There Is A Method to the Madness
This is a podcast where I will be discussing all aspects of physical fitness. I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer and owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs for the last 25 years. My passion is health and fitness and I am excited to share my views, some stories, interviews and much more with you.
There Is A Method to the Madness
Beat the Heat: The Hydration Blueprint
Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...
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Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell and I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I am the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to get to the real deal of what really works and, most importantly, why things work. Hence the name. There is a a method to the madness. Before I get to today's show, I want to thank Jonathan and Lynn Gildan of the Gildan Group at Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service in home sales. Why don't you give them a shout and figure out what your home is worth? 386-451-2412. Hello everyone. Rob here Gonna pick up another topic that we can talk about and I certainly hope that it helps you.
Speaker 1:I like talking about fitness, wellness, health, sports, psychology, all of these things, and you know, as I've said in the past, I really want to cut through all the BS so you can figure out what you should be doing. One of the most common complaints I hear from clients when I'm working with them is just how confused they get because of all the information that goes on out there. And you know I talk about that a lot and I continue to bring it up because I get it, I totally understand and I want everybody to exercise and eat well for them and be healthy and do all those good things, and I feel like my service is to cut through the BS. I've got nothing to sell you other than my personal training business, but that's full. So I'm really not selling anything other than I'm trying to sell physical fitness and the right way to do things, the simple way to do things and you know that's essentially what this podcast is all about it's just keep giving it to you straight. You know, trying to simplify things. I mean some things are very complicated out there. I mean there are definitely complicated exercise physiology topics it's not that but the application of it typically is not complicated at all. It's pretty straightforward and you know that's what this is about.
Speaker 1:So today I'm going to pick up another topic that comes up. It was a question from somebody and they, you know, wanted to know about hydration and water and all that during the hot summer months while exercising. And you know I mean things typically come up because they come up. I mean you know it's now June in Florida. Well, it's June everywhere, rob. Very good, but it is now June and it is Florida for me anyway, which means that it is hot. It's getting hot and I've lived in Florida since 1975. And I can tell you that I am well aware that Florida is just getting warmed up. It's just now starting to get hot. It definitely hasn't even peaked yet. A little funny side note on that.
Speaker 1:So I moved to Florida I was 10 years old in 1975. And guess what month? I moved to Florida In July. Okay, I don't know what my parents were thinking, but we moved to Florida from New York in July and it was hot and I'd never been to Florida come to think of it it until I moved here.
Speaker 1:So, uh, yeah, it was a bit toasty and I didn't know really what like I had gotten myself into or what they had gotten me into. But I can remember, uh, you know the things we remember. I remember like nighttime and uh, I think it was like my first night or maybe first week or whatever, but like I would scoot over against the wall and I guess you know I don't know if it had wallpaper on or painted, but whatever it was a wall trying to get like some cold air, because you know how, like, if you lean against something like that for a bit you get get a feeling of cold. I don't even know. I mean, obviously it didn't stay cold long, but like that's how hot it was, because I was so not used to it. But I adjusted, we all adjust and look, there's many perks to living in the warmer climates. I don't mind it really. I actually don't mind it at all. I'd say I probably preferred over colder climates, for sure, but there are things we have to think about when we're active. Well, everybody has to think about it. But I will say that people who are outside and more active and exercise do have to really prepare more for the hot temperatures. For sure, everybody needs to stay hydrated, but the question was about how to exercise appropriately and how to prepare for that with hydration. So let's talk about that Again.
Speaker 1:This is a subject that is pretty straightforward. It hasn't changed. You know, as I've said in the past, that most of the recommendations have been known for a long time. There are some slight nuances on them and there's some slight opinions on them, and you know that's okay. But you know we've known this for a really long time. But again, knowing things and applying things are two different things. I will say that most active exercisers that I know unless you're really new to it or you're new to Florida you know. And I want to caution everybody, though, to not think just because it's not super hot where you live, that you don't have to pay attention to it. That's really not true. I'll tell you a story about that later. But we do have to pay attention to hydration, no matter where we live, what the ambient temperatures are all the time, but we do have to be even more cautious in the heat. All right, so we've had the information for a long time.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about some basic hydration levels first. Okay, so the first thing you need to understand is that how much you drink fluid wise is dependent upon how much you weigh. That's a big part of it. So bigger people and more fit people actually sweat more. Bigger people just because there's more surface area and bigger. I mean, that's subjective, but bigger people are going to sweat more. They're going to lose more fluids, and more fit people are going to sweat more. More muscular people are going to sweat more, are going to sweat more. More muscular people are going to sweat more. So in that case, you need to make sure that you hydrate even more. All right.
