewhere between a sports drink and plain water. They contain fewer calories and electrolytes than sports drinks, but have more taste than plain water. You can also obtain vitamins and minerals from designer waters, which are often enhanced with everything from vitamins, oxygen, glucose, to fat-burning minerals. However you should think of designer waters to purely prevent dehydration - not as a vitamin supplement or replacement.
Super Jock ‘n Jill, based in both Redmond and Seattle Washington, has always been the go-to place for all kinds of products for sports and exercise enthusiasts. What started out as a running store in 1975 has morphed into something much more…a place where runners, walkers, and exercise enthusiasts come to find the best sports apparel, footwear and accessories available -- anywhere.
Super Jock ‘n Jill is also a place where like-minded sports enthusiasts connect and congregate with one another. For example, during Super Jock ‘n Jill’s numerous sports events and medical nights. For the latter, Super Jock ‘n Jill invites respected medical professionals such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, orthopedists to their store so that exercise enthusiasts can consult with them and learn how to prevent or address various aches, pains or injuries.
So, if you live in the Seattle area or are only visiting, stop by Super Jock ‘n Jill and pick up the running shoes, sports apparel, sports accessories, healthy snacks or the exercise-enhancing hydration products you need this summer. And remember make sure to stay hydrated when working out throughout the summer!
For more information on running shoes, sports apparel and accessories, contact Super Jock ‘n Jill at 425-658-4929 or at 206-522-7711 and at info@superjocknjill.com.