hydration

  • Body Temperature, Heat, Hydration, Performance, safety

    Training in the heat recommendations from the Olympic Committee

    Most athletes would tell you that they would rather play in the heat than in the cold. That is unless you’re a skier or hockey player of course! Other than those winter sports, most would pick warm weather every day of the week. That’s why most major tournaments are located in areas where the weather is going to be warm, allowing athletes to compete at their best. Competing in hot conditions though requires proper planning to ensure athlete safety. It’s a fine balance between warm and dangerously hot where cooling strategies need to be in place. Helping to combat those challenges, the International Olympic Committee put together a statement on considerations for it.

    Too much heat dangers

    Being warm is one thing while overheating is a completely different story. When training in the heat, caution needs to be observed. The body tries its best to keep internal temperatures in check but like everything it does have its limits. Unfortunately, if those limits are surpassed it can result in heat strokes and be incredibly dangerous.

    Training in the heat is very common practice but safety needs to be kept in mind and the Olympic Committee has updated recommendations.

    Severe exercise-induced heat illness (also referred to as exertional heat stroke) is one of the two main causes of death amongst athletes. As the body begins to overheat it sends the signal to the brain that things need to start slowing down to try and rest and cool. If unable to cool down the body begins to fail and shutdown. To help avoid such scary situations, proper planning and actions need to be kept in mind.

    Know the environment

    Before traveling anywhere you want to know the type of conditions you are going to be exposed to. If it’s something in Alaska, the heat may not be a major issue for you! Most cases though you will want to do some homework to know how to prepare. Checking the average temperature and humidity will allow you to gauge how much you are likely to sweat and if that sweat will be able to evaporate and cool you down or if it’s too humid. You will also want to know if there is going to be shade available where you’re at. If you are going to be constantly exposed to the sun you’ll want to plan accordingly as well. Then also know the availability of beverages and cooling stations to ensure what you need to bring of your own. You don’t want to have any surprises when you show up!

    Heat acclimation

    Preparation is important in every aspect of life, including getting your body ready for heat. When exposed to higher temperatures the body goes through several changes to help stay cool. Those adaptations include sweating earlier, sweating more and decreasing the sodium content of the sweat. Too bad those changes don’t occur immediately though. If going into a competition in the heat, you’ll want to ensure your body is ready ahead of time.

    In a perfect world it’s recommended to give yourself two weeks to prepare and adapt. Exposing your body to higher temperatures and inducing sweat for 60-90 minutes at a time is the desired timeframe. Doing that four times per week for the two weeks will get your body acclimated and primed to handle the hotter environments when you competition begins. Spending that time in the hot environment itself would be ideal but if unable to do that there are a few alternatives. Hot rooms, saunas and hot baths can be helpful alternatives when living in a cold environment and planning to travel to a hot environment. While not the exact same as actually training in the environment, it still gets the body sweating and making those physiological changes.

    Hydration and fluid intake

    Once in the environment, you will want to make sure your hydration and fluid intake is appropriate as well. As you become dehydrated, your body has a lower blood volume which decreases the ability to spread out the body heat and cool it down. The goal during competition/training is to drink enough fluid to avoid a weight loss of >2% from sweat. Maintaining that weight represents maintaining proper blood volume for the body to help dissipate that heat.

    In order to ensure that excess weight and fluid loss doesn’t occur, it’s important to begin hydrated and drinking early into the event. The goal is not to completely avoid weight loss and definitely not to gain weight. That would represent overhydrating and has it’s own complications associated with it. What we’re aiming to do is help minimize the water loss occurring with sweat. Your body can only absorb so much fluid at a time so by starting early it helps avoid trying to play “catch up” later on in the event.

    How much you need to be drinking during competition and training is very individualized. A general rule of thumb is around 1 liter (~32oz) per hour would be about the max to consume and still be comfortable. This can be played around with to find what feels and works best for you. Some may find a bit more can be tolerated while others may have to have a bit less. Adding in some sodium will help the body to absorb and retain that fluid and is important to keep incorporated as well.

    Additional considerations

    Outside of just general hydration, there are various cooling strategies that can be incorporated as able too. Things such as cold water immersion, cooling vests and mist fans are all great at helping decrease the body temperature. Consuming ice and slushies can be very beneficial as well. Not all of these strategies are able to be implemented depending on the situation but you should keep all options in consideration. Then when preparing figure out what all is feasible and works best for you to help keep cool.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Carbs, Diets, Energy, Hydration, Macronutrients, Performance

    How your glycogen level and hydration are linked

    Glycogen is the body’s form of stored carbohydrates. It’s what the body is able to tap into and use for energy throughout the day and especially during workouts. There is a connection as well between one’s glycogen level and the body’s hydration. While there is still a lot to learn regarding this, there’s plenty to keep in mind. Especially if periodizing your nutrition between stretches of high and low carbohydrate intake.

