Are you Staying Properly Hydrated During Exercise?

Leave a reply

Many exercisers know that they should stay hydrated when exercising, but three questions often asked are how much, when, and what? This article is meant to inform the reader of the current recommendations that address these very questions. In answer to the first two questions, here are some general guidelines to follow about fluid replacement from The American College of Sports Medicine and other such societies:

Before Exercise:

Consume about 15-20 fl. oz. of water, 2 to 3 hours before exercise (to allow for absorption)
Drink 8-10 fl. oz. of water 10-15 minutes before exercise (to ensure that you begin exercise in fluid balance)

During Exercise:

Consume between 8 and 10 fl. oz. every 10 to 15 minutes during exercise
If exercising longer than 60 minutes, drink 8-10 fl. oz. of a sports drink (with 6-8% carbohydrate) every 15 – 30 minutes.

After Exercise:

Weigh yourself before and after exercise.
For every 1lb lost, replace with 20-24 fl. oz. of water.

In answer to the third question, it can be both a sports drink and water. And this, of course, depends on the situation. If you are an athlete or individual who works out intensely for 60 minutes or more, then a sports drink with at least 6-8% carbohydrate, like Gatorade, can be beneficial to replenish lost fluid, electrolytes, and carbohydrates. It also can help improve performance during these longer bouts of intense exercise. For the average population however, a sports drink is not necessary because the stores of fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrates in one’s body are usually not completely spent during a standard workout. Therefore, consuming water before, during, and after exercise is all the average person needs to keep their body hydrated. For the athlete or avid exerciser, a sports drink to stay hydrated would be beneficial for intense exercise events lasting longer than an hour, as stated previously, but up to that point is not really necessary.

If you’d like more advice on exercise hydration and nutrition, let us know! We’re here to help!

What are your favorite ways to stay hydrated? Do you have a preferred sports drink or do you just stick with water?

Exercises to Build Rotational Strength & Stability

Leave a reply

By Jordan Meyer, Personal Trainer, Elite Sports Club-North Shore

The professional baseball season is in full swing (bad pun!), and that signals the start of youth & bar leagues. Baseball involves a lot of rotational movements, especially through the trunk (from your shoulders to your hips). The exercises below are good for building rotational strength and stability. Do them slowly and deliberately to avoid injury. Remember: if you or your child have been hibernating for the last few months, it’s best to start light until your body remembers what exercise feels like.

Note: These exercises are also good for you golfers out there.

Alternating lunges with a trunk twist exercise:

Cable twist exercise:

Remember to keep your core tight for both of these exercises. The old adage “practice like you play” doesn’t apply here, so go slowly with the rotations. We know you aren’t going to swing a bat or golf club slowly, but rotating slowly is going to build the strength you need to swing quickly.

“Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.”
-Earl of Derby

Need a little further instruction on these exercises or what else to do to train for a sport (or recover from a sports injury) let us know, we’re here to help!

What exercises do you like to do to prep for baseball, softball, golf, or any other seasonal sport?

The 80/20 Food/Fitness Rule & Pre/Post Workout Eating

Leave a reply

For years, I have had many opportunities to discuss the tremendous overall benefits of the food you eat and how it works in harmony with your fitness! In fact, it is a ratio of 20% fitness experience and 80% dietary input, according to the experts. Your food intake can be a powerful force in providing you with good fluids, special electrolytes, and super energy sources following a workout.

After a workout of course you are going to be tired and maybe a little hungry! (But fortunately, it also comes with a sense of well-being as the endorphins begin to release in your brain.) Many record that they need some salt, some fluids, and maybe a quick punch of sugar. I personally like to suggest the “Eat-Clean Principles” authored by Tosca Reno, in which she suggests:

Consuming 15g carbs before and >20g protein after your workout.

I like these thoughts and cannot stress enough that you choose the simplest of carbohydrates and the simplest of proteins in this case. Here are some homemade pre- and post-workout snack ideas:

You can certainly bring your own supply of fruit or vegetable juices to drink before the workout, or maybe a banana.
Some protein, such as nuts and cheese, make a good protein afterwards, and store well in your bag.
You may also want an instant container of soup and just add hot water. This is a much better re-supply for sodium or salt, than any package of saltines or chips.

Or you may want to try some of these choices, for carbohydrates and proteins now available at Elite Sports Clubs‘ E-Cafés! My favorites are:

Creamy, rich smoothies made in a variety of flavors, with really good fruit purees, as a base, plus you can add vitamin boosts, extra protein such as whey, and you can even choose a low calorie variety. They are a big hit!
Another source of good protein is the Organic Chocolate Milk. These drinks are 8oz and 150 calories. Or you can try the No Milk-just casein, Muscle Milk for 140 calories, 20g protein.
Otherwise, we have good fruit juices, and teas.
Fresh, hydrating beverages are also available, such as Sparkling Ice, no calories, a little carbonation, and no calories.
Another new arrival is Susie’s Nature Bars. The calories are just over 265; and they are good sources of protein and fiber, about 6g each or more. But their fiber is extremely high quality nuts and seeds, with a variety of fruit binders. They are delicious and fresh!

