Fluid Facts

In what seems like a former lifetime--before I went back to school to study nutrition--I earned a degree in journalism. So, whenever I try to explain a topic, I usually revert back to my journalistic roots and the “big six” questions:

1. Who?
2. What ?
3. When ?
4. Where?
5. Why?
and
6. How?
(or, in the case of fluids, “How much?”)

My next few posts will use the “who, what, when, where, why, and how much” format to explain the facts on fluids and endurance exercise.

1. Who? Well, this one’s easy to answer. Obviously, the “who” is YOU! But I also think that the “who” in this case is the whole team, and everyone riding on the MS Ride. It’s important that we all look out for each other and make sure we’re all hydrating enough.

2. What? By the term “fluid” we usually think of water, and much of the time when we exercise water is all we need. In general, for exercise lasting less than 60-90 minutes, water is perfect. But when you’re exercising intensely for longer periods of time or in hot weather, you need to add a sports drink to replace the electrolytes that you’re sweating out and the carbohydrates your body is using to fuel your muscles. There are many brands of sports drinks, and all are similar in their electrolyte and carbohydrate content. But some people find that one brand or another just doesn’t “agree” with their digestive system. Different carbohydrate sources seem to make a difference to some people. In my experience, though, most people do great with any of the many brands of sports drinks. Even so, it’s better to try out different brands during training to find out what works (or doesn’t work) for you. Please share your own experiences with different sports drinks by posting a comment!

Next up…..the “when”, “where”, “why”, and “how much”…..I’ll post later on those….

Ride on!