    High glycogen level effects

    Having increased glycogen in the body is very beneficial in moments of increased activity. It’s similar to stating a long cross-country car ride with a topped off gas tank. As exercise goes on, the glycogen will continue to be used until it gets too low at which point the body will start to pump the brakes. While in the middle of a practice or a game you don’t want to be hitting the brakes so ensuring that extra glycogen is on hand can be very helpful.

    Glycogen level is a measure your body's stored carbs. Glycogen can cause your body to hold water along with it impacting hydration.

    Increasing glycogen levels is done primarily though the popular strategy most refer to as “carbo-loading”. This is done where ~48 hours before the event, carbohydrate intake is increased. Eating more carbs pushes the body to store a lot of that as glycogen, thus topping off the tank. The level of carbo-loading can vary depending on the event but the most popular ones include long endurance events. Ultra-marathon runners and long-distance cyclists such as during the Tour de France really utilize this. For shorter duration activities such as for sprinters, this strategy likely isn’t necessary. In fact, it could potentially be slightly detrimental due to the water effects we’ll discuss later.

    Low glycogen level effects

    While high glycogen levels have gotten a lot of attention in the past, we’re continuing to learn a lot of benefits that can be gained from low glycogen levels. Low glycogen benefits are gained from their impact on training adaptations. It’s not something to purposefully be done going into competition.

    Training with low glycogen can force the body to have to pull from its fat stores more. To keep the body going during the training session if glycogen isn’t available it has to keep getting energy from somewhere! Adding in some low glycogen sessions and increasing the body’s ability to pull from fat could in theory help to preserve glycogen stores in future events. With fat and glycogen being the two main sources of energy, having that flexibility is very beneficial. Low glycogen sends the signal to hit the brakes so if preserving that, longer training sessions can occur.

    Decreasing glycogen to create this state in the body can happen through two methods typically. One is by eating a low carb diet at strategic time points. As mentioned previously, glycogen is a stored version of carbs in the body. So, if not consuming carbs in the short term the body will still be pulling from the glycogen for a bit and the amount decreases. Another strategy is having two training sessions in a day. The first session is higher intensity to really drain the glycogen, then a second session after it is done while glycogen is still low. A workaround for this is sometimes doing a fasted training in the morning after an overnight fast while sleeping.

    Glycogen and hydration connection

    We know what glycogen can do performance and energy wise, now we can dive into how it can impact hydration. Specifically, the impact that it has on the body’s retention of fluid. On average, for each gram of glycogen, the body also holds 3-4 grams of water. As a result, carbo-loading can result in extra fluid being held on by the body. On the opposite end of the spectrum, low glycogen levels could result in less water being held onto.

    Due to the water retention component, glycogen levels can also impact your weight acutely. After a carbo-loading phase it can cause a noticeable increase in weight. While the benefit of the extra energy is great, it needs to be taken inconsideration of the negatives of being heavier. This is why it can be more negative for sprinters. Sprinters don’t need that extra energy on hand for short duration. If having that extra weight as well it could actually make it tougher to accelerate and hit/maintain top speed.

    How much glycogen is needed?

    Consideration needs to be taken for what type of event are you fueling for. That is where it all starts. Shorter events generally less than 2 hours long may not benefit from a traditional carbo-loading approach. Longer events on the other hand will likely benefit from all the extra energy possible. Regardless the event it’s important to make sure you are eating enough in general. But the amount of carbs can be adjusted for glycogen needs/goals. Consuming carbs 24/7 isn’t always the answer so make sure you are giving your body what it specifically needs for your goals. 

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Heat, Hydration, Performance, Recovery, Wellness

    Hydration with water is great but not always best

    Hydration plays a huge role in every aspect of our lives from performance to general wellbeing. Performance wise the results can be a bit more noticeable and apparent with more immediate feedback. Knowing hydration is important is one thing but practicing proper hydration is another. Grabbing another glass of water is usually the most common action taken but may not always be the best.

    Water’s hydration benefits

    Water is very important and can certainly help with hydration but it isn't always best. Sometimes a little extra is needed.

