August is here and so is the summer heat. But just because it is hot outside doesn’t mean the work stops.
It means you have to get smarter about how you support your performance, especially when those workouts happen outdoors or in garage gyms with sub-par ventilation.
Many articles on the TB12 site, some written by yours truly, preach about the importance of hydration. Not to sell hydration supplements, but because hydration status is a massive contributor to cognitive and physical performance (source).
As a performance physiologist and an avid fitness enthusiast, both areas of performance are massively important in my day-to-day.
Most of my days involve some combination of a heavy lift in the garage, a cardio session (outdoor run or bike ride), a jiu-jitsu mat session, and diving into the scientific literature to make sure I am up to date on the most cutting-edge research.
I’m not saying that to brag. There are people grinding exponentially harder than I am. I am saying it to illustrate how vigilant I need to stay about maintaining my hydration status if I am going to perform at my best throughout the day. And if your day looks anything close to mine, so do you.
TB12’s Electrolytes are one of the best ways to support these efforts. But supplements have their time and place.
Being a big believer in a “whole food-first” mentality, salt already makes it into many of my meals across the day and supplies ample support for most of my hydration needs. But there are places where I need a little extra support. This is where TB12’s Electrolytes come in.
My electrolyte supplementation revolves tightly around my workouts because that is where I am most prone to lose the most amount of water, especially on hot summer days.
Roughly an hour before my first workout, I drink eight to 16 fl. oz of water with one stick of TB12 Electrolytes.
After wrapping up the first session, I follow up with 16 to 24 fl. oz of just water.
Before and after my second workout, I follow the same protocol: eight to 16 fl. oz with a sachet of TB12 Electrolytes, plain water after.
I am one of the fortunate few who has some semblance of structure in my day. Most often, each workout ends with a meal that replenishes fuel sources and supplies other needed nutrients, including the electrolytes needed for rehydration efforts.
All of this is predicated on the fact that I am following the research that was foundational in the development of the TB12 Hydration Guidelines. Of these, getting in at least half my bodyweight in fluid ounces of water is the most important.
It is hot out there, and only getting hotter. Hydration is paramount for the physical and cognitive performance needed to maintain an optimized day.
Getting salt throughout the day as part of meals and supplementing before workouts is going to play a crucial part in maintaining hydration status and optimization.