Speaker 1:So there's a lot of different recommendations out there. I remember being a little kid and hearing that we should drink around 10 ounces or 10 cups of water per day. I mean that's fine, I mean that's not bad, but we have evolved a little since then. But there is still the cups recommendation out there. They've changed it a little more, saying bigger people should consume 13 cups of water per day and smaller people again it's subjective, that's kind of why I'm saying it that way should consume 10 cups of water per day. I mean that's okay, but I really think that there's better ways to do it.
Speaker 1:One of the ways that I've always liked is just half of your body weight in fluid ounces. I mean that's pretty good. So if you're 160 pound person, you know 80 fluid ounces of water per day would be good. That's a really good recommendation. And then you have, you know, not as tight recommendations meaning not really, you know, pushed by the ACSM or the American Heart Association or any of these but you know the recommendations of a gallon of water per day. I mean I personally go by that, but that's very close to half of my body weight in ounces. Anyway, I simply do it because it's easier for me to track. I will buy a gallon of water and I will drink it and when it's done I know I've consumed my gallon. I mean, I know other people buy the big old 48 ounce thermoses that they fill up a couple times. I mean that works too. I mean whatever works for you. But if you're looking for like the most scientific middle of the road answer as far as your daily hydration needs, it's going to be half of your body weight in ounces. That's pretty good, okay.
Speaker 1:Now next thing on that is you know what should it be? Well, it should be water, okay. So I'm not saying don't drink fruit juices or don't drink iced tea or any of those things. I mean they're fine. Well, you know, I don't know about fruit juices. That's pretty high in sugar. Most people don't need all that sugar. But like iced tea and things like that, I mean, of course, that's, you know, tastes good. I like drinking unsweet tea, I like drinking coffee. But we do have to keep in mind that caffeine is a diuretic. So you don't really want to count that as your fluid ounces. You pretty much want to count your water as your fluid ounces and also keep in mind that if you're going to drink a lot of coffee or tea, you're probably going to want to increase your hydration levels even more.
Speaker 1:So I mean, hyponatremia is a real thing. That's water intoxication and it does happen, but man, it is so rare. I mean that doesn't mean go out and test it and drink three gallons of water as quick as you can. Of course not. There have been cases where people in marathons have consumed too much water and very little sports drink and they have flushed out all of the sodium from their bloodstream. And that's what hyponatremia is. I mean, that does happen, but man, that is rare and probably not going to happen. So worst case scenario, if you're drinking some coffee, drinking some tea and you feel like you know that maybe you can consume some more water I mean consume some more water. I mean probably worst case scenario is you're going to have to pee more. I think that's worth it to go ahead and do that, all right.
Speaker 1:And people that drink alcohol I mean, just keep in mind I'm not telling you not to drink, but I am telling you that alcohol is a diuretic and please don't count your beer, wine or Jim Beam as your hydration, because it is not. And I'm also telling you you don't have to not drink. I'm just saying that it is a diuretic. So let's say you went out the night before and you're acting like you are 21 again. You know, I guess you know being a little judgmental here. But let's say you do that and you tie one on a little bit and you're going to run a 5K in the morning. Okay, keep in mind, you are extremely dehydrated and it doesn't have to be that extreme. I'm kind of like making it a joke so you can get it, because I do know some people that might have three or four or five or ten glasses of wine or so, like the day before, and then get up and they're going to do a 5k or they're going to go for their run.
Speaker 1:I want to caution you. You are dehydrated, it is a diuretic. So if you're going to do that, I'm not saying don't run. What I am saying is you're going to want to be even more careful about your hydration. Really, drink a lot of fluids before you get out there, or you will pay for it or worse. I mean, you could put yourself into some you know heat issues that you don't want to have.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's how we prepare on a day-to-day basis. We want to make sure that we're hydrated all the time. We want to make sure that we're drinking at least half of our body weight in water, in ounces. We want to make sure that if we drink too much alcohol, caffeine of any sorts, that we want to include even more hydration to balance that out a little bit. And one final thing you can do is keep in mind the color of your urine will give you some indication. I say some because if you're taking a lot of vitamins water soluble vitamins, such as B's complexes and B12's you're going to excrete a lot of that and your urine color is going to be darker than usual. So that's not going to be a good lot of that and your urine color is going to be darker than usual. So that's not going to be a good indication of hydration. But if you're not doing that, darker urine will mean you are more dehydrated than lighter urine. So that is a decent indicator for you. So you can keep that in mind as well.