    Don’t misunderstand, water is still great and should always be on hand! Drinking water throughout the day is a lot more effective at maintaining hydration than trying to chug a whole day’s worth in one hour. Properly drinking water will help you stay energized, aid digestion, improve concentration and help avoid nagging headaches. Spreading it out throughout the day also helps to properly absorb it to ensure it’s being utilized and not just peed out. Situations where quick rehydration is needed or when already dehydrated, other options are likely better.

    Upgrade your hydration from just water

    A couple little tweaks/additions to your water could really help improve hydration effects of your drink. Drinking the proper amount of fluid is the first step, but to get that water from your gut into your body/blood it needs a little help. Electrolytes, carbs and protein help serve as transporters to bring that fluid in. Having those things in your beverage speeds up the rate of getting fluid into the body before it is excreted.

    That is why sports drinks are called “sports” drinks because they help hydrate in those situations where it’s needed most. Athletes and really anyone who exercises, loses a lot of fluid in sweat that needs to be replaced. Incorporating electrolytes and sports drinks at the appropriate times can be key for optimizing performance and decreasing injury risk.

    When is each beverage best to have?

    Water is always number one. That should be on hand by your side every day always. Certain times though do call for increased hydration needs and importance. If in a situation of having two training sessions or two games in a single day, added electrolytes are 100% necessary. You need to rehydrate the fluid that was lost in the first session/game to go into the second one hydrated.

    Training in very hot environments or having very tough/long sessions also warrant an increased focus on electrolytes. There is a lot of sweat that has been lost in those moments that need to be replaced. Maintaining more consistent hydration helps to ensure optimal performance can be achieved, soft tissue injury risk is decreased and that the immune system is able to remain strong as well. All of these things help to ensure getting the most out of training sessions and also staying healthy enough to stay on the field.

    Hydration recommendations

    Overall fluid intake is still the priority. Aim to drink at least half of your body weight (pounds) in ounces of fluid each day. For example, a 160 pound athlete should be drinking at least 80oz of fluid daily.

    As for specific types of things to drink, I’m a big fan of The Right Stuff and LMNT for increased electrolyte consumption. The sodium concentration in these are very high and great for heavy sweaters or situations where rapid hydration is needed. They’re great in hot environments too as discussed earlier.

    Some carb containing traditional sports drinks like PowerAde and Gatorade are helpful when additional carbs are needed. Situations such as during games, higher intensity training sessions or when back-to-back games are played and overall energy needs are higher. These shouldn’t be consumed casually throughout the entire day though.

    Going back to the initial point, drinking enough in general is the key starting point. Get yourself a nice water bottle and keep that next to you each day. Then if needing to top off your hydration, keep a packet of some of those electrolytes handy to throw in that bottle too. Always have to be prepared!

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Body Temperature, Heat, Hydration, Performance, Travel

    Preseason hydration needs to keep in mind

    Preseason is a unique animal where physical demands significantly increased. Right alongside that, nutrition and hydration demand increase significantly. Typically occurring in warmer places as well which can be a unique challenge. If a player is coming from a cold environment pre-camp, they will have a few days of acclimation. Many changes are occurring all at once and without proper planning could set you up for a tough camp.

    Environment impact on preseason hydration

    Entering preseason, the main goal is to optimally improve performance as efficiently as possible. Everything is monitored on another level to ensure things are all accounted for. Training loads, meal times, meeting times and everything is typically broken-down minute by minute. What can throw a wrench in this is weather. Storms and rain can keep teams off the field which then means one less session for improvement. In order to decrease the risk of that, typically preseason is held in a warm location that on average doesn’t get much rain or storms.

    Preseason hydration needs to keep in mind

    While nice for a vacation it poses a challenge to athletes from a hydration perspective. Especially if an athlete is coming from a cold environment (like Ohio in January) to a hot environment, the body needs time to adapt. In the first few days there isn’t as much sweat being produced as quickly or as much as may be usual. The sweat that is produced though has a higher sodium concentration. After a few days the body then adapts and begins to sweat earlier and more but it is more diluted with less sodium being lost. This needs to be accounted for in your hydration if in this situation. Prioritize some additional sodium via electrolyte packets or salt at meals in the early days. Then the priority shifts a bit more to overall fluid intake.

