Wednesday 10.17.12

Ok, ready? I have a magic fix that will automatically improve your performance, and you can do it while sitting on the couch. Wanna hear it?? DRINK SOME WATER! 

Did you know that being even 1% dehydrated can negatively impact your performance by as much as 10-12%?!?!?! 

 K-Star has a little hydration test that can help you determine if you're dehydrated or not. I don't know about you, but I failed miserably. Forget about exactly how much you're dehydrated, it doesn't matter. You are or you aren't, and even a little bit will take its toll. So here's the deal: half your body weight in ounces + 12-16 ounces for every hour of working out. So if you're a 180lb person you need 90 ounces of water + 16 if you came to CrossFit today. That's 106 ounces, or almost a gallon of water. P.S. that 12-16 ounces is if you're working out in 70-75 degree weather. Since we live in the great city of Houston, go ahead and make it 20 oz per hour. 

Tips to help you get hydrated:

1. Drink WATER. Plain ole simple water. Add some mint and lime or some lemon if you really need to sometimes, but get used to just drinking water by itself. 

2. Keep a food/water journal. So...how much water have you been drinking? If you don't know, it's something you should be recording every day. When you're first starting to journal, you should also note how you feel every day day in terms of energy level, workout, strength, etc. so that you can see how your food and water intake are effecting you.

3. Carry a gallon with you. At work, I used to carry around a gallon jug of water and pour from it all day long so that I had a visual reminder of my progress for the day. If it's easily accessible, you're most likely to drink more.

4. Drink water when you're not thirsty. By the time you feel thirsty or get that sticky/dry feeling in your mouth, you're already dehydrated. 

5. Drink small amounts of water often. Your body will be able to use the fluid much better if it's not bombarded all at once.

6. Start and end your day with 2 big glasses of water. This will rehydrate and prepare you for the water loss that occurs during sleep.

You will never know how good you can feel when you're chronically hydrated until you do it. People can tell us about it all day long, but just like clean eating - you don't really get it until you experience it. Give yourself a goal of drinking the correct amount of water for a week and see for yourself how much better you feel. Cheers!

WOD:
20 min EMOM:
even minutes: 5 PP (125/85), 10 mountain climbers
odd minutes: 5 hang cleans (125/85), 10 air squats