Summer is finally here in the capital. In typical Ottawa fashion, the extreme heat and humidity have arrived with ferocity. Sometimes in our zeal to enjoy the weather, we forget heat has a much more likely to hurt us than the cold. This is especially true if you are an outdoor exerciser.
A few of my clients question my sanity when they see me running outside in the 35 degree heat. Yet, the truth is, if you follow a few very important guidelines for hydration, you can exercise in any weather.
Pre-Exercise
My first rule is prehydrate. If you head outside with fluid levels that are low to begin with, then you are already at risk. Even if your workout is less than an hour, performance and recovery will suffer.
Each morning before breakfast, I drink a cold pint of lemon water. If I know its going to be a sweaty day, I include trace mineral drops or a pinch of sea salt to top up electrolytes.
If your workout is later in the day, be sure to keep hydrating. You’ll know you are well hydrated if your urine is very light yellow to completely clear before your session.
If you have successfully prehydrated, you will have lots of energy for your workout. Your body’s self cooling mechanisms will be running smoothly and the heat will have much less impact on your performance.
Exercise
Even if your workout is short, on very hot days you will want to hydrate during exercise. Your body can lose an astonishing amount of water through sweat despite being pre-hydrated.
The symptoms of dehydration include headache, stiffness and mental fog. It is often assumed that these are symptoms of working too intensely. Yet, if you hydrate early and often, you will likely avoid these problems.
If you sweat a lot during longer efforts (more than an hour) make sure to drink something with electrolytes such as a sports drink, coconut water, or water with trace mineral drops.
Post-Exercise
Post workout, you need to rehydrate. I used to return from a hard run, down a pint of water, and call it a day. A pint of water looks like a lot of water, but it’s likely you’ve lost much more than that. Usually, you need to drink more water than you can gulp down in one sitting.
Weigh yourself before and after your workout. Its not uncommon for me to lose about 5-8lbs during a hard effort. Your sweat rate will be different. One pound of fluid loss is equivalent to 500ml of water, roughly one pint glass.
No wonder I was feeling so exhausted after my efforts! I really needed to be consuming 5-9 pints of water to rehydrate!
You don’t need to drink it all in one sitting, but you’ll need to be sipping water for the rest of the day. Keep your water bottle with you. If you have trouble drinking that much, squeeze a little lemon or drop some orange slices into your water. Studies have shown that people drink a lot more water if it has a little flavour in it!
Remember, extreme heat doesn’t mean you can’t get in a great workout. Just be sure to have a hydration game plan that includes:
- Prehydration
- Hydration during exercise
- Rehydration
