A message from Founder and Owner, Coach Tristan Mitchell:

With summer on approach, hot temperatures are in our future so there is no better time to discuss this month’s topic: hydration. Hydration is one of those fundamental aspects to our health and when it’s out of balance we can feel the consequences in the form of general fatigue, physical and cognitive performance decline, and more if we don’t adequately replenish. It’s important to understand that when we think about hydration it’s not simply water we are talking about but also electrolytes.

Water loss primarily occurs through urine, but we also lose it through sweat and respiratory surface – every time we exhale, we breath out water vapor as a byproduct of metabolism. Urine frequency is actually a great way to gage our hydration status, if we are urinating far more or less than usual that’s generally going to be a good indicator of whether we’re slightly overhydrated or underhydrated. Contrary to common belief (mine included until I did a little more research on this subject) urine color is not always as accurate of an indicator. Urine frequency is very individualized so there’s no perfect number here – just what is typical or atypical for you.

As you can imagine our water loss via sweat and respiratory exhalation can increase considerably when the temperature goes up. Respiratory loss is even more impacted when it’s dry out and a summer Colorado day tends to have dry heat in spades. Because of this it is even more important to make sure we are more mindful of our daily hydration strategy. We should also keep in mind, especially during the summer months, our alcohol and caffeine intake. Both are diuretics and can negatively impact our hydration status if overconsumed and not adequately compensated for with additional water and electrolyte intake.

The more active you are the more important it is that you are drinking water and being mindful of electrolyte supplementation throughout your day. When we combine hot weather with high activity level, we increase both sweat rate and respiratory rate. With that increase comes loss of water and electrolytes, which if not replenished can lead to dehydration. On average we can lose between a 5th to a 3rd of our sodium concentration per liter of sweat, regardless of whether you have “salty” sweat or not, you are losing sodium the more you sweat.

Studies looking at dehydrated vs hydrated athletes over a 90min time trial found increased heartrate of 15 beats per minute, a 15% increase in perceived exertion, increased core body temperate, a 5-10% decline in power output, and about a 15% longer duration to accomplish the time trial. If you’re an athlete these are massive ramifications for dehydration. I would argue, athlete or not, if you’re someone out for a long hike or some other extended physical effort on a hot summer day, these are physical metrics all going in the wrong direction and things we want to avoid.

You may be wondering how much water you need to be drinking daily and while this is highly individualized based on your activity level (look at the below graph to get a general idea for what you may need) I think it’s important to think about a couple key tenants.

First, do you prioritize water first thing in the morning? If not, this is a great place to start – get some water (and electrolytes, this can be in the form of a supplement or just dropping a pinch of sea salt into your water) first thing in the morning, do not go for your coffee or tea before your water! Next, drink water with every meal. Pass up the other drinks, especially anything with sugar, in favor of water, this will help ensure water intake throughout your day. Lastly, be mindful of your activity level and consumption of diuretics (alcohol and caffeine being the usual culprits) and increase your water and electrolyte intake accordingly.

Electrolytes are every bit as important as your water intake, if you have been into Lions Den you know where we like to get our salt from – our friends at LMNT provide the best electrolyte supplement on the market in my opinion. There is no sugar or added garbage like many of the sports drinks out there and it packs a larger sodium punch, which we need on hot summer days! Remember, you’re not just losing water when you sweat and if you’re only replenishing water and not electrolytes you’re only further diluting your sodium concentration. Get electrolytes in with your water by picking up some LMNT next time you’re in LD!

If you have any questions about your individual hydration needs and strategy to meet them reach out to us today, we’re here to help!

Come out and run the Denver Pride 5k on Saturday June 25th starting just West Steps of the State Capitol. Sign up and make sure to join the Team “Pride of Lions Den SMP” led by Tristan’s sister and her wife Emily and Kate Mitchell.

How fast can you run a mile? Come out and run the Colorado Coyotes 1 Mile with us on Sunday June 26th in Littleton Village. Sign up and make sure to stop by the Lions Den tent for some good give aways!

The Women’s Rebuild Program was created with the purpose of unleashing your movement potential. It provides the blueprint for losing weight, building strength, improving athleticism, treating pain, returning back after injury, or just living a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Your first class is FREE - click here or scan the QR code above to get started.

Reverse Plank/Table Top

This is a great exercise to use before workouts or to break up long bouts behind your computer.

1. Start sitting down, legs extended, placing your hands on the ground with fingers facing forward and hands no greater than shoulder width apart.

2. Plank up, eyes toward the sky and repeat for 10-12 repetitions

Protect the shoulders by keeping them packed (down & back) and stay in ranges that challenge extension. If this hurts, start with your hands closer to your butt and/or limit your planking range.

If you’d like to progress this to expose your shoulder to greater ranges, start with your legs bent finishing with your body in a table top shape.

Bridged “Uncles”

Hopefully no one has ever grabbed your wrist and tried to jam it as far up your back as possible until your screamed uncle. If so, you will be familiar with the starting position of the next shoulder mobilization. This is a great exercise to do after an upper body push day as well as long bouts behind your desk.

1. Start lying down, knees bent, feet approximately shoulder width apart and bridge your hips up.

2. Keeping your shoulders pinned down to the ground, place both hands as far up your back as possible.

3. Staying braced, gently allow gravity to assist your hips down closer to the ground until you feel a healthy stretch in your shoulders, maintaining them pinned down for at least 10 breath cycles (Inhale 4 count, hold 4 count, exhale 8 count)

Keeping your shoulders pinned down is imperative to make this exercise effective, otherwise you're not mobilizing them in a stable, healthy position. Adjust your hip position to allow the shoulders to stay pinned down yet feeling the stretch. If you’re having a hard time taking full breaths in and controlling your breath out, ease back some again by adjusting your hip depth. One modification to limit the demand on bracing includes using pillows or cushions that can be placed under your lower back and help assist the hips.

Layne Norton holds a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences and is a physique coach, natural bodybuilder, and previous guest on The Drive. In the first half of this episode, Layne dives deep into the topic of energy balance, including the role that macronutrients and calories play in weight loss. He describes how many people struggle with tracking food and calories on their own across a variety of diets and how all of this can impact nutritional habits and behaviors. In the second half of the episode, Layne discusses the importance of protein and weightlifting for improving one’s body composition and increasing muscle mass. He explains how he would prescribe different training and nutrition programs for two hypothetical clients—a 50-year-old female who is entering menopause and wants to improve her health, and a 40-to-50-year-old male who wants to maximize muscle mass. Additionally, Layne discusses a number of supplements that could potentially benefit a training program including whey protein, branch chain amino acids, creatine, nitric oxide boosters, and more.