Hydration

I live the Phoenix-metro area of Arizona where it gets incredibly hot (over 106 Farenheit and higher for days on end) during several months of the year. I'm no doctor, but I've managed to live in the heat for the past nine years without any problems, except for my first summer where I suffered heat exhaustion. Let me tell you, that only happened once. I quickly learned how much water I needed to be drinking. :D For non-workout days, I use the basic rule of thumb of taking my body weight, dividing it in half, and making sure I drink that much water each day. For me that would be at least 80 ounces of water. That may seem like a lot to some, but the humidity is very low here a good part of the year, and it is easy to become dehydrated without realizing it. When I'm working out in the pool, I add extra water using the rule of 2 ounces every 20 minutes. Now, spending time outside in the heat requires additional measure. I know from talking to others that electrolytes are critical for athletes working out in the heat. I typically do not do this as I work out in an indoor pool, so I can't speak to this from experience. Here's a good articles on the subject: dcp.psc.gov/.../FitforDuty_080307.htm Stay cool!

I live the Phoenix-metro area of Arizona where it gets incredibly hot (over 106 Farenheit and higher for days on end) during several months of the year. I'm no doctor, but I've managed to live in the heat for the past nine years without any problems, except for my first summer where I suffered heat exhaustion. Let me tell you, that only happened once. I quickly learned how much water I needed to be drinking. :D For non-workout days, I use the basic rule of thumb of taking my body weight, dividing it in half, and making sure I drink that much water each day. For me that would be at least 80 ounces of water. That may seem like a lot to some, but the humidity is very low here a good part of the year, and it is easy to become dehydrated without realizing it. When I'm working out in the pool, I add extra water using the rule of 2 ounces every 20 minutes. Now, spending time outside in the heat requires additional measure. I know from talking to others that electrolytes are critical for athletes working out in the heat. I typically do not do this as I work out in an indoor pool, so I can't speak to this from experience. Here's a good articles on the subject: dcp.psc.gov/.../FitforDuty_080307.htm Stay cool!