Podcast #146: Hydration and Stretching (Part 2)
Ian: So step number one is starting an hour before match time?
Dr. Jack: Right. For this individual, for someone who sweats profusely and loses a lot of fluid, throw a pinch of salt into your 16oz bottle of Gatorade and have that about an hour before and then once you start playing, have half-strength Gatorade and maybe about half way through the match, have one bottle of half-strength Gatorade that has a quarter teaspoon of salt in it to retain the fluid but not so much sugar that it might make you feel sick or noxious because it's probably the sugar load that is making you feel like that, not so much the sodium. Ian: Are there sports drinks out there– my wife is getting on this big natural foods kick and organic etc. Obviously there is so much sugar in Gatorade just to make it taste better. Are there other options out there that don't have that big amount of sugar? Dr. Jack: Most of them do. They can't have too much sugar because once you go beyond a 6% glucose solution, then your body is going to have to dehydrate or pump water from your blood stream into your stomach to dilute it before it can be reabsorbed into your small intestine. So none of those sports drinks want to make it greater then 6% glucose solution drink. So they are all about in that range.
So what I would say is, dilute it half strength with water and make your own formula really.
Another thing that some people like to try is [inaudible] which is a kids drink for when kids get a little bit dehydrated. And again, you can cut that down by 50% with water also because it can be a little tough to take because it's so strong. Ian: That's funny you mention that– I just did a clinic a couple of weeks ago in Palm Springs, California and one of the attendees was having problems cramping. He's from Nebraska, so just like you were describing, he was definitely going through the process of trying to get used to the much warmer weather then he was used to… Dr. Jack: His sweat had more salt in it, which is why he was more likely to cramp.
Ian: So he started cramping up and it was odd for him. He was cramping in his calves which he said had never happened before. He tried drinking lots of water and it didn't help much. And during our lunch break, he went out and got some [inaudible] and it actually helped him quite a bit.
So I've seen that work first hand. Dr. Jack: The interesting thing that you've said was [inaudible] Nebraska down to Palm Springs.. So now his sweat is higher in sodium concentration. So he's losing more salt and he's replacing his fluids with just water which is diluting his blood out even more, creating even more cramps. Ian: So the salt is super important here.
Dr. Jack: Correct. Especially when you do that client change from a cold environment to a warm environment, because it takes two weeks of exercising in that warmer climate to get your salt concentrations back to where they should be and not losing too much salt.
It's a two week acclimatization period. Ian: As far as ingesting sodium is concerned for the benefit of staying hydrated, I've heard an old school remedy suggested before of using pickle juice. Is that a wives tale or is that something that can work?
Dr. Jack: It works if you can tolerate it. I'd rather put the pinch of salt in the Gatorade as it's much more palatable. Ian: So in review– begin an hour before hand– was it a teaspoon?
Dr. Jack: Quarter teaspoon. And if that doesn't work, there are these special little packets of sodium and potassium supplements called Gatorlytes but the general public can't get them– only athletic trainers and physicians can get them. So he might have to talk to his physician to get those for him so he can give them a try.
Ian: Anything further on this topic? Any other tips for Justin before we move on?
Dr. Jack: No.
I think if he tries that, that should work out. Give us a holler back and let Ian or myself know how you made out with that and if that doesn't work, I'll see what other rabbits I can pull out of my hat for you. Ian: Great. Justin, good luck with that. Our next question comes to us from Andrew from the forums in Tennessee. He wrote and said, “Ian, can we do a podcast on stretching? Not just [inaudible] before a match, but stretching for added dexterity and injury prevention. I think this question will be great for us weekend warriors and our pulled groins and hammies. Thank you.”
So what do you think Dr. Jack? Do you have some stretching suggestions for injury prevention specifically?
Dr. Jack: Sure. Stretching is an interesting topic because we've gone through this whole range of philosophies on stretching. It used to be that back in the 60s, [inaudible] and then we went into in the 80s the sustained stretch… the nice long, slow stretch. And there were some articles that show that that has impeded jumping performance in athletes. The amount of height that they can attain if they stretch before they jump…
But there is always the concept that it helps decrease injuries which I totally believe in. And now we are into dynamic stretching which I think has been covered on some podcasts in the past, where we stretch the muscle during an activity. So in other words, you'll walk and stretch at the same time to limber up the muscles which is a great way to do that. Flash cards and videos– and I know I've mentioned this in the past– the Nike Spark collection that will teach you how to do a good dynamic warm-up. And it really shouldn't take you more then 5 or 10 minutes and you can do it pretty easily as you are warming up… It's kind of a warm up and a stretch at the same time and it really works wonderfully. Yes, it will in my opinion help to decrease your pulled groins and enhance [inaudible] muscles.
Ian: So you mentioned specifically that a walk and a stretch at the same time. Can you go into further detail and tell us how we can do that?
Dr. Jack: Sure. Let's say go cross-court. Go from the out of bounds line on doubles from one side– walk to the out of bounds line for the doubles on the opposite side of the court.
And, an example of on would be either what is called a toy soldier or a Frankenstein where as you take a step, you take your leg and kick it up to your hand with your hand extended out 90 degrees. So you'll look like a marching soldier. Your foot comes up with a high kick to touch your hand. So you stretch your hamstring as you are walking.
Another would be that as you take one step forward, you pull your legs back up to touch your back– like in your buttocks area. And that leg comes down and as you take another step, you pull your leg back up– that would be another example.
So you are walking and you are stretching at the same time. A picture is worth 1000 words and it's probably easier to just see a picture. Just do a Google for dynamic stretching and you'll get a tonne of stuff. [inaudible] has flash cards and DVDs that show you how to do this.
Ian: OK. I just put dynamic stretch into YouTube and it brought back 2100 results. I'm looking at all kind of different examples here, so that is a good suggestion. I know that on past podcasts, people have sent questions about that and sent me YouTube videos on that asking about it and I know there is stuff out there. I think there is things if you archive some of the old forum questions that I've gotten, it's been directed at that with the dynamic warm-up. Dr. Jack: OK. So dynamic warm-up. Stretching and moving at the same time. Getting the blood flowing while you get those muscles lengthened out and warmed up.
Anything further as far as stretching for injury prevention?
Ian: It's good to do a little cardiovascular wam-up even before you do the dynamic stretching. What is nice about that is– I learned this at a sports medicine course years ago– think about a piece of taffy. It's cold and you hit it against the table and it will crack. But if you put it out in the warm sun and then hit it against the table, it stretches.
So if you can do a little jog or get on a bike or a rowing machine– just to get the blood flowing and get your muscles warmed up a little bit before you go and do the dynamic stretch, that works even better.
Ian: OK. What do you think about something that myself and my college teammates used to do as we did kind of a box run warm-up… We would take a football out and throw it across the court back and forth. What do you think about that as far as warming up the arm and shoulder?
Dr. Jack: Sure, that's great. It kind of goes along with the dynamic warm-up– you are stretching and activating the muscles at the same time. You are utilizing muscles that you are going to use during the match.
So no, I think that's great. If you don't have a football, just throw the tennis ball to each other. Ian: OK. Any final thoughts on that before we move on?
Dr. Jack: No.
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Thank you guys very much.
