H2kn0w

One of the most successful and celebrated multi-sport athletes in history, Bo Jackson, also knew how to have fun.

Mostly, he played baseball and football, but here’s a commercial compilation of all the different sports he (supposedly) tried. The video gives us a look (and pokes good fun) at some of them. No matter – he was truly an ‘elite’ athlete in every sense of the word.

“Bo Knows” was the running theme of the commercials he did, and you know he understood the importance of hydration – so that’s where I want us to focus today:

You Gotta Know Your H20!

In a recent article, Rayven Nairn, an expert on Performance and Fitness physiology for John Hopkins Medicine, laid out the basics for any individual who trains and performs at a high level.

I encourage you to read the entire article here, and here’s a list of her most important take-aways:

• Athletic performance. Water cushions the joints, and being dehydrated can affect your flexibility and speed. Since we stand when we train or perform…this is important!
• Hydration is essential for proper muscle function (including the heart muscles), and it helps you avoid light-headedness.
• When you inhale, you need body fluids to moisten the air so it’s easier to absorb oxygen through your lungs.
• Your brain needs water to work. Just as a drop in blood sugar can make a person “hangry,” dehydration can affect mood and concentration and cause headaches and irritability and cause lack of focus

Several other very important ideas from her article really resonated with me:

• Any meaningful physical activity for which inhalation and exhalation occur with greater frequency (singing) causes us to lose hydration; air exhaled from the body contains a significant amount of moisture;
• Think ahead. Since it takes around 45 minutes to one hour for the body to process consumed fluids, if you wait until you feel thirsty to drink water or wait to hydrate until your training session or performance begins literally none of that fluid will help you during the actual training session!
• The body also needs electrolytes (salt) to properly process the fluid intake. Being low on salt causes the body to simply ‘pass’ the fluid without completely processing it. This is where certain sports drinks can come in handy. But do your homework and make sure it’s a healthy one.

There are many other helpful tips included in Ms. Nairn’s article – please take time to read it – and we’ll discuss setting up your hydration regimen at the beginning of your session this week.

Drink up!

#waterwatereverywhere
#dothereps
#MaJoVTA