Fluids

Our bodies are 60-70% water. Muscles and brain are 75% and blood is about 80%. Even your bones are 25% water. Water is the substance of life, it plays a vital role in nearly every body function:

Regulates your body temperature

Decreases cramps by transporting oxygen to our muscles

Removes wastes and toxins from our body

Keeps headaches at bay

Protects our joints and vital organs

Keeps our short-term memory and concentration at its best

Reduces the chances of disease

Enhances athletic performance

It’s amazing how much better you can feel just by taking in the amount of water that you need each day. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Lack of water is major cause of daytime fatigue which is not good on race day. To figure how much you need each day take half of your body weight and that is how many ounces of water you need each day without considering other factors such as activity, health, or climate. Athletes need to drink 8 ounces for every 20 minutes of physical activity. You should be drinking theses amounts everyday, not just a few days before a big race to "get ready" for it.

I am sure that you have heard about overhydration. The main cause of that is not from drinking too much water, it is from lack of replacing electrolytes during prolonged exercise while you are drinking water. Sweat contains salt, in prolonged exercise its loss can be significant. I usually discourage the use of most sports drinks, mostly because of the amounts of sugar in it, but on a long day of racing or a day of working out and riding all afternoon you need to make sure you are getting enough sodium and potassium. If you are eating properly, you should not need sports drinks, but most of us don’t. High levels of sugar can slow the body’s absorbtion of water. I suggest that you get a sports drink from a nutritional store with less sugar content and not drink more than one or two servings during the day. One that I am a firm believer in is called Rehydrate from Advocare. It has everything you need plus ingredients that help your body to absorb the water that you drink. It has only 9 grams of sugar as compared to a popular brand that has 14.

While, I am on the subject of sugar, lets talk about energy drinks and soda pop (or coke as they call it here in Texas). Both of these contain large amounts of sugar. The average soda has 27 grams and the two most popular energy drinks in motocross have 19-27 grams. This does not include their low-carb version of their drinks. Sugar has many negative affects on our health including the negative affect it has on endurance. It leads to many diseases, can cause headaches, can actually cause drowsiness, and much more.

Energy drinks and soda both have large amounts of caffeine. Some of the energy drink nutritional labels have what is called an energy blend on them. This blend has caffeine and usually other herbs that contain caffeine. I cannot say for sure what is in it, as I cannot find any listings of what it is exactly. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means it draws water from your body, possibly causing dehydration. Most sodas have phosphoric acid in them which draws calcium from our bones. Calcium is what is going to keep our bones from breaking as easily. Soda also keeps your body from being able to use all the oxygen it takes in, up to 30%. Did you know if you leave a piece of meat in a glass of coke it will eventually disappear? Just think what that is doing to your stomach. I am hoping that after reading this you realize that these two drinks are not for athletes. On occasion, they are ok, but not to depend on for daily fluid intake.