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Watching Athletic Hydration During Summer

Post author By admin
Post date July 11, 2012
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Athletic Hydration is a big issue this Summer with temperatures around the country being so high. I am always concerned about hydration when I exercise but in the summer months when it is hard to stay hydrated even when doing nothing it is even more critical to keep your water and electrolytes up.

Proper hydration plays a critical role in athletic performance. Some consequences of dehydration are as follows: cramping, fatigue, dizziness, rapid elevation of body temperature, confusion, fainting, and the inability to sweat (cooling mechanism of the body).

Symptoms of Dehydration

Despite these symptoms obviously hampering athletic performance, they can progress rapidly into heat exhaustion or heat stroke. In order to avoid these serious side effects and increase the ability to perform at top levels, it is essential that not only athletes, but everyone that is exposed to Louisiana temperatures have a clear understanding of how to maintain proper hydration.

When focusing on hydration, it is important to look at some warning signs that the body gives to signal the lack of proper hydration. Thirst is considered by some experts to be an early signal that your body is in need of re-hydration. But according to Nancy Clark in her “Sports Nutrition Guidebook,” athletes may have already lost over a pound and a half of water weight before their thirst mechanism kicks in.

Athletic Hydration Signals

Athletic Hydration

So it is may be ill-advised to rely on the thirst signal before looking to replenish fluids. Another warning signal of early dehydration is referred to as the Urine Test. Dr. Porche, a long time athletic trainer at the collegiate level, would post dark yellowish/orange sheets of paper in the stalls of the restrooms.

These sheets stated: “If your urine is the color of this paper, you are dehydrated!” That is how he got the message across to athletes about self monitoring for dehydration. According to The Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, normal urine of an adequately hydrated individual would be the color of lemon juice.

Athletic Hydration Tips

The following is a look at what steps need to be taken before, during, and after strenuous activity in order to maintain proper hydration levels:

Encourage athletes to hydrate properly before long periods of activity or exercise in a hot environment.

Consuming at least ½ liter of fluid (about 16 fl oz) two hours before activity provides the fluid needed to achieve optimal hydration and allows enough time for urination of excess fluid. Because rapid absorption is not critical, athletes can choose to drink water or many other beverages.

The question whether consuming caffeinated beverages causes dehydration is often asked. Caffeine increases urine production slightly in athletes not accustomed to it, less in athletes who customarily consume caffeine.

Weight Loss Exercise

Quit Smoking – Gain Weight – Still Better Off

Post author By admin
Post date July 11, 2012
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I found this article about weight gain after you quit smoking over at the CBC Canada website and thought it was an interesting study. As I have written before, I smoked for many years and would actually put out my cigarette on my way into the gym but once I tackled my smoking habit over and over again I found that I finally quit smoking and have been more healthy now than ever.

I think that the excuse that you can gain weight after quitting smoking is a bit of a red herring but is always brought up. Tobacco is both an appetite suppressant and and a stimulant and so it can keep your weight down…But at a HUGE cost to your health.

The bold notes below are my comments on this article.

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Quit smoking leads to an average weight gain of up to five kilograms in the first year, significantly more than previously thought, according to a new study.

Most of the kilos are piled on in the first three months, a team of medical researchers write in the online journal British Medical Journal, as another group stresses that the health benefits of quit smoking far outweigh the risks of putting on weight.

Quit Smoking Leads to Weight Gain

For quitters who did not use nicotine replacement therapy, the average weight gain was 1.1 kilograms at one month, 2.3 at two, 2.9 at three, 4.2 at six months and 4.7 after a year, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said.

*Notice that the weight gain is front loaded as people are trying to fight nicotine cravings with food? I bet almost every ex-smoker will agree this is the case

This was “substantially higher than the 2.9 kilograms often quoted in smoking cessation advice leaflets,” write the team from France and Britain.

“Moreover, this mean weight gain is greater than the 2.3 kilograms gain that female smokers report being willing to tolerate, on average, before embarking on a quit attempt.”

Earlier research showed that nicotine is an appetite suppressant and may increase the metabolic rate.

For the latest paper, the researchers collated data from earlier studies conducted between 1989 and 2011 in the United States, Europe, Australia and east Asia to assess weight changes among successful smoking quitters.

The researchers stressed that changes in body weight varied greatly, with about 16 per cent of those that quit smoking losing weight and 13 per cent gaining more than 10 kilograms in the first year.

*You would expect that these ex-smokers that lost weight made bigger lifestyle changes and smoking was one of the changes. Exercise and diet changes will turn your whole lifestyle around and are tough, but on the other side you feel like a new person just a few months later

Smoking riskier than weight gain

In an editorial accompanying the paper, Associate Professor Esteve Fernández of the Universitat de Barcelona and Professor Simon Chapman of the University of Sydney say modest weight gain is far less life-threatening than smoking.

“Tobacco is the main cause of premature death worldwide, being responsible for 5.1 million deaths each year. Obesity, together with overweight, causes 2.8 million deaths,” they write.

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I am more than happy to me an ex-smoker. I did not personally gain weight, I proved to myself that it is possible, and I became more serious about my other health habits. So I can say personally that I would urge anyone to quit smoking even if they are worried about a bit of weight gain. This is a large part of your health issues that you have control over and then you can use your quitting to accelerate yourself to better health.