The Importance of Hydrating
Port CrossFit • August 23, 2023
Hydration plays a pivotal role in optimizing physical performance. Whether you’re an athlete or working out for improved health, staying hydrated is a vital part of your training routine. Few of the key components that coincide with hydration are:
- Sustained Energy Levels: Dehydration can lead to reduced blood volume, making the heart work harder to circulate oxygen and nutrients to muscles. This can result in early fatigue, reduced endurance, and feeling lethargic. Staying hydrated helps maintain consistent energy levels throughout your workout and through the day for that matter.
- Improved Muscle Function: Adequate hydration helps prevent muscle cramps and promotes proper muscle function. When muscles are well-hydrated, they operate much more efficiently, allowing for improved performance through your training session.
- Thermoregulation: During exercise, your body temperature rises. Sweating is the body’s natural response to cool your body temperature or bring back to normal. However, if you’re dehydrated, your body’s ability to cool itself is compromised, this can result in decreased performance or possibly heat exaustion
- Faster Recovery: After an intense workout, rehydration is crucial for recovery. Proper hydration helps transport essential nutrients to muscles, aids in the removal of waste products, and reduces the risk of post-exercise muscle soreness. Of course your workout matters, but the ability to repair and recover is just as important.
- Mental Acuity & Cognitive Function:Your brain relies on proper hydration to function optimally. Even mild dehydration can result in decreased concentration, memory problems, and mood swings. Staying hydrated supports mental clarity and cognitive performance.
- Health & Well Being: Hydration is linked to various aspects of health, including skin health, kidney function, joint health, and toxin removal. It can even go as far as assisting in the breakdown food, absorption of nutrients, and the removal of waste in the digestive system.
But how much water is enough to stay hydrated? We get this question often! How much water should I drink in a day? Well besides a few indicators which I’ll mention, a general rule of thumb can be half your body weight in ounces. Please keep in mind this can vary on climate, age, exercise level and overall health but 1/2 your BW is a great starting point. Two key indicators you can use to monitor proper hydration is thirst and the color of your urine. I know this sounds simple but when your thirsty, drink! The other is the color of your urine. If your urine is a pale yellow then this is a good sign that you are hydrated. On the contrary, if it is dark, its time to drink up!
We get questions all the time like: “Hey, what’s a good supplement I should be taking?” or “My friend lost 5 pounds doing intermittent fasting — should I try it too?” Look, while there are supplements that people have had success with, and yes, intermittent fasting can help some people lose weight, these kinds of trends don’t outweigh the fundamentals when it comes to long-term health and fitness. If your focus isn’t already on things like: solid nutrition quality sleep consistent movement/exercise and managing stress …then chasing the next best thing — whether it’s a pill, a fast, or a sauna session — is probably just a distraction. Let’s be real: if you're not eating enough protein (think ~1g per pound of body weight), not strength training regularly, and not prioritizing recovery, then sweating out water weight in a sauna isn't exactly the best use of your time. (Yes, saunas have their benefits — just not for body composition if your basics aren't dialed in.) And while calorie deficit does matter (sure, some nutritionists might cringe at how loosely that gets tossed around), it's not always just about what your Apple Watch says you burned, or what that influencer on Instagram says about meal timing. It’s about consistency. Day over day. Month over month. Year over year. If you consistently prioritize: high-quality, protein-forward food restorative sleep a non-sedentary lifestyle regular resistance training tolerable levels of stress …you’re going to improve your basal metabolic rate, decrease body fat, and build lean muscle. So are supplements, HR zone training, intermittent fasting, saunas, and cold plunges worthless? Absolutely not — they can all serve a purpose. But here’s the key: those tools should complement your routine, not replace the fundamentals. Master the basics first. That’s where real, sustainable progress lives. Kyle Tiringer
Best Fitness Shoes / Sneakers Does it really matter? How can a training shoe be so important? Well, many lifts, runs and training routines all start with being on your feet and if you aren’t providing the proper stability for your body, it can result in sub par performance or even some aches and pains down the road. Through the years we have seen many different brands and styles of training shoes; narrow, wide, soft sole, hard sole, big heel, no heel, pliable sole but what’s the right one for the job? Hopefully, this post can shed some light. Other than personal preference or anatomical differences of the foot, there are some general principles you can follow in choosing a shoe but the first step is to assess your type of training. Are you weightlifting, squatting, deadlifting, running or cross training? I’m not going to dive too deep into theories but stick to shedding light on differences through training types. Realistically, people can write books about this, so bare with me as I try to get my point across in a few paragraphs. Keep in mind we are not affiliated with any brands but we will mention some in the below in case you were in the market for some new fresh shoes!
