Hydration Station

This week I discovered Lime Cucumber Gatorade!!!!!!!! Omg, by far the best Gatorade flavor EVER. If you're not a cucumber water type of person or cucumber martini type of person (I am both), this is not the sports drink for you, but if you are... I may have just changed your whole world. I had lime cucumber Gatorade during two workouts last week, and it was so refreshing, not sugary, and had all the good electrolytes, etc that I needed. With that shameless promotion, let's move on to ways to improve hydration.

1. You should not drink sports drink like they are juice or water. Save them for pre, post, and during workouts.

2. Beware of sugar levels in all sports drinks and juice. When you're in the middle of a rough workout, sugar can help your body's energy levels in the short term, but unfortunately, if you don't balance your sports drink and water intake, the same sugar that gave you a boost, will dehydrate you and lead to muscle cramps.

3. Look for beverages high in potassium. Potassium will increase your energy level without the negative effects of sugar, and it will help ward off muscle cramps. A good example is coconut water. If you're not a fan of coconut water, try orange juice, but look for ones that have no sugar added (oj is notorious for adding lots of extra sugar). I would stay away from orange juice during a workout or immediately before (too much acidity).

4. If you are the type who says, "but water is so bland..." please try something other than crystal light packets. It's too easy people! While flavor enhanced powders may claim zero carbs and little to no calories, you are putting a very processed and unnatural substance into the purest natural beverage you can put in your body. Instead, try to infuse water at home. Take a pitcher of water, add fruit to it, and let it sit over night in your fridge. Too easy! You can leave the fruit in the water as long as you want... the longer the time period, the more intense the flavor. I do suggest taking the rinds off fruit. I had a failed attempt at lime infused water which tasted solely like lime rinds only after a day. Here are some of my favs for infusing water:

• Lime or Lemon
• Oranges
• Cucumber
• Grapefruit
• Mint leaves

If you are exotic and ambitious, you could try Rose, or Hibiscus and Mint. Be creative, see what works! WATER is so good for you and such a necessity; you might as well make it enjoyable.

On a side note you also should drink extra water (try 3 glasses more) after a massage, or any physical therapy. Different types of physical therapies (electric stem, needling, micro-current), especially massage, help release toxins that build up in your muscle (think of knots or cramps), and drinking extra water helps flush these toxins out so they don't re-settle into your muscles.

Happy Sweating,
Dominique

Circuit training

Here's a good cardio circuit that should only take 10-20 minutes. I always prefer to run on the track because that's what I'm used to, but you could easily do this on a trail or on a grass field. I've done a similar circuit and found that the hardest part is not the running, but the activities in between. Something about no rest and having to go from standing to doing push ups or abs, just knocks the wind out of you.

On another note, I ran into an Olympian track runner at Whole Foods the other day. He happens to be a former Gator and an acquaintance of mine, so we caught up for a bit. He told me about London, and I told him about my day. His story was way better than mine. While I was leaving, I thought, these folks in Whole Foods have no idea that a USA/World Champion/Olympian was standing right next to them buying groceries. Like this man is on Nike billboards! If he were a football player, people would be all over him! I guess in Track and Field, you can have fame and privacy? An elusive combo. Anyways...

Warm up: Jog half a mile and stretch. Do 20 meters of walking lunges, 20 meters of high knee running, and 20 meters of butt kicks.
Workout: 
Run/Stride 100 meters
Do 25 sit ups
Side shuffle 100 meters
Do 15 push ups
Run 400 meters
Do 15 burpees
Do 25 sit ups
Do 15 back hypers
Run 200 meters
Do 30 body weight squats
Side Shuffle 100 meters (change direction from the first side shuffle)
Do 10 wide arm push ups
Run 100 meters

Hopefully this long list does not freak you out. You are only running a mile (including the warm up), and the exercises in between keep your heart rate up, while working on muscular strength. This is a good workout for anyone who wants a combination of cardio and toning without bulking up.

Happy Sweating,
Dominique