The Importance Of Hydration When Staying At eXtreme Fitness Camps

So, you are coming to visit us in Cabarete. Workouts in paradise will blow your mind and flip your script for fitness.

One of the keys to staying healthy, active and enjoying your stay here at eXtreme Hotel is staying hydrated. Mild dehydration can cause headaches, swollen extremities, and lack of energy. Serious dehydration can lead seizures, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and even death. Listen to your instructors and coaches, and even your friends, and drink water when they recommend it to you. When we are dehydrated we often cannot asses the situation as wall os those around us.

While we all subconsciously know that water is essential for life, there is often a confusion about how much water needs to be consumed daily, and where to get that water from. When we are properly hydrated our heart has an easier time pumping blood through your blood vessels and your muscles work at their most efficient.

When the temperatures rise, getting enough to drink is important whether you’re playing sports, traveling or just sitting in the sun. At Extreme you have so many opportunities to play hard in the sun or shade you need to remember to special attention to your hydration.One of the body’s responses is to send more blood to your skin to enhance cooling, leaving less oxygen-rich blood available for your muscles. Your body also increases sweating to remove heat from your body through evaporative cooling, which makes you progressively more dehydrated. As you become dehydrated your blood volume decreases, so even less blood is available to go to your working muscles, and your heart pumps less blood per beat.

Exercising on a day that is both hot and humid is more dangerous because sweat rolls off your skin onto the ground rather than cooling you off through evaporation, due to the high moisture content of the air. You still sweat, but the sweat does not have the desired cooling effect, so heat builds up in your body and your core temperature increases.

How much water do you need?

What does being well hydrated mean? The amount of water a person needs depends on climatic conditions, clothing worn and exercise intensity and duration. Of course, people who are sweating more need to rehydrate more. Certain medical conditions, and medications such as diabetes or heart disease, and diuretic medications may also mean you need to drink more water. People with cystic fibrosis have high concentrations of sodium in their sweat and also need to use caution to avoid dehydration.

We often don’t even realize that we are dehydrated until we are already well along the spectrum. Thirst is not a good indicator as our bodies natural thirst response lags behind dehydration. If you are thirsty, you should have been drinking water.

An easy way to attend to your level of hydration is to check the color of your urine. You should have C2P2. Clear and Copious PP.

If you want to know exactly how much fluid you need, medical professionals  recommend weighing yourself before and after exercise, to see how much you’ve lost through perspiration. It’s a particular good guide for athletes training in the hot summer months or in hot climates. How much fluid you lose during exercise depends on the heat and humidity, and how long you are exercising.

To top off the tank, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking about a pint of fluid approximately two hours before exercise to help ensure adequate hydration and to allow time to excrete excess water. Avoid beverages containing alcohol and caffeine, as they have a diuretic effect.

“For every pound of sweat you lose, that’s a pint of water you’ll need to replenish,”

Not sweating during vigorous physical activity can be a red flag that you’re dehydrated to the point of developing heat exhaustion.

If you are exercising “extremely” and attending to your hydration you also need to be aware that drinking too much water in a short time can also be dangerous.

Avoiding hyponatremia

Hyponatremia is a decreased concentration of sodium in the blood, which can lead to brain swelling, seizures and death. Hyponatremia can occur from drinking excessive amounts of water (or other fluids with low sodium levels) before and during long-duration exercise. People who do not drink excessively or who use sports drinks or other sodium-containing drinks before and during exercise have a very low risk of hyponatremia.

The American College of Sports Medicine advises that, “Inclusion of sodium (0.5-0.7 grams per liter of fluid) in the rehydration solution ingested during exercise lasting longer than one hour is recommended since it may be advantageous in promoting fluid retention, and possibly preventing hyponatremia in certain individuals who drink excessive quantities of fluid.”

Not just for athletes or exercise.

Hydration isn’t just important during physical activity. Sitting in the sun on a hot or humid day, even if you aren’t exercising, can also cause your body to need more fluids.

People who have a heart condition, are older than 50 or overweight may also have to take extra precautions.

It’s also a good thing to keep tabs on your hydration if you’re traveling, if you are experiencing travelers diarrhea you are losing even more fluid and should increase fluids and ease up on your exercise.