Many factors contribute to the well being of our body. And each of the factors are equally important. Maintaining a good balance of each area is never an easy thing to do but when everything works in harmony, you can do all things well because the body is functioning at its best.
It amazes me every day in our American society, that we will spend hundreds of dollars on clothing, toys, vacations, and other experiences and yet neglect investing in our health. Investing in regards to taking supplements, getting regular check-ups, and researching how to better our bodies through better nutrition and exercise.
Nutrition is vital to every experience in the outdoors. I have become more and more aware of the importance of good nutrition and the effects it has on my body and the activities that I do. Thanks to some friends in the medical field I realized that our American diets lack some vital electrolytes. In turn I have started to take additional supplements to help boost the constant demand in my active body.
If interested in any Young Living Products feel free to contact me for more information.
Hydration
Whether going on a hiking trip or a bike ride over the past few years, I made some observations about my hydration status. Myself and many people in the United States are dehydrated most of the day. Hydration is vital to the everyday healthy function of the body. Realizing this a day or two before a major physical activity event, I would carry a water bottle with me more. During this time I would also refrain from the diuretics, such as coffee and tea, that we all so love. These two factors alone have made a difference in the overall success or failure of a high demand physical activity.
We have all heard the "8 x 8oz a day" rule, however, the amount of water that you should drink depends on your current body weight and the amount of physical activity that you do. A simple formula to know is body weight x 0.67 (or 2/3) = # of onces / 8 oz = # of glasses per day! Another good rule of thumb is: 1 glass upon waking up, 2 glasses before every meal, and 1 glass before bed. Add in the remaining number of glasses throughout the day.
Recently while doing some research I came across this Hydration Calculator that allows you to plug some variables in regarding an upcoming trip and it will give you an approximate amount of water you need to consume on the trip per hour.
HOME WATER PURIFICATION
It starts at home. In January 2017 I installed a whole house filtration system to get rid of many contaminates that are present in public water. My greatest concern was chlorine, fluoride and other contaminates that are in low quantities but still present like chromium. I did my own water analysis and I brought it to the lab to test things I wasn't able to test and my concerns were confirmed. So now we have chlorine, fluoride and 70 other contaminate-free drinking water, showering water, and everything else that involves water.
Hiking Food
There is no formula for this part, but there are several things that I really enjoyed food-wise on short and extensive hiking trips. Long trips require a bit more planning and most importantly renting or buying your own bear-proof canister to store all the food in.
For longer trips I have resorted to the Mountain House brand sold at Eastern Mountain Sports, Walmart, Bass Pro Shop, and several other places. They have great breakfast and dinner options. The really nice thing about these meals is all you have to do is add boiling water, let it sit for a few minutes, and you got yourself a nice hot meal that tastes good and smells like the real deal. On a couple all-guys trips we experimented with bringing frozen bacon which if sealed and wrapped properly can last up to two days. Any kind of smoked meat, chorizo, etc. works really well. If you want to go more gourmet then any aged cheese, water crackers, and fresh vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers work well also.
Mountain top lunches are straight forward and the best options for me have been some kind of sandwich. I had cold cuts and P&B and Jelly sandwiches several times. For snacks in between my two favorite things are Teriyaki or Original Jerky by any brand and trail mixes with little chocolate. The reason that I like these two is they taste really good and second of all they are salty which forces to drink a little more and therefore I am better hydrated.
I refuse to bring any type of Gatorade or "electrolyte replacing drink" because the content is primary sugar and not beneficial electrolytes. It also weights a ton and its cumbersome if you need to get it out ever time you would like to have a drink. Water is the best!
Muscle Cramps
The definition of muscle cramps is: a spasmodic, painful, involuntary contrition of skeletal muscle which generally lasts less than 10 minutes. They become more frequent with age and majority of people can recall a muscle cramp or two in the past. I personally noticed an increased frequency of quad and calf cramps when hiking over the last 7 years. When hiking the two primary causes are increased physical demand on a certain muscle group paired with a increased rate of electrolyte loss that keep the muscle functioning well. For any day hike, and especially a longer trip, I make sure to bring a 3L Camo bladder and a portable water filter (Katadyn Hiker Pro). Therefore I am not concerned for the amount of water that I consume. I have also learned to take electrolyte capsules throughout the trip. Putting this all together has helped me to be cramp-free past couple years of hiking.
