Your Resting Pulse...

[EricW]

If you ever wanted an excuse to buy a heart rate monitor, checking your hydration level might be one. I pulled my Polar watch out of mothballs and have discovered that my resting pulse DRAMATICALLY varies between times where I'm well hydrated and I'm dehydrated (usually after a workout). I started doing this because I had inadvertently let myself get so dehydrated that I could feel my heart just pounding while I was sitting and wanted to see what the heck was going on.

I've also discovered that it takes between 4 and 6 hours after getting dehydrated for me to rehydrate to a point where my resting pulse drops down to somewhere resembling normal. I'm trying to drink more while I exercise, but it's actually tough to keep up. You have to be thinking about it during activity.

Wearing a monitor for a few days will really heighten your sense of how activity and your eating/drinking habits affects your body. Caffeine isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sugar sends me into orbit.

I only know about the Polar watches because that's all I've owned. They're nice because they're totally waterproof. I used to wear mine for swim practice...and it does work under water.

FWIW...

[boo radley]

If you ever wanted an excuse to buy a heart rate monitor, checking your hydration level might be one. I pulled my Polar watch out of mothballs and have discovered that my resting pulse DRAMATICALLY varies between times where I'm well hydrated and I'm dehydrated (usually after a workout). I started doing this because I had inadvertently let myself get so dehydrated that I could feel my heart just pounding while I was sitting and wanted to see what the heck was going on.

I've also discovered that it takes between 4 and 6 hours after getting dehydrated for me to rehydrate to a point where my resting pulse drops down to somewhere resembling normal. I'm trying to drink more while I exercise, but it's actually tough to keep up. You have to be thinking about it during activity.

Wearing a monitor for a few days will really heighten your sense of how activity and your eating/drinking habits affects your body. Caffeine isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sugar sends me into orbit.

I only know about the Polar watches because that's all I've owned. They're nice because they're totally waterproof. I used to wear mine for swim practice...and it does work under water.

FWIW...

I got a Polar when I picked up a pair of used spinning bikes. I'm not some huge athelete, but it's nice to crank away on a stationary bicycle to good music until it hurts, from time to time....And the pulse check keeps me honest.

I wore it once while running - I ain't the lightest person, and it scared me badly. I think I'm happier NOT knowing.

[eric nielsen]

I got one made by CardioSport a few years ago, the closest one I've found is the #9 or the #12 models here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_pg_...dioSport&page=1

It was about 50 bucks at the time and has a lot of good features, the best one being that it doesn't pinch any of the scar tissue in my left wrist, pretty much the only watch I wear now.

Used the monitor at a few matches in the summer, scary how high my pulse was even just standing at a table loading up my mags, taping targets, etc. Seemed to peg pretty high when I was at the gym too. Most useful [least depressing] as a way to push myself while bike-riding - enough for cardio benefit vs. just coasting around a lot.

I need to get the chest strap out & use it again. Bet my resting pulse sux.

Edited May 4, 2006 by eric nielsen

[vluc]

Be sure you've established a baseline against which tio compare. Take some readings while sitting, or after relaxing for awhile at home...early in the am, late in the pm, etc.

A reading in and of itself, with no baseline information to compare it to, uis just a snapshot...you need to see how it compares against the mosaic.

[tightloop]

Eric

You certainly have one of the most inqusitive minds I have encountered...interesting stuff...

[EricW]

FWIW, I believe that knowing how to deal with my hydration level has improved my rifle shooting.

What I'm also discovering is that I have at least a modicum of control over my pulse rate. I can watch the monitor and teach myself how to relax and drop my pulse rate. Maybe it will help me get settled down before shooting a stage.

E

[vluc]

What I'm also discovering is that I have at least a modicum of control over my pulse rate. I can watch the monitor and teach myself how to relax and drop my pulse rate.

Aah, full-circle to the glory days of biofeedback in the 70's when we were doing just that....

[raz-0]

I've also discovered that it takes between 4 and 6 hours after getting dehydrated for me to rehydrate to a point where my resting pulse drops down to somewhere resembling normal. I'm trying to drink more while I exercise, but it's actually tough to keep up. You have to be thinking about it during activity.

Well an important thing to remember is that your gut can only absorb about 1 liter of water an hour, and thats when things are all going right and for the nigh-mythical "average person."

Hydration requires planning, and most water you drink by itself will just flush through you if you guzzle it. Having a snack bar that is reasonably high in fiber with your liter of water will let you absorb much more of that liter than drinking it solo.

[EricW]

I've also discovered that it takes between 4 and 6 hours after getting dehydrated for me to rehydrate to a point where my resting pulse drops down to somewhere resembling normal. I'm trying to drink more while I exercise, but it's actually tough to keep up. You have to be thinking about it during activity.

Well an important thing to remember is that your gut can only absorb about 1 liter of water an hour, and thats when things are all going right and for the nigh-mythical "average person."