    Worse hydration = worse training

    Nobody feels good when dehydrated. Even slight dehydration though that may not be as noticeable can still have a noticeable impact on your ability to train. Less water in the system results in less overall blood volume. What that means is that the heart has to pump quicker to move the blood throughout the body. Like when your heart rate increases when you train harder forcing you to feel tired, if your heart rate is already starting slightly higher because of dehydration it will have you “hit the wall” that much quicker.

    This was demonstrated in the recent study linked at the bottom which showed dehydrated resulted in decreased accelerations/sprints. These are key pieces of training that need to be done to help improve fitness for the upcoming season. If unable to achieve those high speeds, the training sessions won’t be as effective.

    Stay cool by staying hydrated this preseason

    The blood volume situation mentioned previously also impacts your internal temperature. When the blood is flowing through the body near the surface of the skin, it’s able to be closer to the air. This contact with the air is what can help to cool the blood down as it returns throughout the body. Slightly cooler blood is able to help keep the internal core temperature down. Being hot can be uncomfortable and add a psychological challenge on top of the physical challenge of training.

    Maintaining proper blood volume allows for the blood to flow a bit easier to the surface of the skin to achieve that cooling effect. If you’ve ever noticed your veins “popping” a bit more in the heat, this is why. The body is trying to maximize that exposure to help cool itself down.

    Ways to monitor your hydration level

    One of the oldest strategies is to look at the color of your urine. It’s an oldie but goodie still as it is a very convenient way to tell and is fairly accurate. If your urine is a light pale lemonade color, you’re in good shape. On the opposite end if it’s dark and apple juice colored, you need to grab a bottle of water pronto.

    Another helpful strategy can be used to see how you’re hydrating at training itself. This is done by weighing yourself before and after training. When done, that weight difference is how much sweat you lost during training that needs to be replaced. A general rule of thumb is that for every pound lost, drink one 16oz bottle of water/fluid. Overall try to avoid a weight loss of more than 2% of your body weight. For a 150 pound individual this would be 3 pounds or for someone 200 pounds it would be 4 pounds.

    Maintaining that hydration will ensure you are staying ready to maximize your training sessions. By being able to more consistently train harder you’ll see more results and apply that to an overall better season. Last but not least as well, proper hydration decreases your risk of soft tissue injury. These are things like those annoying muscle pulls/tweaks. Keep yourself on the field and maximize your potential by keeping that water bottle on hand!

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Heat, Hydration, Macronutrients, Performance

    Do extra carbs in an ice-slushy help lower body temperature better?

    When exercising our body gets hotter and hotter. The longer and more intense the exercise is, the more that temperature increases. As the temperature rises though our body begins to slow us down to avoid over-heating. This is why we tend to feel a bit more tired quicker in hot weather. On the other hand if we add a few things to help lower body temperature we may improve performance.

    Ways to lower body temperature

    Our body naturally tries to keep us cool and generally does a great job of it. The number one strategy is through sweat. As the sweat evaporates off of us it creates a cooling effect. In humid conditions where sweat isn’t able to evaporate that doesn’t happen. That’s why hot and humid conditions can be very dangerous.

    Wearing thin/light clothing helps to keep our skin exposed to the surrounding air. Wind going across our skin helps to cool the blood near the surface. As we get hot the blood tends to push more towards the surface for this. This is why you may notice your veins pop out a bit more in the heat.

    Other ways to help include cooling the body externally with cold towels or ice packs and internally with cold beverages or slushies.

    The perks of slushies on body temperature

    First, who doesn’t like a good slushy? But they offer a performance benefit as well. As mentioned previously our body starts to heat up as we train and work harder. Most cooling strategies of cold towels, fans, clothing and shade coverings address the external cooling. But internally the heat can still be building.

    This is where slushies come to the rescue! Having a cold iced beverage like that is able to get into the gut and help cool the body from the inside out. Now I know it’s not very functional to have a slushy machine on the sideline to have in the moment. But having a slushy before can help provide a bit of buffer to give extra time before the body heats up. The question now is can something be added to the slushy to make it even better? Carbs are the first on the list analyzed.

    Carbs impact (or lack thereof) on lowering body temp

    This compared one slushy with a typical amount of carbs in it with another slushy with twice as much. In controlled environments, the impact on body temperatures were…..the same. Extra carbs and extra calories in general can help provide additional energy to improve performance. None of the benefits being provided by the carbs appear to be related to lower body temperature effects.

    Is a sugar rush slushy needed?

