What to drink when exercising

Water: As the human body is about 60% water by weight, and the body loses water through perspiration and temperature regulation, it needs to be frequently replenished.  Even a slight dehydration can lead to a decrease in physical performance.  Although plain, cool water is more than adequate, adding flavors may increase the chances that a person properly hydrates.  Low calorie liquids will hydrate equally. 
Sports Drinks: Sports drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade are meant to replace water AND electrolytes such as sodium and potassium lost through exercise.  Additionally, sports drinks are effective in quickly replacing the carbohydrates needed for immediate energy while being active for longer periods of time.  During a longer (1-4 hours) exercise session, your performance will benefit by burning the carbohydrates in your sports drink rather than tapping into stored carbs in the body. 
Additionally, the ingestion of carbohydrates, sodium, and potassium have shown to reduce the amount of cramping in an athlete.  It is important to note that this should be a preventative method, not done after the onset of cramping.  While there can be many reasons for cramping, most athletes will cramp from sweating out sodium and burning through all the muscle’s usable sugars.  These are easily replaced.  Most studies have shown that Gatorade is far and away the leader in sports drinks.  However, my advice is to go with whichever one tastes best.  They are all comparable, and taste goes a long way to drinking enough!

Energy Drinks: You get your “energy” from carbohydrates and fat.  This comes in all food sources, Gatorade, orange juice, etc…  While Red Bull and similar products may contain sugar, the ingredients touted, such as taurine, caffeine, ginseng, and other “energy enhancers” are simply stimulants to the central nervous system. While these may make you initially more alert, it provides little or no actual energy, and may make you jittery and crash if your sport of choice is one of endurance.  I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE DRINKS THESE BEVERAGES. ESPECIALLY CHILDREN!
Caffeine: The jury is still out on caffeine.  It is a stimulant, and has some addictive qualities.  The best advice I have seen is to continue to drink your cup of coffee in the morning if that is normal for you.  Do not start doing espresso shots before working out for more energy though!  There are also some new studies that show caffeine may enhance the body’s ability to recover from a tough workout.  However, for many reasons, everyone should drink caffeine in moderation.  Also, hot liquids are generally not conducive to peak physical performance.  Since hydration is a major source or regulating your body’s core temp, cool liquids should be consumed around times of intense exercise where you are liable to sweat more than normal.
Alcohol: Avoid it within 24 hours of heavy exercise, before and after.  Alcohol is a diuretic among other negative things.  Not only will this dehydrate you, but the body’s need to rid itself of alcohol’s pollutants can stunt athletic performance as well as its ability to recover afterwards.
Fluid Guidelines: 
Before activity:  15-20 ounces of water
During activity:  7-10 ounces of liquid for every 20 minutes of vigorous activity
After activity:  24 ounces of liquid for every pound of body weight lost during activity.
Source of data: Rob Skinner, MS, RD/LD, CSSD, CSCS

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• Tip of the Month

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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