Fluid Intake and Diet In Aerobics Preparation

The type of diet to be consumed depends upon a variety of needs, such as weight loss, control of cholesterol, and blood sugar. The important point to remember here is always wait at least two hours after a heavy meal before exercising vigorously. For at least one and half hours following a meal, blood is diverted away from the brain (which makes you sleepy) and the heart. If you already have a problem with heart disease (either diagnosed or undiagnosed), exercise during this time may be more of a stress than the heart can stand. Frequently, patients with heart disease have the most angina or chest pain following a meal. Waiting two hours after a meal allows adequate time for the blood to resume its normal distribution and exercise is safe.

For early risers who get their points before breakfast, we find that there’s no ill effect from working out on an empty stomach. Some of our people, though, like a glass of fruit juice ten or fifteen minutes before starting, and we find that’s okay, too. It’s a good way to get a little quick energy for waking up.

Also remember fluid intake. When you’re working our regularly, you sweat and can lose copious amounts of fluid – sometimes up to 2 percent or more of your body weight. You need to replace this fluid, and sometimes your instinctive thirst, or your own habits, won’t lead you to drink enough “replacement” fluids. Dehydration may occur, resulting in headaches, excess fatigue, and a general lack of energy. It is happens, concentrate on fluid replacement first, overcompensate for what you feel is adequate. A word of caution, though: avoid ice-cold drinks immediately after exercise. They may lead to some irritability or irregularity of the heart rhythm. Use cool or chilled fluids only.

Profuse sweating leads to excess loss of salt and other electrolytes. The simplest thing to do to compensate for this loss is to increase the amount of salt you use at mealtimes. There are also salt pills and liquid salt solutions, such as ERG and Gatorade that will help your body to return its normal condition more rapidly. Avoid solutions with high sugar content if the sweat loss is excessive and utilize less concentrated solutions. ERG and Body Punch fit more in this category. Yet, again, the important thing is to replace the fluid first! Salt tablets without adequate fluid may aggravate or potentate a heat stress condition.

At times, underlying medical problems may lead to unusual vulnerability to heat stress or fluid loss problems, while officiating at a marathon recently; I was summoned to the aid of a young runner who had collapsed. He was twenty-two years of age, highly conditioned, and the temperature was in the fifties. Yet he showed all the symptoms of severe heat stress and dehydration. Yes, he had consumed fluids at every aid station, but for two weeks preceding the race, he head suffered from a persistent diarrhea. Not realizing his dehydrated state, he entered the race and ran nearly twenty miles before the combined stress overtaxed his body. It was amazing to see how rapidly he responded to nothing more than intravenous fluids.