It amazes me every day in our American society, that we will spend hundreds of dollars on clothing, toys, vacations, and other experiences and yet neglect investing in our health. Investing in regards to taking supplements, getting regular check-ups, and researching how to better our bodies through better nutrition and exercise.
Nutrition is vital to every experience in the outdoors. I have become more and more aware of the importance of good nutrition and the effects it has on my body and the activities that I do. Thanks to some friends in the medical field I realized that our American diets lack some vital electrolytes. In turn I have started to take additional supplements to help boost the constant demand in my active body.
If interested in any Young Living Products feel free to contact me for more information.
Hydration
Whether going on a hiking trip or a bike ride over the past few years, I made some observations about my hydration status. Myself and many people in the United States are dehydrated most of the day. Hydration is vital to the everyday healthy function of the body. Realizing this a day or two before a major physical activity event, I would carry a water bottle with me more. During this time I would also refrain from the diuretics, such as coffee and tea, that we all so love. These two factors alone have made a difference in the overall success or failure of a high demand physical activity.
We have all heard the "8 x 8oz a day" rule, however, the amount of water that you should drink depends on your current body weight and the amount of physical activity that you do. A simple formula to know is body weight x 0.67 (or 2/3) = # of onces / 8 oz = # of glasses per day! Another good rule of thumb is: 1 glass upon waking up, 2 glasses before every meal, and 1 glass before bed. Add in the remaining number of glasses throughout the day.
Recently while doing some research I came across this Hydration Calculator that allows you to plug some variables in regarding an upcoming trip and it will give you an approximate amount of water you need to consume on the trip per hour.
HOME WATER PURIFICATION
It starts at home. In January 2017 I installed a whole house filtration system to get rid of many contaminates that are present in public water. My greatest concern was chlorine, fluoride and other contaminates that are in low quantities but still present like chromium. I did my own water analysis and I brought it to the lab to test things I wasn't able to test and my concerns were confirmed. So now we have chlorine, fluoride and 70 other contaminate-free drinking water, showering water, and everything else that involves water.
If interested in the filtration system, please contact me for more information. I highly recommend the system.
There is no formula for this part, but there are several things that I really enjoyed food-wise on short and extensive hiking trips. Long trips require a bit more planning and most importantly renting or buying your own bear-proof canister to store all the food in.
For longer trips I have resorted to the Mountain House brand sold at Eastern Mountain Sports, Walmart, Bass Pro Shop, and several other places. They have great breakfast and dinner options. The really nice thing about these meals is all you have to do is add boiling water, let it sit for a few minutes, and you got yourself a nice hot meal that tastes good and smells like the real deal. On a couple all-guys trips we experimented with bringing frozen bacon which if sealed and wrapped properly can last up to two days. Any kind of smoked meat, chorizo, etc. works really well. If you want to go more gourmet then any aged cheese, water crackers, and fresh vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers work well also.
Mountain top lunches are straight forward and the best options for me have been some kind of sandwich. I had cold cuts and P&B and Jelly sandwiches several times. For snacks in between my two favorite things are Teriyaki or Original Jerky by any brand and trail mixes with little chocolate. The reason that I like these two is they taste really good and second of all they are salty which forces to drink a little more and therefore I am better hydrated.
I refuse to bring any type of Gatorade or "electrolyte replacing drink" because the content is primary sugar and not beneficial electrolytes. It also weights a ton and its cumbersome if you need to get it out ever time you would like to have a drink. Water is the best!
Muscle Cramps
The definition of muscle cramps is: a spasmodic, painful, involuntary contrition of skeletal muscle which generally lasts less than 10 minutes. They become more frequent with age and majority of people can recall a muscle cramp or two in the past. I personally noticed an increased frequency of quad and calf cramps when hiking over the last 7 years. When hiking the two primary causes are increased physical demand on a certain muscle group paired with a increased rate of electrolyte loss that keep the muscle functioning well. For any day hike, and especially a longer trip, I make sure to bring a 3L Camo bladder and a portable water filter (Katadyn Hiker Pro). Therefore I am not concerned for the amount of water that I consume. I have also learned to take electrolyte capsules throughout the trip. Putting this all together has helped me to be cramp-free past couple years of hiking.
No comments:
Post a Comment