    Nope. Short sweet and to the point there. This likely doesn’t come as a surprise to many, myself included. But just because I didn’t think there would be anything doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out! Keeping an open mind to potentially being wrong is never a bad thing. But this study does show that slushies can help keep core temperatures down regardless of carb content. So if going to compete in a hot/humid environment, looking to see if you can grab a slushy beforehand could be worth a try if that is appealing to you. Just maybe don’t grab some extra sugar packets to try and throw in there.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Hydration, Performance, Recovery, Supplements

    Is hydrogen water just full of gas?

    Water is a very simple universal thing one would think. But just walk through your local grocery store and you’ll see an entire row with different types of water. You’ve got flavored, sparkling, distilled, flavored, glacier, artisan well, vitamin and on and on. Gas infused water is a relatively new one and we’re going to discuss hydrogen water in particular here.

    What is hydrogen water?

    Hydrogen Infused Water

    The goal of hydrogen water is to pump the bottle of water with hydrogen gas. This is done with the hopes that it results in whoever is drinking it, consumes extra hydrogen. Originally I was skeptical about this as I wasn’t sure how much would actually make it from the bottle and into the body. When opening the bottle I would imagine the gas levels would begin immediately balancing with the surrounding air and thus become regular ol’ water again.

    I will always keep an open mind though and hold my hand up if I’m wrong. More research is starting to show that there may be something to gas infused water. As a result, my hand may be starting to rise just a little bit.

    Potential benefits

    A recent study shows the potential hydrogen infused water can have on improving physical performance. The potential impact appears to stem from the apparent ability to reduce the lactate response in the body. Less lactate in the body means less of that burning sensation we’ve all experienced when pushing ourselves. With less lactate it helps to decrease muscle soreness and I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t perform better when less sore.

    So…..should you buy it?

    In short, no. Not because it will be bad for you but because there isn’t enough proof yet. Your money would be better spend on other things with more confidently proven benefits. This is an area though that is worth keeping an eye on as it has potential.

    Study referenced: click here

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  • Hydration, Performance, safety, Travel, Wellness

    How To Prepare For International Travel and Competition

    There are a lot of challenges that come with preparing for competition. Away competitions add an extra wrinkle and if that involves international travel it takes even more planning. All of this is even before the actual game itself! Taking a little extra time to plan though can make all the difference in that game.

    The first things we need to know to prepare is when and where we are going. Traveling somewhere in the summer or winter will obviously have different challenges we want to keep in mind. Even more differences will pop up depending on the location we travel to. We will want to be mindful of water safety, language barriers, cultural norms and cultural cuisines which are different in every country.

    Time of year – temperature

    It shouldn’t come as a surprise but there is a big difference between winter and summer weather. These differences can be even more extreme depending on where you’re traveling. A summer in northern-Canada is very different than a summer in souther-Mexico. Both with be relatively more warm but the actual temperatures will be vastly different.

    International travel luggage representation

    When traveling to a hot environment, hydration is going to be the main focus. Especially if we are traveling from a cool environment to a hot environment that is even more true. Our body will require some time to adapt to the heat and during that adaptation we will lose a lot more sodium in our sweat. This makes electrolytes the main thing to focus on to ensure enough sodium is consumed. Products such as LMNT, Drip Drop and The Right Stuff are able to be easily packed to provide plenty of sodium. Sodium plus drinking plenty of fluid in general and keeping those drinks cool to keep our temperature down while outside will keep us performing optimally.

    On the other hand, if we’re traveling into a winter wonderland our focus will be a bit different. When we’re cold our thirst naturally tends to decrease a bit. Keeping water flavorings on hand can help increase our desire to drink and avoid plain water fatigue plus focusing more on warm beverages which may be more desirable. Hot chocolate and warm apple cider can be great options to provide some carbs as well during events. Broth is a great warm option as well as it will provide sodium to offset the sweating that will still be occurring. Another important piece is to know if you are going to be outside in below freezing temperatures. If so, packing an insulated bottle for your drinks is an absolute must. If not, don’t be surprised when you go to take your next drink to find it a frozen solid ice cube!

    Cold winter city for international travel

    International travel water safety

    Water safety is something many of us take for granted. That safety is a luxury in many countries though. It’s important to know what the water is like where you’re going and take the safety measures necessary for it. A surprising number of countries have poor water so don’t take this for granted as it is a major focus for international travel.

    International travel water safety

    Drinking bad water can make you incredibly sick. It goes without saying that we don’t want that! The side-effects tend to be diarrhea and vomiting, both of which can lead to dehydration. Our first reaction to this though is to focus on maintaining our hydration. Normally not a problem but it was water that got us into this rough position in the first place! So making sure we are drinking only bottled water/beverages is a great strategy to decrease our risk of getting sick.

