Helpful Hydration Tips For A Healthier You

Drinking enough water is a major part of living a healthy lifestyle. Whether you have a regular workout routine or not, your body needs to stay hydrated. Water provides the body with many benefits such as increased brain power and energy, flushing out toxins, prevention of headaches, boosting your immune system, and so much more!

Unfortunately, not all of us are drinking enough water throughout the day to remain hydrated. Here is why you need to drink more water daily as well as tips for making it easier for you.

Consistently Drink Water All Year Round!

Summer or winter, spring or fall, the time of year should not affect your ability to stay hydrated. Summer is usually the time of year when the importance of hydration is stressed because your body tends to sweat more thanks to the increased outdoor activity and heat.

But it doesn’t mean you can’t focus on your water intake all year round. No matter the weather or if you are running a marathon or sitting at your desk working, getting enough water is an essential part of staying healthy and hydrated.

Hydrate For A Better Workout

During workouts, you sweat. It’s a simple fact of life. Since exercise causes your body to lose water as well as salts and other nutrients and minerals, you can get dehydrated pretty quickly. Drinking plenty of water is key to rehydrating when the body experiences as much fluid loss as it does when we sweat. Additionally, lean muscle tissue contains lots of water and so do your joints. When the body loses water without replenishment, muscles become more easily fatigued which can lead to you taking more breaks or abandoning the workout. Water helps lubricate the cartilage in your joints, which helps them better do their job of shock absorption, helping prevent joint pain.

Drinking water also regulates body temperature, boosts skin health, and delivers oxygen throughout the body. By staying hydrated, nutrients are transported and give the body energy to keep going during a workout.

It is critical to speak with your medical professional to ensure you are getting the proper amount of water for yourself per your body type. Recommended water intake can vary based on your body composition, weight, medical needs, and so much more.

Best Ways To Stay Hydrated During Workouts

Stay properly hydrated during your workout with the following tips:

  • Drink 17-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before the start of a workout.
  • Hydrate with 8 ounces of fluid for 20-30 minutes during warm-up.
  • Drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes during the workout.
  • Drink another 8 ounces within 30 minutes of finishing the workout.
  • If a workout lasts under 60 minutes, hydrate with water.
  • If a workout lasts more than 60 minutes, then replace lost electrolytes with sports drinks.

Pro-tip: While sports drinks are a good way to stay hydrated and replace electrolytes, it’s important to balance them out with water since they can be packed full of sugar. If you have trouble remembering to stop and take a water break, set a reminder on your mobile device or exercise with a friend so you can hold each other accountable. If you simply don’t love water, hydrate with infused water that’s free from sugar and preservatives.

Challenge Yourself Each Day!

If you have to trouble drinking water, consider following some of these tips to help your body stay hydrated!

  • Keep a bottle of water with you during the day. To reduce your costs, carry a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water.
  • If you don’t like the taste of plain water, try adding a slice of lemon or lime to your drink.
  • Drink water before, during, and after a workout.
  • When you’re feeling hungry, drink water. Thirst is often confused with hunger. True hunger will not be satisfied by drinking water. Drinking water may also contribute to a healthy weight-loss plan. Some research suggests that drinking water can help you feel full.
  • If you have trouble remembering to drink water, drink on a schedule. For example, drink water when you wake up, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and when you go to bed. Or, drink a small glass of water at the beginning of each hour.
  • Drink water when you go to a restaurant. It will keep you hydrated, and it’s free.

Learn to love water and understand the many positive benefits it has on your body. Over time, you will notice how your health will change for the better and realize how important water is, especially when you are more likely to be physically active. In addition, you should always be able to recognize the signs of dehydration and be sure to take necessary precautions when you start feeling fatigued. Proper water intake is essential in avoiding dehydrating your body and helpful in maintaining our overall health. Having a lot of water in the body may reduce physical strain and stress, especially when it comes to fitness.

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Workouts Your Knees Need!

Knee pain affects millions of people in the United States a year. Unfortunately, there is a myriad of things that can cause knee pain: arthritis, trauma, improper footwear, and overcompensations due to other ailing joints.

One thing is for certain: Knee pain can cause a downward spiral of issues if you don’t keep the muscles around the knee joint strong and mobile. Most often muscles will atrophy or lose flexibility causing the mechanics in the knee as well as joint above and below it to be adversely effected.

It Is Essential To Stay Mobile

The simplest way to avoid severe knee pain is to stay moving. For example, if you “tweak” your knee in some way that feels like an injury, you are better off keeping it gently mobile than staying sedentary. Low impact exercise like water aerobics, yoga, bike riding, or walking would be great examples to help appropriately heal the “tweak”.

When you have a knee injury, the goal is to not let scar tissue develop during the healing process. Also, by promoting blood flow to the area with low impact exercise you will have much faster recovery time with significantly less pain.

Exercise Tips For Healthy Knees

When it comes to knee pain, keep your workouts very basic and non-strenuous; you don’t want to risk causing more pain. Single joint exercises are good to do when you are first coming back into a regular routine but you will need to start incorporating functional, multi-joint closed chain exercises too.

To prevent overcompensations in movements, it is essential tomaintain a full lower body flexibility program. The following movements for these muscles can all be done on the TRUE Stretch:

  • Hamstring
  • Glute
  • Quad
  • Hip Flexor
  • Calf
  • Trunk rotation
  • Tensor Fascia Latae
  • Adductors

To help preserve tone and function in the muscles around the knee, the following movements are recommended:

Avoid exercises like deep squats, lunges, step-ups and high impact activities such as plyometric or running, knee extension machine.