Speaker 1:All right, now let's talk about what to do before you exercise. So Two to three hours before a moderate or brisk exercise session, say in the heat. When I say the heat, you know I'm talking like 80 degrees and up, and for Florida that is all the time. Pretty much. We're now reaching that point to where it's that when you wake up. So it's it's pretty darn hot all the time.
Speaker 1:So in hotter, more humid environments you're going to want to make sure that you're paying extra attention to your hydration levels prior to exercise, but you're going to want to have between 17 and 20 ounces of water or sports drink two to three hours before. Now my rule of thumb is I mean, if you're going to work out at 5, it's going to be very hard to do that at 2 am. I get it, and this isn't like this. You know I'm making up this example. I mean I have some clients that, and I'm one of them. But I have some clients that do do their runs at 5 o'clock in the morning. I'm pretty sure they don't get up at 2 to hydrate, but I'm also pretty sure they don't get up at 2 to hydrate, but I'm also pretty sure that once they get up they are drinking water.
Speaker 1:In an ideal world, in a perfect world, you're going to want to try to hydrate 2 to 3 hours before and try to get in 17 to 20 ounces of fluid, depending on your weight If you would call yourself bigger or whatever you're going to want to go to the top end of that 20 ounces or whatever you know. You're going to want to go to the top end of that 20 ounces. All right, now, roughly 10 to 20 minutes before and that is something everybody has control over then you're going to want to I mean, you have control over getting up and setting your alarm at two if you really want to, but let's face it, that's probably not going to happen. But let's face it, that's probably not going to happen. But 10 to 20 minutes prior to exercise, you're going to want to drink another 7 to 10 ounces of fluid Very reasonable, right? Half a water bottle, a little more than a cup, just. You know you're going to go out on that run and just beforehand you drink a nice amount 7 to 10 ounces, right, that's half a water bottle. Well, maybe a little bit more than half, but you're going to want to drink it down.
Speaker 1:Now, if you're exercising for, say, longer than 20 minutes or so, you're going to want to consume 7 to 10 ounces of fluid every 10 to 20 minutes. You don't want to add all that up and say, well, I'll just do that, 30 ounces or so at the 30 minute mark. No, you're going to sweat immediately in the heat and humidity. So you're really going to want to keep that up as you go and I know it's not always in your control when you do that but you can keep like a little handheld water bottle with you as you run, as you power walk. Of course, if you're on your outdoor bike, they have a water bottle cage for that. If you're doing a 5K, they typically have a stop at the halfway mark or whatever. But just so you know the science roughly 7 to 10 ounces every 10 to 20 minutes. So you're going to want to drink it down, stay hydrated. I know it sounds like a lot, but, man, you would be surprised at just how much you sweat. I'm going to give you some numbers on that. It will actually blow you away sweat. All right, I'm going to give you some numbers on that. It'll actually blow you away.
Speaker 1:Now, before I talk about what to have in that fluid, let's talk about immediately afterwards. You're going to want to chug another 20 ounces of fluid right afterwards because that's when you prepare for your next endeavor, meaning you're going to put everything back. You drank endeavor meaning you're going to put everything back. You drank. All right, I know it sounds like a lot, but it's really not, because I believe we're all chronically hydrated.
Speaker 1:Now, if you're going to be out in the heat and you're doing pretty intense exercise so in other words, if you're on the treadmill in a climate, controlled environment, you probably don't have to worry about having any sports drink. You probably don't have to worry about the sodium so much. I still want you to have the water. But if you're going to be outside, where it gets a little more precarious out there, you're going to want to think about some sports drinks. So when I talk about that, 7 to 10 ounces roughly 10 to 20 minutes prior, and then 7 to 10 ounces every 10 to 20 minutes, that can include some sports drink, because you're going to want to put the sodium back because you are sweating out the sodium. Now, most people aren't going to get to the state of hyponatremia water intoxication, where it's a deadly situation where you flushed out all your sodium, but we probably all flush out some sodium and that will impact performance and it will impact how you feel.
