 Oh, that makes everything better done. Okay, today we're gonna talk about hydration. This might sound kind of boring, but it's essential for peak athletic performance or just day-to-day living for that matter. I've been a runner and cyclist all my life and I've learned through trial and error about how to keep my body happy and hydrated. If you're new to my channel, I have tons of videos that will inspire you to get off your couch and get out there. And if you like what you see, you can really help me by subscribing, sharing my videos, or joining my Patreon. Okay, let's talk about water, agua, vaten, voda, odas, vasa. Proper hydration is very important and can mean the difference between an enjoyable experience in the outdoors or a serious suffer fest. Somebody just turned on the wind machine. Ah! Here's some things you should consider when preparing for your next adventure. You are beautiful, get it? Up to 60% of our bodies is made up of water. The other 40% of my body is made of beans. It's a great mix. Water helps with all kinds of important day-to-day functions like delivering oxygen to every corner of the body, regulating temperature through sweating and respiration, forming saliva for digestion, getting rid of waste, poo poo, and lubricating our joints. The body relies on having enough water to balance our electrolytes, which conduct electricity and allow us to perform basic automatic tasks like the transmission of nerve impulses and muscle contractions. Bottom line here, you need to stay hydrated to keep that awesome body of yours functioning. Now you might be wondering, wow, Ryan, you sure know a lot about the science behind proper hydration. Well, to tell you the truth, I got a lot of these facts from the Polar Bottle HydroPak website, and those guys are way smarter than me. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, adult men need to consume 3.7 liters of fluid each day while adult women should be taking in a minimum of about 2.7 liters. And this is pretty cool. About a fifth of those fluids comes from the foods we eat, like fruits and veggies. Typically, being well hydrated means that you need to go to the bathroom every two to four hours. Whenever I'm on a long bike adventure, I always make sure that I pack tons of water. You do not want to run out, especially for hot places like the desert. If you do run out, I hope you have a water purifier of some sort. Good old H2O is still the best way to hydrate, but adding sports drinks is often helpful for high intensity workouts. But sugary drinks can be tough on the digestive system. During some of my 100 mile races, I get so sick of sugary drinks that the thought of them grosses me out. I'm sure some of you can relate. Pace yourself with that stuff. I'm by far drinking more water today than any other day. Let's talk about some signs of dehydration. Conventional wisdom says that you shouldn't rely on thirst to remind you to drink water. If you're feeling thirsty, you're already dehydrated. At a cellular level, being dehydrated simply means that more water is leaving the body. First from the individual cells, and then from the body altogether, via sweat, urination, or water vapor when you exhale. That cottony, dry feeling in your mouth is one of the first signs of dehydration. You may also notice a headache and eventually muscle cramps. Dehydration can also cause feelings of confusion or even anger. I've seen some pretty crazy behavior at races, and I bet that a lot of that has to do with dehydration. Also, infrequent urination means you don't have enough water in your system. When you do go, pay attention to the color and smell. Urine should be light yellow and odorless. If it's darker in color and has a strong smell to it, you're overdue for some fluids. How to stay hydrated. Hydration is an ongoing process. Start to hydrate the day before a big outing. Let's go over some ways to stay hydrated. Drink one cup of water 15 minutes to half an hour before you start moving and continue to sip five to 10 ounces of fluid while you're working out. For high-intensity workouts every 15 to 20 minutes is a good target. Adding salt. When you're sweating profusely, you're losing tons of fluid and salt, which is when experts generally recommend supplementing your water with electrolytes or salt. Electrolytes are minerals in the bloodstream that perform key muscular functions and maintain fluid and nutrient balance in the cells. Try out a bunch of different brands to see what your body likes best. If you're replacing electrolytes during exercise, you'll need to do that every hour or so. I sometimes use salt tablets, but I prefer real food like salty chips, burritos, or ramen soup. I love Pringles at seven a.m. Yeah. Be careful with the salt tablets. Taking in too much sodium at once can overwhelm your body's ability to regulate it. And the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends limiting daily sodium intake to 1500 milligrams per day. This is especially true for people with high blood pressure like me. You know what one of the most horrible feelings is? Bunking. Every step is pain. Pure pain. If you start to notice signs of dehydration, you need to rehydrate quickly. This has happened to me in a few races and it's very uncomfortable. You feel super weak and dizzy. I am doing very okay. Very okay. I'm highly uncomfortable. My legs hurt. Feet hurt. Stomach hurts. Get those electrolytes back into your body so that you can triumphantly cross that finish line. Flying on into the finish here. Now let's talk about hydration and hot weather. The importance of hydration and hot weather is crucial because you sweat more and your body has to work harder in order to regulate its temperature. So how do you stay hydrated and hot weather? Taking small sips as you go versus chugging down lots of water when you take a break. Consuming at least 20 ounces of water per hour of activity is recommended. Last summer when I was riding through Nebraska, it was a heat index of 115. It was the hottest I've ever felt. I was constantly drinking from my bottles and refilling them at gas stations while also drinking things like Gatorade. The more you sweat in hot weather, the faster your body loses essential minerals like sodium. Stay on top of this and you'll be a happy, sweaty camper. I don't know if I've ever sweat this much in my entire life. My body, my shirt, this is not from soaking it with water. That is straight sweat. Also, during hot weather, cool liquids are absorbed into your body more quickly than warm or hot liquids. These polar bottles which are made in Boulder have insulation to keep your drinks cooler. Bonus tip, put some ice in there as we all know, cold water tastes better. And obviously it's very important to hydrate the inside of your body but I also like jumping into bodies of water or pretty much finding any way to cool myself down on a hot day. Oh my God, it's like being in the North Pole. Wonder how long it takes until they kick me out of here. Okay, that was a lot of somewhat complicated water talk. Don't get jumbled up with all the numbers and ounces in milligrams. Just remember, drink regularly, listen to your body and eat healthy foods. If you plan on a lifetime of exercise and epic outdoor adventures, you need to be nice to your body. Now thank you so much for watching. I'll link to lots of other adventure videos down below and now it's time to get out there.