Thirsty

     *Gulp gulp* ahhhhhhhhh, now that's refreshing. Hello everyone, you just caught me in the middle of my favorite drink... Water (coffee is a close second)! I think you can guess what today's discussion is about. Yes, water is the essence of life and we are comprised of about 60% of it (the other 40% is awesomeness). But how much of this wonder beverage should we be consuming?

*Author's Note: I'm not talking about flavored H2O... that's nothing but REALLY watered down Gatorade*

Thirsty yet?

     So, I remember growing up hearing that I should be drinking about eight 8oz servings of water a day. I didn't listen that much back then, and just chugged away at my pop... Yes, it's called pop. I'm from Washington, deal with it! Since then I have learned and switched my beverage habit for the better. But, it 64 oz enough?

Glug glug glug

     Well, if you're getting in 64 oz a day that's a good start. You're already getting more than the average person should be. The easy way to find your number (math... sorry), is half your bodyweight in oz. So a strapping young 170 lb man like myself should be taking in about 85 oz a day! However, this is just during the normal day. Us as CrossFitters need just a tiny bit more. My suggestion would be: have a serving an hour before a WOD, take a sip or two during the WOD (as needed), and have another serving after the WOD. We have to stay on top of our hydration, especially for all the sweat angels we tend to make.

You tend to see a lot of these Post-WOD

     Is there such thing as too much? Hell yea there is! This is commonly known as "water intoxication"... or medically: Hyponatremia. Basically we're overloading our body with water, which is flushing out all the sodium from our system (yes, we do need some). This is usually not something you are going to "accidentally" fall victim to. You have to drink a crap load of water and take in nothing else. Something like this should not be too much of a concern, but it is good info to have. I would worry more about dehydration, because we feel the effects of this after loosing only 1-2% of water in our bodies. Here's the good rule of thumb: you know you've hydrated enough if your pee is clear and odorless. Here's some helpful tips to increase your water drinking habits:

• Drink water with meals and snack (1-2 servings)
• Don't keep an empty water bottle (fill that sucker up)
• Keep water next to your bed (have a drink when you wake up)
• Limit your coffee (set a daily time or cup limit)
• Avoid the pop/sports drinks (water is your friend)
• Don't wait till your thirsty to drink (you're already behind)
• Don't drink all 64 oz in 2 hours (spread it out during the day)

     So I hoped this small talk got you thinking about your drinking habits. A round of waters on me everyone!!!



3,2,1 Drink!