Above all, listen to your body.  If a movement or exercise hurts, don’t do it! You will be saving yourself not only a lot of pain, but possible injury.

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The Importance of Consulting With Your Doctor Before Exercising

Staying physically active is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and regular exercise is a great way to keep your body and mind healthy in a variety of ways. Whether you are just starting to work out or currently live an active lifestyle and want to challenge yourself more, it is always important to talk with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.

Your Doctor Usually Knows What is Best

While you know your body the best, visiting your doctor before exercising can still be helpful because they may be able to identify things problems in your body that are difficult to self-diagnose. By talking to your doctor, they can advise you on what type of exercise program may or may not be the best fit based on your physical ability. For instance, if you have never run in your life starting with a beginner’s program or a steady jog would be safer than suddenly trying to run a 5K.

Additionally, your physician will be able to tell you if you should be exercising more based on your current physical condition or if you need to slow down to avoid overworking your body.

Keep in mind that moderate physical activity is generally safe for most people. For example, a brisk walk would be okay to take every day, but anything more strenuous could cause a problem to arise until your body gets used to the activity.

To be proactive, here are some tips for when you should talk with your doctor before exercising:

  • You have an ongoing or existing medical issue like high blood pressure or cholesterol, asthma, diabetes, joint pain, et cetera.
  • You just underwent any type of medical procedure.
  • You are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.
  • You feel like you are significantly overweight.
  • You are regularly being seen by a doctor for a medical condition.
  • You are not currently physically active for at least 30 minutes two to three days a week.

Still Exercising? You Still Talk to Your Physician

Keep your doctor’s phone number handy, because every once in a while they can provide an assessment to see if it you need to slow down or if you can do more. If you are easing back into a regular exercise program, you should not be running long distances or lifting extremely heavy weights right off the bat.

Likewise, if you are more advanced, listen to your body and take a rest and try not to push yourself too far. Sometimes, pushing your body too far with exercise can be just as detrimental as not exercising at all, so always err on the side of caution.

Here are some situations where you should call your doctor while you are working out:

  • You have shortness of breath often or get dizzy and lightheaded easy
  • Experience any pain or numbness in muscles or joints for an extended amount of time
  • If you get serious headaches during and after working out
  • Your heartbeat is very pronounced or rapid
  • You have extreme lower back or lower leg pain during normal, everyday activities even during rest

It should also go without saying that if you feel like you have hurt yourself in any way, shape or form during exercise that you should call your doctor immediately. Even if the pain or discomfort of a movement is mild or last for a short time that is enough cause to go in for a check-up.

Always Listen to Your Body

At any time if you feel the least bit unhealthy, do not hesitate to consult with your doctor. Sometimes when something may not feel like a big deal to you, there could be an underlying issue and a simple check-up could provide an easy remedy. Stay proactive by listening to your body and talk with a physician before you start a new, more rigorous program or about using certain equipment.

By talking with your doctor, together you can address any unique challenges you may have towards physical activity. Some can even make a specialized diet and exercise plan tailored to fit your own needs and goals. Your doctor can easily provide you an assessment of your current fitness level to help you learn where it is appropriate to start. Remember, working with your doctor is a great first step to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

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Though sometimes we might be lazy or maybe have talked ourselves out of going for a run that morning and hitting snooze a couple of times, your pet’s energy is contagious and they are ready to get out of bed or off of the couch and get their run in. Continue reading “Man’s Best Workout Partner: Working Out With Your Dog”

Why Hydration Is Crucial For Getting The Most Of Your Workout

It seems like the most simplistic and overused piece of advice when exercising: “Stay hydrated.” Though some of us get tired of hearing this advice over and over, it’s an important piece of advice and not at all hard to keep up with. We can all benefit by keeping a bottle or two next to us while exercising. Let’s learn why hydration is crucial to getting the most out of your workout.

Why Should We Stay Hydrated?

It doesn’t matter if you are working out in the winter or the heat of summer – staying hydrated is an essential part of exercising and maintaining our health.

When we sweat, our bodies lose water. Drinking plenty of water is key to rehydrating when the body experiences as much fluid loss as it does when we sweat. Additionally, lean muscle tissue contains lots of water – more than 75%. When the body loses water without replenishment, muscles become more easily fatigued therefore many either can’t complete the workout or need to take frequent breaks. Drinking water also regulates body temperature and hydrates joints. By drinking water, nutrients are transported and give the body energy to keep going during a workout.

What Happens If We Don’t Stay Hydrated?

When working out for long periods of time, there are many dangerous consequences that follow when we do not hydrate properly. A few of those consequences include:

  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness
  • Overheating (heat exhaustion/heatstroke)
  • Decline in performance
  • Muscle cramps
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Lack of sweating

If any of these symptoms are experienced during a workout, stop to take a break and get something to drink. Safety should always be your number one priority when exercising. Don’t think that you can push through your workout and drink later. Stop and rehydrate before continuing.

How We Can Stay Hydrated

Stay properly hydrated with the following tips:

  • Drink 17-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before the start of a workout.
  • Hydrate with 8 ounces of fluid 20-30 minutes during warm-up.
  • Drink 7-10 ounces of fluid every 10-20 minutes during the workout.
  • Drink another 8 ounces within 30 minutes of finishing the workout.
  • If a workout lasts under 60 minutes, hydrate with water.
  • If a workout lasts more than 60 minutes, then replace lost electrolytes with sports drinks.

Pro-tip: While sports drinks are a good way to stay hydrated and replace electrolytes, it’s important to balance them out with water since they can be packed full of sugar. If you have trouble remembering to stop and take a water break, set a reminder on your mobile device or exercise with a friend so you can hold each other accountable.

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