We get questions on eating quite a bit, but to be honest, I wish we got them more. Unfortunately, still to this day, there is an alarming amount of people who do not prioritize protein at the level they should. Consuming protein is not just about growing clunky muscles, and popping out of the sleeves of a tee shirt, it's about much more; Few bullet points on the importance of protein intake; Muscle Maintenance and Growth: Protein is crucial for maintaining and building muscle mass. Whether you’re an athlete looking to gain muscle or someone concerned about age-related muscle loss, protein intake supports muscle health. Appetite Control and Weight Management: Protein-rich foods can help you feel fuller for longer, which can aid in controlling your appetite and potentially lead to reduced calorie consumption. This can be beneficial for weight management and maintaining a healthy body composition. Energy Production : While carbohydrates are the body’s primary energy source, protein can be used as an energy source when needed. This is especially important during periods of low carbohydrate intake, such as fasting or intense physical activity. Improved Metabolism: Protein has a higher thermic effect compared to carbohydrates and fats, meaning your body expends more energy (burns more calories) to digest and metabolize protein. This can contribute to a modest boost in metabolism. Tissue Repair and Immune Function : Protein is essential for repairing and maintaining various tissues in the body, including skin, hair, and organs. It also plays a role in supporting the immune system, as antibodies are proteins that help defend against infections. But how much protein should I eat in a day? The RDA recommends .8g/kg or .36g/lb of body weight. On average this might look like something as low as 50-75g of protein per day if you are ranging from 125-165lbs. Lets break that down a bit more. It’s important to consume an adequate amount of daily protein to support the functions listed above, but the exact amount can vary depending on factors like age, activity level, and overall health. A bit deeper, The RDA is instructed to list minimum values for your most basic functions, it is not taking into consideration things like exercise, type of exercise, frequency of exercise, daily stress, current goals, tissue health, daily sleep amounts, age and more. You can get the idea that the slightest bit of exertion can require a bit more protein, or someone who takes 15,000 steps in a day may need a bit more fuel. Lets create an example; For someone who exercises 3-5x per week, male or female, between the ages of 18-35, having a goal of remaining lean or reducing body fat, we’ve seen benefits of protein intake approx .8g-1.2 per lb of lean body weight. If someone exercises more, has a soft tissue injury, older in age (yes, older), or wanting to increase muscle quality/muscle mass, we have seen that number go up to 1.2-1.5x bw with little to no negative effects by over eating that specific macro nutrient. In most cases, if you are nearing your bw in 1g of protein per lb, you are in a pretty good boat. Although measuring protein is the best way to know what you are eating, we can understand this doesn't work for everyone. Here are a few other ways; Eat protein with every meal – If you are eating the standard 3 meals per day and having at least a serving of protein it will usually get you in the ball park. Read labels of your food – If you are able to eat at a meal prep or prepare your own food, reading the labels before cooking can help a great deal to know your intake Use the palm of your hand as a reference – 1-2 palms (thickness/circumference), can usually be an “okay” indicator on the amount of protein to eat. Varies between meats but if you are changing up your proteins it tends to balance out. Protein Supplement post workout – as we mentioned, more exercise requires more protein for more reasons than 1. Adding a recovery shake to your workout can help ensure you are eating enough protein to adapt to your activity level. Not to mention, protein will help repair from your workout. *Disclaimer – this post is created based on what we’ve seen from our clients, collected data from university studies, learned from educational courses and read in journals from experts. We do not believe that any of the above is a 1 size fits all guide and further, does not take into account any medical history. Before creating drastic changes in any diet or nutrition guideline we recommend consulting with a doctor prior to doing so.