    Even if we aren’t directly drinking it though, we could still run into trouble. Eating food that has been washed but not cooked will still have some water residue on it. While it may seem like a small amount, you don’t need much to cause problems and if we’re in a competition we don’t want any unnecessary risks! These types of foods include salad bars, fruit with the skin on, and raw veggie trays. Don’t use this as an excuse to avoid vegetables but just make sure they’re properly cooked.

    Know the culture

    Different cultures have different food preferences. This can be different in preferred protein options and spices/seasonings being used. With such different flavors it could be a bit of a shock to some individuals. When the golden rule is “no new foods on game day” the different flavors and items could make this challenging.

    To combat this challenge, planning ahead is going to be key. We will want to pack and bring with us those staple foods we feel most comfortable with and enjoy. Things like a PB&J sandwich can be incredibly uncommon in some areas. Packing some shelf stable peanut butter packets and jelly or honey packets can be very portable and help provide that taste of home even when miles upon miles away.

    International cuisine and how it may differ from traditional foods accustomed to

    Keeping these familiar foods on hand will help make sure you are feeling good and ready for your competition. You will know how your body responds to those foods and make sure to avoid any discomfort in your stomach when you take the field. Make sure to plan ahead, pack extra snacks and best of luck in your competition. Once you come away with a win though, then enjoy branching out a bit and trying some of the local dishes. That’s one of the best parts of international travel! It’s not every day you get to travel to fun places so make sure to make the most of them while still being safe.

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  • Energy, Hydration, Macronutrients, Recovery, Weight, Wellness

    Did you order a coffee or was it dessert?

    Ordering a coffee is no longer as easy as simply saying “one coffee please”. Prepare for a flood of questions to follow if you do say that. Do you want a pump of vanilla or caramel? Do you want light, medium or dark roast? Drip or French press? Brazil or Costa Rica beans? Leave room? With whip? ….. Just a plain black cup of coffee please.

    Sneaky calories in your coffee

    Most coffee additions don’t come free. They bring extra calories along for the ride, most of which are in the form of sugar to boot. Extra calories and some sugar may have their time and place, but typically not if it’s your off day and are spending most of the day lounging and recovering.

    Seasonal specialty drinks in particular tend to contain a lot of extra sugar. I’m looking at you pumpkin spiced lattes! While the flavor can certainly be delicious and tempting, they need to be consumed sparingly. Due to the added ingredients, it’s best to view these types of items as dessert. Like desserts, they can certainly be enjoyed but just done so sparingly.

    Cup of pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream showing the additions coffee now has.

    Substitutions for your order

    There are several swaps that you can make with your order to ensure you can enjoy your beverage while also meeting your nutrition needs. The first step though is to be ok with asking! You need to be ok with asking what options are available and then asking for them. It’s all too common for the mindset to be “I don’t want to be a bother and will simply take it the way it is, good or bad.” You’re not being a bother or an inconvenience! Those substitutions are available for a reason and are intended to be used so don’t be afraid to ask for them.

    Cream or milk being poured into a cup of iced coffee.

    One of the most popular additions to coffee is milk/cream. The world of dairy alternatives has exploded in the past few years and there are now more options than ever. Some things to be mindful of is that heavy cream and half-&-half are going to be your highest calorie options consisting of mainly fat. Those looking for a bit of extra protein though would benefit from actual milk. Skim will be the lowest in calories and whole being the highest. For those who are lactose intolerant or wanting some low calorie alternatives, unsweetened almond milk can be great as well.

    Syrups are another popular addition with so many flavors and options. The good news about the variety and options is that many have now sugar free options as well. This is a great way to be able to enjoy the flavors you’re desiring while also avoiding any additional sugar that we may not want. Now if this coffee is part of a pre-training or pre-game beverage to have some extra caffeine with things, the regular syrup could be ok with the extra carbs. Your body will use that extra energy to help with high intensity activities. As mentioned previously though, if we’re not doing too much that day the sugar free option may be the better call!

    Type of roast impacts caffeine content

    Light, medium and dark roasts have more differences than just the flavor. The type of roast chosen actually has a big impact on the caffeine content of the coffee. Contrary to what may assume, dark roast does NOT have the highest caffeine content. While it does have a more bitter taste, it actually has the least amount of caffeine. If needing a bigger pick-me-up or in preparation for a game, light roast is your roast of choice.

