Barbara WintroubBy Barbara Wintroub, Retrofit Pilates
bwintroub@retrofitpilates.com
http://retrofitpilates.com
Hot weather seems to have come upon us right in the middle of pickleball tournament season in Palm Desert, CA and Surprise, AZ. One person was whisked away at the Catalina Spa Tournament and I hear several succumbed to heat and dehydration at the Grand Canyon Games.
It’s time to investigate the dehydration problem in more detail. Did you know that when you exercise and drink only water, if you do not keep food in your stomach, the water just stays in your stomach and sloshes around? Food keeps your stomach juices flowing to absorb the water. You can actually become dehydrated if you’re drinking water and not eating.
You really need an electrolyte concentrate composed of a specific ratio of sodium chloride, sodium citrate, potassium, magnesium and calcium. A formula containing optimal portions of water and salts for absorption into the body provides for fast, easy and effective rehydration.
NASA scientists were put to the test to come up with a formula for astronauts returning to Earth with severe dehydration. The scientists have a drink with no carbohydrates, caffeine or sugar in it, but their tests show effective results and a 20% increase in endurance (see NASA website).
If you are good at Google searches, you can even find recipes for homemade fluid replacement drinks, but most running and cycling stores can lead you in the right direction when it comes to electrolyte drinks.
For proper hydration with a combination of water and electrolyte drinks, you need to begin drinking fluids several hours before you play, continue to drink during play and then continue hydrating during recovery after you play. This provides the most effective cumulative effect of electrolyte replacement. Watch for early signs of dehydration. If your mouth is dry and sort of sticky even though you don’t feel thirsty or you have stopped needing to visit the ladies’ or men’s room during your competitive day, you are already in trouble.
What you wear also plays a big part in the dehydration issue. Do you wear a hat? Heat escapes through the top of your head. If you are cold, wear a hat. If you are hot, wear a light mesh cap to shield your head from the sun and allow air circulation. Keep your hat wet or place ice in your cap.
Are you wearing the latest coolmax or polyester shirt? Bad choice! This fabric wicks the water away from your skin – great for winter time when you can be chilled in cold weather, but bad for summer time. Wear 100% cotton, keep it wet, stand in the shade with a wet shirt for instant “cool-ness” or actually play pickleball with a wet T-shirt on to keep your body temperature down. Wear loose fitting clothes that are light colored. Black is for evening wear, not for daytime pickleball.
Here’s something different for a quick cool down: try ‘heat snorkeling’. Take a glass and fill it almost to the brim with ice cubes. Hold the glass up to your mouth and blow gently in the glass then inhale. The ice causes the air you are blowing into the glass to cool down drastically and, in turn, the cold air is forced out the glass and right into your face and back into your lungs.
After you play, soak your feet in cold water and run cold water over your wrists for 10 seconds each hand. This will reduce your temperature for about an hour.
Drink, drink drink. Eat, eat, eat. He who is last standing and in good shape wins. Then go party where you can wear black and drink and eat some more.
Take care, be smart, remain upright.