Hydration Needs for Your Hot Girl Summer

Just Tri babes,

We all know that June, July, and August have a reputation for bringing the heat and humidity. And this summer is no different. Temperatures have been higher than average and aren't going anywhere, anytime soon! During these [Hot Girl Summer] months, it's crucial to understand that what you drink is often more important than what you eat. Yes, both your fueling and hydration strategies are essential to your performance, but HYDRATION is king.

Hydration needs are not a one size fits all. The physiological differences between men and women are significant and should be approached with specificity. Here's one example where an active woman's needs differ from a man's. Research shows that women naturally have lower volumes of total body water, leading to a quicker rise in core body temperature during the early stages of working out. Hydration needs also differ from woman-to-woman depending on the type of activity, training status, training environment, and the current phase of their menstrual cycle. So stop following general guidelines and comparing yourself to men and other women.

Hydration Explained:

The easiest way to simplify hydration is to think of it as "how much fluid is needed for your body to function properly". The most important bodily fluid is your circulating blood (a combination of blood cells and blood plasma). As you workout, your body uses water to release heat from working muscles in order to cool you down.

Your blood is crucial for 2 reasons:

1. Delivering fuel & nutrients to those working muscles (& your your brain/other vital organs)
2. Removing waste by-products & heat produced by those muscles

Think of your blood as a little shuttling service, where the blood circulates to the skin to unload the heat through sweating (aka "evaporative cooling" for you science nerds). Sweat beads are formed by pulling water from the blood plasma. The more you sweat, the more your blood plasma level drops. When your body notices that your blood plasma is decreasing, it starts pulling fluids from other areas of your body in an attempt to maintain the volume.

The Dehydration Cascade:

As your blood plasma drops, your heart is forced to work harder - i.e. increased heart rate (HR). As your HR increases, your core body temperature increases and your power output decreases. All leading to FATIGUE and drops in your performance.

Note: If you're not hydrated... aka, your body doesn't have enough fluid to keep your blood plasma volume high enough to sweat efficiently and keep your core body temperature cool during your workout... then you can expect a suboptimal performance.

If you've made it this far, you're past most of the [NEED TO KNOW] science stuff ;)

Why is this information important for active women?

Your fluctuating hormones have a direct impact on your blood plasma volume, core body temperature, and sodium concentrations. For instance, when your sex hormones are highest (during the luteal phase), your core body temperature is elevated, your sweat rate is delayed during exercise, and your blood plasma is reduced between ~5-8 percent. Resulting in a lower heat tolerance. Also, your elevated sex hormones will decrease your sensitivity to feeling thirsty. So when you need the reminder most, your body actually shunts it!

What can you do? Instead of drinking off feeling (during your high hormone phase), use these general guidelines to maintain blood plasma volume and better prepare you for training and competition:

- At temperatures around 70 degrees and below: Drink ~14-20 oz per hour (0.12 oz per pound of body weight)

- At temperatures above 80 degrees: Drink ~19-25 oz per hour (0.16 oz per pound of body weight)

More Hydration Tips:

Hydrating throughout the day:

- Add a pinch of salt to your 8-16oz of water (if you're not eating a snack while drinking)

- Drink 16-20oz of water when you first wake up

- Drink 8-16oz of water every hour

- Stop drinking at least 60-90min before bed to avoid sleep disturbances (i.e. getting up to pee)

Post workout/Recovery Hydration:

- Drink 16oz of the winning sports drink formula listed below (within 30-45min of training)

- Eat a banana + drink 16oz of water

- Drink 8-12oz of chocolate milk (animal or plant based milks are naturally high in potassium) + drink 16oz of water

- Add 20g of protein to support muscle protein synthesis

The Winning Sports Drink Formula (per 16oz):

- 4% carbohydrate solution (~14-19g from sugar)

- 360-450mg of sodium

- 120-150mg of potassium

**Best hydration products on the market: OSMO Hydration, Clif Shot electrolyte drink mix, and Skratch Labs**

Remember, staying hydrated and properly acclimatizing* to your training or competition environment should be your top priorities. Not only will you feel better but it will keep you on top of your game! *More on acclimatization in a future blog post.

Thank you for reading :) I hope you found this informative and it helps you navigate your specific hydration needs more confidently!

Have a great start to your week! Get after it! And remember to always, Just Tri!!

Best,

Lindsay

P.S. Follow the Just Tri Performance social media pages on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube - handles and link below :)

Instagram: @just_tri365 ; TikTok: @justtri_performance ; YouTube link.