    Coffee beans surrounding a Starbucks cup representing different roasts.

    Some people though do respond negatively to caffeine. Like everything it’s important to make sure and try having any coffee you’re considering before a practice. If your body feels good with it, then feel free to incorporate it before a game.

    Enjoy your coffee everyone! Just make sure you order it in a manner that matches your performance and health goals. Now it’s time for me to go pour myself a cup after all of this coffee talk. Cheers!

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  • Hydration, Performance, Recovery, Wellness

    Chill Out and Perform Better – Keeping Cool In Heat

    When we workout, train and compete our body generates heat. This heat is generated due to the energy our body produces to allow us to perform. Obviously though we don’t want to get too hot! As our temperature increases our body has to work harder to maintain our performance and keeping cool. Fatigue then begins to set in and our body forces us to slow down. If we don’t slow down and our temperature continues to climb we can have big problems! To fight this our body works to try and cool itself down but there are things we can do to help it.

    Why do we care about keeping cool? Safety

    If we get too hot it can become very dangerous. Just like a car will breakdown if it overheats, our body’s respond the same way. A significant increase in our internal body temperature can lead to heat exhaustion and heat strokes. Neither of those are a good time. Unfortunately though many people suffer from over heating every year.

    High school football has in particular received a lot of attention due to the number of players who have collapsed from heat exhaustion. This can be attributed to several factors leading it to be a perfect storm. A major reason is simply the equipment that is used with helmets and pads. On top of that two-a-day practices are very common causing increased exposure to the heat outdoors and potential dehydration. But perhaps the biggest factor that applies to much more than just the sport, is the age of these athletes.

    High school football players in full pads in the heat.

    Adolescents are at an increased risk for heat related problems due to their body’s not being fully developed yet. Their body’s don’t have the full capability to cool themselves yet which we’ll dive into here shortly. Because they’re still developing, coaches and training staffs need to be very cautious and mindful with youth athletes.

    Our body naturally try’s to keep us cool

    The human body is incredibly resilient and try’s really hard to keep us up and moving. Which is greatly appreciated! In regards to what our body does specifically to keep us cool, sweat and blood flow distribution are the main methods.

    Athlete sweating profusely in the heat.

    We’ve all been in a hot situation where we are sweating buckets! Sometimes it’s out on the field and other times it’s at that family member’s house who keeps the heat on way too high. We’re ok for a little bit but eventually the sweat inevitably comes. The interesting part though is that simply sweating isn’t what cools our body down. It’s when the sweat evaporates that we cool off.

    Think of when you get out of the shower. Even though there’s no wind blowing we feel noticeably more cold. If our sweat isn’t able to evaporate then sweating doesn’t help us and is simply reducing our blood volume due to the volume of liquid being lost. When it’s very humid outside there’s already a lot of moisture in the air and it prevents our sweat from being able to evaporate and cool us off. That’s why extra caution is needed on those hot and humid days especially!

    Now for the blood distribution piece, this involves our body pumping blood towards our skin. By having blood closer to the surface of our skin, the wind/air traveling over it will help to cool down the blood. Then the slightly cooled down blood can travel back through the body helping cool the body down internally.

    Have you ever notice your veins sticking out a bit more in hot/humid environments? Now you know why! It’s the body directing the blood to the surface more in hopes of cooling down more. When we’re dehydrated though, this becomes very challenging.

    Athlete with extra vascularity.

    Keeping cool means keeping hydrated

    If we don’t replace the fluid being lost in sweat, our blood volume decreases. Less blood means it gets hot faster and isn’t able to stay at the surface of the skin long enough to cool down because it has to keep circulating. No rest for the weary!

    Athlete in the sun wiping the sweat off his face.

    Think about what takes longer to come to a boil on the stove; a cup of water or a large pot? Spoiler, it’s the cup!

    In our body, we want to avoid that boiling point for as long as we can. Like the large pot of water, not being dehydrated and drinking plenty of fluid keeps our blood volume up. Cheers to that.

    Having some extra sodium with that fluid though can be very helpful. Sodium will help our body to absorb and hold onto that water a bit better. The main goal of all of this is to increase that blood volume to keep us cool and avoid overheating.

    Ways to help chill out

    In addition to simply drinking more, there are several ways in which we can help keep our body cool.

