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Staying hydrated for skating.

With the warm weather well upon us, many of us are getting back into street-skating. Street-skates are a great way to have fun, stay in shape and let off a little steam. One of the main risks of long distance skating is dehydration, which is more common in hot weather. Some basic principles can help you avoid this problem.

Our bodies prefer to live in a very narrow temperature range. When we skate hard, muscles generate heat. The body has to get rid of the heat to prevent the body temperature from rising. We do this by sweating. When we sweat, heat evaporates from the skin to keep the inside of the body cool.

When we sweat, we lose both water and salt, thus, making us dehydrated. Dehydration not only decreases athletic performance by up to 25% but it can also be dangerous.

Dehydration can occur after as little as 20 minutes of hard skating, particularly in hot weather and is one of the risk factors for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

The first sign is when you start to feel thirsty. Your mouth may feel dry later you may develop a flushed face, extreme thirst, stop sweating and develop dry skin. You may no longer urinate or have very small amounts of dark yellow urine. Weakness, dizziness, muscle cramps, headaches, thick saliva, sleepiness. With increasing dehydration you may develop a dry mouth and a dry tongue.

If the dehydration is not corrected at this point, you may get very lightheaded and even pass out as the body can no longer keep the temperature down. Severe muscle cramps and confusion may also occur at this stage and people in this situation need treatment in the nearest accident and emergency dept.

All of these stages of dehydration can easily be avoided. Before a street-skate, drink at least two cups of water. When vigorously skating in hot weather, people can lose more than one liter of fluid per hour. Experts recommend drinking roughly 8 ounces of water every fifteen minutes during athletic activity. Don’t wait until you become thirsty to drink fluids. By the time you become thirsty, you already would have lost more body fluids. A good rule of thumb is to drink fluids regularly. Your body can get rid of excess water, but it cannot take in water without your help.

Alcohol, coffee and tea increase dehydration and should not be drunk before a skate. Sports drinks are good to use when vigorous athletic activity will occur for more than an hour. These drinks supply salts, sugars carbs and electrolytes which are also important.

Obviously when the weather is hot and humid, drink more than you would in cooler weather. Also, remember that the re-hydration process continues in the first few hours after finishing sports. Continued drinking of extra fluids will assure the body gets back into balance.

Sports drinks are great but expensive. Here’s one you can make yourself at home:

Ingredients.

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/2 cup orange juice OR 1/2 mashed banana (these provide potassium)
1 Tbsp sugar OR 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 liter water
lemon juice to taste (if desired–just for flavor)

If you don’t have baking soda, you can use 1/2 tsp salt.

Hungry now?