Hello sports fanatics its me Coach J, The Trainer back another week to continue the Ask Coach J The Trainer series. Today I will go into yet another basic yet important part of sports fitness. For some of use it seems like baby steps but remember athletes you have to crawl before you walk. If you don't take the basic steps to take care of your body it won't take care of you and perform at the highest level its is capable of.

Today's topic is hydration. It is very important in any kind of fitness and also in your everyday life. Part of fueling your body for exercise is drinking plenty of water. If not your body will shutdown very quickly being dehydrated. What a lot of people don't realize is your body can lose up to four pints of water when exercising outdoors on a hot day. This can quickly cause dehydration. Your body actually needs to take in twice as much water as it loses through sweat in order to restore proper fluid balance in your body. So how do you stay hydrated you ask. Well that's easy drink water, drink water and drink water, but don't over drink space out your drinking so you are not sucking down to much water at one time.

Also to help you stay hydrated I picked up five good steps to help you:

1. On non training days drink at least 8 glasses of water.

2. On training days look to pass at least an extra 50% to this total making it 12 glasses or more a day.

3. Drink water with every meal.

4. Carry a bottle with you when in the car or at work. Drink even when its cold; it does not have to be 
    hot to make you dehydrated.

5. Water Mathematics:

    1/2 fl oz per Ib (25ml per kg) of body weight + 34 fl oz per hour of exercise.

Ex. 240 Ib (110kg) person will need: 5 pints on nontraining days and 8 pints on a training day where there was one hour of exercise.

Now these are just basic steps to go by to help you stay hydrated. Remember don't wait until you are thirsty to hydrated sip throughout the day. Hydration is an important part of not only fitness but life. Your body will not function with out liquids. So with that in mind stay hydrated. If you have any questions contact me at . Until next time fanatics. Train Hard!!!!

Coming Soon To Ask Coach J, The Trainer:

Monthly Interview- Interview with coaches and players across the states from all levels and all sports (You will be able to send in questions for me to ask). Last Thursday of the month. (Starting In October)

Coach J Q&A- Q&A session where I answer a questions that have been submitted. Last Thursday of the month. (Starting In October).

Training Aids- Not just the article but videos to help bring what my article is talking about to life. COMING SOON

Contests and Giveaways-COMING SOON

Don't forget to check back every Thursday morning for Ask Coach J The Trainer series.

For archived Ask Coach J articles go to www.dcmetrosports.com/dcmsblog