    Keeping our beverages cold is the low hanging fruit of everything. Pack your water and electrolyte drinks in a cooler with ice packs as a simple and quick solution. Pro tip: freezing a water bottle will allow it to act as an ice pack and then when it melts you have extra fluid to drink. Helps to make the most of limited space and the cold beverages help to cool us internally from the inside out.

    In a similar manner slushies and popsicles can be a great way to help drop our core temperature. As an added benefit, making slushies out of sports drinks can help to provide some additional electrolytes as well. Who wouldn’t like a cold lemon lime Gatorade after a hot practice?

    Popsicles and fruit on ice to help cool down body temperature.

    Cooling ourselves externally is incredibly helpful as well. Grabbing some cold towels and ice packs to throw on ourselves is great. There are a few specific locations though that can impact our temperature to a great extent though and should be the areas to focus on when possible. These areas are where larger blood vessels are closer to the surface allowing closer direct contact to our blood. Those hot spots (pun intended) are our neck, armpits and groin. If needing to cool down quickly, that is where you need to focus placing ice.

    So chill out, stay safe and keep your performance up. The more of these things you can incorporate, the cooler you will be.

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  • Diets, Supplements, Wellness

    Quality Diet First, Supplements Second

    Like everything you have to walk before you can run. It all starts with the fundaments and with our health that is a quality diet. Most people want the quick fix of a pill or supplement or the ‘super food’ of the month. A quick fix never replaces the benefits a quality diet is able to offer.

    But why doesn’t a quality diet get more attention? Because in all honesty, it’s kind of boring!

    Unlike supplements or ‘super foods’ it’s difficult to get hyped about broccoli and spinach. You likely haven’t seen a broccoli ad during the Super Bowl but you’ve seen many Energy Drink ads. Those types of things are flashy and can grab peoples attention.

    Quality diets don’t necessarily have fancy ingredients or titles. You can make some delicious tasting and looking food but the makeup of the recipes will be fairly similar. What makes this effective though is consistency and…*looks around*….*whispers*…patience. Everyone’s favorite word.

    You can’t outwork a poor diet

    The fundamentals for any quality diet comes down to protein, fat, carbs, fruit & vegetables and hydration! Each piece is important in its own right and shouldn’t be overlooked.

    Protein

    Not all protein is equal. If possible try to ensure optimal quality by having grass fed beef, free range chicken and wild caught fish. This helps ensure your meat contains the maximum nutrient punch. It also avoids many inflammatory additions such as preservatives that many low quality meats contain. Many people don’t consume enough protein overall so make sure you also avoid falling into that category.

    Quality meat and protein sources on a cutting board.
    Food sources of quality fat including coconut, olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

    Fat

    Eating fat doesn’t make us fat. Fat is vital for nutrient absorption. There are fat and water soluble vitamins and as you may suspect, fat soluble vitamins require fat to be absorbed. So if you want the full benefit of that next salad, make sure you have some fat in it. Some quick good sources of fat include olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and cheese.

    Carbohydrates

    Carbs are in just about everything these days it seems and as a result are incredibly available. Unfortunately most of these sources are of poor quality. Focus on more nutrient rich sources such as potatoes, whole grains, fruit and beans. Also keep in mind how much you’re having to match your training appropriately.

    Table full of quality carbohydrates.
    Fresh fruit and vegetables laid out on a table.

    Fruit & Vegetables

    Don’t skip these! The vast majority of us would do well to have more. Non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, peppers, broccoli and squash should be your go-to veggies. For fruit, berries give you some of the most bang for your buck. Any plate without these is an incomplete plate!

    Hydration

    Keep a water bottle nearby at all times. Proper hydration is needed to keep our body running optimally. So many of us struggle with staying hydrated despite being such an easy concept.

    Person holding a bottle of water emphasizing the importance of hydration.

    Quality diet = quality health = quality performance

    Getting those fundamentals in place first then can allow us to begin considering supplements. To reiterate though, supplements don’t replace foods! Supplements work to enhance a quality diet allowing us to perform even better. They are also important to provide an extra boost in case our diet is a bit low in any specific nutrient. This is why regular blood work can be a great thing to get with your annual health check up (this is your nudge to schedule one if it’s been awhile).

    Don’t blindly take just any supplement though. Do so with purpose and intent while also doing your homework to ensure it’s safe and worth your money. If unsure, don’t risk it and just purchase something anyways! Make sure to check with someone first. If you don’t know anyone feel free to reach out to me! I’d much rather you be safe than sorry. Just be prepared for me to ask you how your diet is before answering you 🙂

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