Day 78...Hydration Strategies

I have decided to take a small detour from the carbohydrate path that we have been traveling down.  "Why?" you ask...because it's my blog...so there you have it :)

The real reason is that we are coming into the warm season...soon to be followed by the hot season, depending upon where you live.  Yesterday I was going back and forth with one of my faithful followers regarding her weekend sporting event...tennis.  She was playing in a two-day tennis tourney in the Southern California area, and the weather was warm.

She mentioned that she had 'crashed' in her afternoon matches, both physically and mentally.  I always tell my athletes that whatever sport they are playing, is much more dependent upon mental clarity, then physical prowess.  I tell them that 90% of their performance is mental, while only 10% is physical.  Obviously these numbers are subjective, arbitrary figures that I use to make a point however, I have a sneaking suspicion that I am very close.  My point?  If you can maintain mental clarity and toughness while you are becoming physically drained, you can still perform at a high level.  It happens every day in sports, at all levels.  Don't believe me?  Do some quick research on sports imagery and sports psychology...it's a very lucrative business, even in this economy.

So anyway...of course nutrition plays a huge role in both physical and mental performance.  I have a feeling that my faithful follower may not have consumed enough calories prior to, during, and after her match.  You see, she had back to back days of tennis...so her ability to create a surplus of calories following day-one of her tourney, would have/could have had a profound effect on her performance on day-two.  

Today however, we are not going to talk about what she should have eaten, or even what she did eat...nope, today we're talking about what, and how much she should drank to ensure optimal performance...both physical and mental.

Does anyone know what the Law of the Desert is?  Desert...not Dessert!  You got it...Hydrate or Die!  I make sure that each of my athletes memorizes this law.  Not that they will actually die during their sporting event (although that is always a possibility)...for them, to die means to bonk...to run out of energy, to lose mental toughness and acuity.  Sure, calories play a huge role in this, but so does hydration.  So today we talk water!

This next part really refers to those of us who live here in Arizona, and those who are in other desert or high-desert places.  Those of us who have lived in Arizona for any length of time know that summer temps often exceed 110 degrees F.  As the thermometer rises, so too does the amount of sweat lost to evaporation...the process by which we cool our bodies during times of activity.  Athletes must replace this lost fluid in order to meet the demands of their sport (or in my case, my sporting hobby), and maintain a level of high-performance.   Successful athletes prepare themselves for competition through repetitious practice, training, proper nutrition and hydration.  Do you know how much to drink?  Do you know what to drink, and when?  DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?  

Without a plan, you are setting yourself up for failure...even health risks.  Athletes, professional and amateur, need to address their hydration needs far in advance.  Hydration strategies need to begin the night before an event, that you know, will result in a great deal of sweating.  How many of you wait until you are thirsty before you drink?  Thirst is a sign that the process of dehydration has already begun.  Did you know that dehydration of just 2% of your body weight can have a profound effect on your physical and mental performance?  The human brain is roughly 80% water.  When the brain becomes dehydrated, brain tissue actually shrinks, causing small voids within the tissue.  These voids ultimately result in decreased brain function, as the network of nerve cells becomes somewhat altered.  Decreased brain function can, and does affect both mental acuity and physical performance as the process of neuromuscular communication becomes depressed.  What does that mean?  

Let's say you were playing tennis...and you are a little dehydrated.  Your opponent rips their first serve across the net, playing it wide so as to force you to move laterally to reach the ball.  As your opponent is beginning his serve, you are watching his body, looking for the smallest bit of information that would lead you to know where he was planning on hitting the ball to.  A slight twist in his torso to the left (right handed player) might indicate that he was planning on hitting the ball down the left side.  A tiny rotation of his feet to the right during his toss, might indicate that he was looking to serve an ace right down the middle.  A well hydrated brain would have a much better chance of identifying these subtle hints, and communicating potential physical movement patterns to the muscles.  But since you are dehydrated, this lightning-fast process of communication is delayed, as is the ability to contract the appropriate muscles, in the appropriate sequence.  The result?  A slow shuffle step to your right, causing you to have to make a last ditch crossover step to reach the ball, which ultimately takes you out of your power and balance zone to hit that forehand return with power and accuracy...you lose the point.

So what kind of plan should you follow to ensure that you are at your best performance...both physically and mentally?  On my website (scisport.net), you can access a bulletin on hydration that I  provide each of my cients. The protocols found on this bulletin are the ones that I use to ensure optimal performance for myself.  Click here to access the page. Once you reach the page, you can click on the image of the bulletin to download your own copy.

I hope this information is helpful to you all.  Remember...hydrate or DIE!