Hydration Pt 1.

So I was thinking this is supposed to be a blog about my experiences, pit falls and successes, so let's write about a real topic that is usually encountered at some point by all people.  Hopefully this will be a 3 part (or 4 part if I can find enough to write on):

Tentative Plan:
Part 1 - Why we need water
Part 2 - What to drink and when
Part 3 - Exercise paradigms
Part 4 - Random tidbits and other facts

Water is the most basic fluid that your body requires and although it has many uses, we don't usually realize the significance of it.  A big factor is temperature regulation, allowing your body to thermo-regulate.  A big problem with getting dehydrated is your body begins to heat up and body doesn't like this warm environment.  Now there is an optimal range, so it's not like you shouldn't keep your body warm because that's good for muscles, just don't overcook yourself.  In simpler terms, when you lose water you are decreasing your overall blood volume.  If you lose more than 2% it starts to occur and then your heart works harder to pump the blood and thus you can start feeling dizzy lethargic etc.  Getting to a point where you are dehydrated usually is correlated with a relatively lengthy time to recover and bring your body back to a point where it is adequately "hydrated" again.  Oddly enough, the opposite holds true as well.  For you to load your body with more water, you have to do this in bits and pieces as opposed to just chugging water like mad.  This usually just results it going through your body really quickly.

So how much water should one drink? A rough calculation is half an oz. for every lb you weight.  For example that would put me at just over 70 oz's a day which is not a whole lot (Think two big nalgene bottles).  Now lots of people don't end up actually drinking enough water, but for those that only drink when you're feeling thirsty, it's already a wee bit too late.  Now this type of fluid intake doesn't always have to be taken in as water itself, but fruits, other drinks etc....(But not coffee or alcohol) works too. There are a few things that change this, such as altitude, temperature, sweating and exercise duration/intensity.  The higher altitude that you are training at, the more fluids you will have to ingest to stay hydrated.  Same goes for temp, greater temp = more water needed.  The last two usually go hand in hand, upping your exercise duration or intensity will result in more sweating accounting for the need replenish with fluids. 

Now there are many papers out there that have documented quite clearly a direct correlation between dehydration and a drop in performance.  Maybe it's just the science in me, but scientific papers are awesome, because they lay out specifically how stuff gets done and what the results were.  One study tested the effect of using a diuretic drug on long distance runners, and tracking changes in time over distances.  It varied with the distance but there was always an increase in time required to run a certain distance.  So that brings us to things like coffee or alcohol.  Coffee in excess amounts is bad for you (we'll revisit this in pt. 4 hopefully) because it just makes you need to go to the washroom excessively, essentially undoing any proper hydration you have been undertaking.  Alcohol on the other hand results in the sequestering of water to process the alcohol and break it down.  So at the end of the day there is less water for your body to do other things with. 

So hopefully one now has a greater appreciation of staying properly hydrated and we'll look at the different things you can take to stay hydrated.