Just remember, a good protein snack such as an energy bar should be about 6-20g of protein; whereas a good source of protein for a meal should be 3oz meat or 30g protein as a “full meal bar.” Don’t forget, your good food choices will make it or break it for you on your personal program!

Need help getting set up on a personal plan or figuring out some go-to pre- and post-workout foods? Let us help! Just let us know a little bit about your goals and we can get started!

What are your favorite pre- and post-workout snacks? Tell us in the comments!

Rita Larsen, RD, CD
Nutrition Educator and Diet Counselor
RitaLarsen@eliteclubs.com
262-391-1003 (cell)

Member Monday: Greg Gorak Receives FAA Master Pilot Award

Leave a reply

“Member Monday” is where we take the time to acknowledge one of our Elite Sports Clubs members for not just their health & fitness accomplishments, but also amazing feats in other aspects of their lives.

Today we’d like to acknowledge long-time Elite Sports Clubs member, Greg Gorak. Greg has been a member of Elite Sports Clubs for over 27 years and last fall was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, which recognizes pilots who have demonstrated professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise by maintaining safe operations for 50 or more years.

Recipients are awarded a certificate and a lapel pin and are recognized in the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award-Roll of Honor located online at FAASafety.gov.

We congratulate Greg on his accomplishment and truly believe he is an “elite” member!

If you have an “elite” story to share about your own personal accomplishment or someone else’s please share it with us at MyStory@eliteclubs.com or tweet it to us @MyEliteStory! We’d love to hear from you!

All Things Fitness: New Outdoor Boot Camp Facility

Leave a reply

We are excited to announce that Elite Sports Club-Mequon is building a new specialty outdoor boot camp & obstacle course training area! The equipment (detailed below) will be offered as a part of personal and small group training to our members. This is something many of our members have been asking for and we are happy to be able to provide such a unique outdoor space to really help members enhance their fitness and athletic ability. We hope this setup will not only be able to help members get in shape, but also help prepare them for the very popular obstacle course adventure races such as Tough Mudder, Muddy Buddy, Warrior Dash, and Dirty Girl. We look forward to showing you the progress of the build in the coming weeks with hopes of offering classes by our next small group training session!

Now to the good stuff! As far as the space itself, it is going to be broken up into 3 different areas, so for clarification we will call these Area 1, Area 2, and Area 3.

Area 1 – located south of the air conditioning unit
Area 1 will be composed of 4 specific structures, tires, a bench, dip bars, and a rebounding wall.

Tires – We are going to have 2 tires standing up on end, buried about 2/3 the way into the ground. These will primarily be used for pounding with a sledgehammer.
Bench – This is going to be an 8ft long bench, that will be about 3-4 feet wide, and 20 inches tall. We will primarily use this for doing box jumps, step-ups, and incline push-ups.
Dip Bars – These will be 2 parallel bars that will be about 3-4 feet tall and 2-2.5 feet apart, and will primarily be used for triceps dips and core work.
Rebounding Wall – This will be on the re-enforced side of the wall surrounding the air conditioning unit, used for doing medicine ball slams.

Area 2 – located just north of the air conditioning unit
This will be our largest and most noticeable section of the Boot Camp area. This will be where we have the pull-up structures, monkey bars, and over-under logs

Pull-Up Structures – We are going to have 2 6x6x10 structures with pull-up bars on each side. There will also be a climbing rope attached to the top in the center of the unit and battling ropes on the bottom.
Monkey bars – The Monkey Bars will be 10 feet long, connecting the 2 pull-up structures. We will also be able to attach TRX units to these for doing different TRX exercises. On each end, we are going to have a high rebounding target for doing medicine tosses.
Over-Under Logs – We will have 5 different logs of varying height that will be between 6-8 feet long and anywhere between 3-5 ft tall.

Area 3 – located just north of area 2 on the other side of the emergency door for the tennis courts
This area will be where we will have the power sled and agility tires.

Areas 1 and 2 will be covered with wood chips, while area 3 will be grass. We will be building a fence around the air conditioning unit to protect and beautify it.

If you are interested in more information on the new boot camp/obstacle course outdoor facility or just in training in general, please contact us using this form. We also encourage you to subscribe to our fitness & training emails to stay in the know about what training programs we are offering.

Are you signed up for any obstacle course adventure races? Which ones and how are you training for them? Tell us in the comments!