HYDRATE!

Water. You cannot function without water. Your body needs water to survive. Athletes do die from dehydration.

As an athlete there are many things I do to make sure that I am hydrated so that I can perform my best. Water is, after all, nature’s performance enhancer. Athletes need to make sure that they are sufficiently hydrated well before the high intensity of a game. I like to make sure that the week before I have a roller derby bout (game) I am drinking enough water that I am urinating frequently and making sure that my urine is on the clear side. If your urine is dark in color or smelly you need to be putting more water into your body. Drinking large amounts of water the day of your high intensity event/game/bout or whatever is not a great idea. It takes a while for water to get absorbed into your cells and muscles and if you are just hydrating the day of, your body will most likely speed up the process and push it out of your body as fast as your putting it in leaving you just as dehydrated as you were yesterday and not feeling your best. If you noticed I did not say make sure you are drinking a certain amount of water a day (like recommended 8 glasses a day usually), because it’s not scientifically proven that is the magic number that will make you hydrated. Everyone’s body is different and while you may only need 6-8 glasses of water a day my body could possibly need up to 10 glasses a day to keep my body hydrated. Like I said earlier, your body will let you know through your urine what you need for healthy water intake.

Some other ways you can help hydrate yourself is through high water content foods like oatmeal, lettuce, celery, tomatoes, and low-fat dairies like low-fat milk or yogurt. There are plenty of foods that are a very high percentage of water content that you can add to your diet to keep you hydrated.

Also another thing to keep in mind is to add sports drinks to your day of your event. I have read many articles that say that sports drinks are able to break down and absorb into your system faster than water and keep you hydrated when you are sweating your brains out.

Finally, for all of you roller derby brothers and sisters out there, whether you drink or not please, please make sure that you drink a couple glasses of water after your Bout and definitely if you plan on drinking at the after party!! Even if you were sufficiently hydrated days before and during your Bout you use an immense amount of energy and your stored hydrated cells to play and could potentially be dehydrated after your bout and not know it right away.

Hydration is key to feeling and performing your best. Go forth, drink water, and pee clear my friends.

Dubbs, T3

PBR and Dubbs backwards teamwork!
Photo Credit: Jim Lee aka “Jimmy Digital”