Speaker 1:So if you are exercising outdoors and you are exercising fairly intensely, then I do recommend that you have a sports drink. You're going to want to make sure that your sports drink is only 4% to 8% carbohydrate, all right, so that is very, very low in sugar. You don't need a lot of sugar for this. You're really trying to put back the sodium. You're going to want to make sure that you have roughly a sports drink that has 300 to 700 milligrams per liter of sodium in it. A lot of the newer types of electrolytes will have that, but you're going to want to check for that. Sodium is going to be the main ingredient on there. So your sports drink should be fairly high in sodium and very low in sugar. So that's not what Gatorade is. Gatorade is a pure sugar. You can dilute all that to make it work for you, but I really suggest investing in some good electrolytes that will cover that for you.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's again, if you're going to be exercising in the heat outdoors inside, I suggest you just stick to the plan I already told you, which is just have the basic water. Now, this isn't about when to exercise and all that, but I just feel like I have to be responsible here. When I say exercise outdoors, I mean in the summer. I mean I've always been a 7 to 7 rule of thumb guy, with that Meaning that exercise before 7 am if you're going to exercise outdoors, or after 7 pm in the hot summer months of, say, florida, florida, texas, somewhere it gets really hot. You don't want to be exercising midday or even late morning when it's hot outdoors. If you're training for an event and you have to get acclimated to the heat, okay, that's different. Knock yourself out, but please be prepared. But I'm talking about even if you're getting out early in the morning, like I do, you're going to want to make sure you still have those electrolytes All right Indoors. Again, you can stick to water on that.
Speaker 1:Now check out some of these facts right here. This is pretty. A person who's like, say, doing a moderate workout moderate would be like brisk walking, maybe light jogging, but I'd say more like brisk walking or casual bike riding they're going to lose between 17 and 51 ounces of fluid in 30 minutes. 17 to 51. I mean that's a lot. I mean you're dripping at that point, right, and that's moderate exercise. That's a nice 30 minute power walk. So if you're not hydrated going in. I mean you are dehydrated, coming out right and let's say you up the ante a little bit, like you are doing more what we call vigorous exercise or intense exercise, like you are running, like this morning.
Speaker 1:For me, this is Sunday morning I went for a run, a three mile run, a little over three miles. I got out by 630, to be done by seven. I mean that is, you know, that's early and I was dripping. And why was I dripping? Well, based on my body weight I'm going like the middle ground here I probably burned about 70 ounces of fluid in 30 minutes. 70 ounces minutes, 70 ounces. So statistically, we're going to lose between 35 and 85 ounces of fluid in 30 minutes of vigorous exercise. Based on our body weight, I mean that is a lot of fluid.
Speaker 1:So if you're not putting it back, what's happening to you? Okay, so it could get really serious, right? Dehydration can bring about heat exhaustion and then God forbid heat stroke. But it could get really serious, right? Dehydration can bring about heat exhaustion and then God forbid heat stroke. But it could happen. I'm not trying to steer you away from exercise, of course not. All this you can prepare for by simply making sure that you're taking your hydration needs serious out there.
Speaker 1:But even if it doesn't reach that extreme, it's still going to affect how you feel in your performance and I don't want you to like, I mean, honestly, I could care less about performance, right? I mean, if you're too wrapped up in your times and all that, I think that's a problem anyway, but I don't want you to finish a run and go. Man, I felt like crap. I started out okay, my pace was good, and then towards the end I just had a walk, because what happens then? Well then, you're not going to want to do it. I mean, human nature says if something really didn't go very well, you're going to be less likely to want to do it. It's classical conditioning. I don't want that to happen. So I'm trying to help you understand that this isn't, I mean, for people that are performance minded, great. I mean, think about it that way. If that really is what motivates you, fine and go. Well, your performance is not going to be as good if you're dehydrated Absolutely not. But if you're not performance minded, you go. I don't care about that. But you know, I felt like shit afterwards. It's like, okay, that doesn't really have to happen either.
Speaker 1:Stay hydrated. I just want to prepare you for that and for my tennis players out there, my pickleball players, my golfers so this isn't just the runners, the walkers, whatever and a lot of those sports are played in the heat. A lot of people play. I know the pickleball people over at Daytona Beach Shores are playing like early, but they're also playing up until like 11 o'clock in the morning. It is hot. You have to hydrate. It is the same rule of thumb. Drink 20 ounces of fluid as soon as you wake up, drink 7 to 10 ounces roughly 10 to 20 minutes before you even get there. Right when you're getting out of your car, drink it and then continue to consume about 10 to 20 ounces every. I'm sorry, 7 to 10 ounces every 20 minutes or so, every 10 to 20 minutes. Really, make sure you have your water bottle out on the court and drink it. When you're playing golf, same thing. I know you're not as active cardiovascularly speaking, but you're still moving around, it's still hot. Make sure you stay hydrated. All right, we want to have a happy summer. We want to have a hydrated summer.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to today's program. I ask you to please follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and please select automatic download, because that really helps the show. Now I want to thank overhead door of Daytona beach, the area's premier garage door company. They have the best product. They have the best service. I personally vouch for Jeff and Zach Hawk, the owners. They are great people with a great company. If you have any garage door needs, please give them a shout at 386-222-3165.