Hydration requires planning, and most water you drink by itself will just flush through you if you guzzle it. Having a snack bar that is reasonably high in fiber with your liter of water will let you absorb much more of that liter than drinking it solo.

Thanks for the tip. That pretty well means I need to be drinking lots *before* intense activity. I'll try the fiber bar. Just wish they had ones with a lot less sugar than the candy-bar ones they sell now.

[JD45]

You probably already know, but eating salty foods while drinking water will also speed the rehydration process.

[BigDave]

Eric - I wonder if the increase in HR when you're (editorial "you", not specifically) dehydrated is similar to somone with a high sodium intake/hypertension condition? Decreased H20 in the body would have a tendency to result in an increased sodium concentration, woudln't it?

If you're looking for fiber, what about an apple?

[EricW]

BD,

God knows I fall into the "tense" category. But I think a lot of it is just blood thickening due to dehydration. I had fallen into the trap where I was drinking lots of coffee and not a lot of plain water.

I thought about the apple thing....right after I hit "add reply" and drove off to check the snow level on mt. spokane (it's still ski season ). I'll put a baggie of apple slices in the camelbak the next time I ride and see how I do. I need to do something, because last time I drank so much water I nearly got sick.

Thanks for the ideas.

[BigDave]

A common thing (so I've read) for riders to take with them is half of a PB sandwich on whole grain bread (usually w/ honey). Maybe there is something to that b/c man cannot live on Gu alone, you know.

[scorch]

Coffee is a Natural Dieruitic (SP) so that helps dehydrate you also. I drink a glass of water after my two cups of coffee.

[Steve J]

Coffee is a Natural Diuretic (SP) so that helps dehydrate you also. I drink a glass of water after my two cups of coffee.

As well as our other favorite beverages. The night before, match hotel party is probably the worst for your hydration. Caffeine good - hang over bad.

[LPatterson]

Coffee is a Natural Dieruitic (SP) so that helps dehydrate you also. I drink a glass of water after my two cups of coffee.

I knew I was doing something wrong, my eyes don't open before I finish the first pot strong enough to float a horseshoe.

[raz-0]

A common thing (so I've read) for riders to take with them is half of a PB sandwich on whole grain bread (usually w/ honey). Maybe there is something to that b/c man cannot live on Gu alone, you know.

I'll second that as a decent idea, probably even better on lightly toasted bread.

[Steve J]

Coffee is a Natural Diuretic (SP) so that helps dehydrate you also. I drink a glass of water after my two cups of coffee.

I knew I was doing something wrong, my eyes don't open before I finish the first pot strong enough to float a horseshoe.

I quite seriously cannot focus on the front site without an equivalent amount of caffeine and a few eye exercises in the morning. But during the Texas summer hydration is equally important.

[Scooter]

Your daily morning pulse is a good indication of whether you are rested or stressed out(physically).

Polar still makes the best and most reliable HR monitors.

If you think your bad, back when I was still racing bicycles, I wore my HR monitor to bed a few times and downloaded the data the following morning to see what my resting HR was. Back then, about 6 years ago, my resting HR was around <45 bpm. Now it's up in the 70's.

[cautery]

Eric - Yup... pulse rate is a good indirect indicator of hydration. Resting pulse rate SHOULD be determined in the position for which you need a baseline.... which for us would be predominently standing.

Dehydration (heat exhaustion/heat stroke) is actually primarily diagnosed by taking heart rate/pressure in three positions: standing, sitting, horizontal. They use the deltas between the three to assess probable dehydration. Blood pressure and heart rate both increase inversely to the level of dehydration.

Hydration level can be TRAINED to a higher plateau. Just like you can train your body to reduce resting pulse rate and increasing VO2, you can train it to keep a higher "resting" tissue hydration ratio. This is an obvious advantage.

Hydration and Electrolyte balance are really two totally separate issues bu that have similar/some common effects on body function.

Hydration: Water uptake into the body tissues is almost a perfect osmosis deal... Your digestive tract (and your body tissues) will pretty much only absorb additional water if the water concentration is higher on the input side of the "membrane" than on the "other side" be it the blood stream or cell interiors. The BEST way to do this is by maintaining a higher concentration of PURE water in the stomach than that which is in the blood stream/tissues. The larger the osmotic difference/ratio, the greater the potential for fluid transfer.

The best case scenario is that you have sufficiently "pre-hydrated" in the period before your performance that your initial output the morning of the performance is as close to clear as possible.... yes, to do this will likely require you to get up in the night several times for a latrine visit... BUT, use this time to drink more water at the same time.

THEN, DURING the performance, you should drink as much water as possible. The goal is to HAVE to urinate at LEAST every 2 hours... Every hour is better, and the product should NOT show a color increase. If it does, you are not drinking enough or your body is not absorbing enough. You control the first by increasing input; you control the second by TRAINING your body to absorb... The body NEEDS to practice/learn how to lose/absorb water at the planned intensity level.

Electrolyte balance: This is done/not jeopardized in the period BEFORE the performance. Short of a marathon or other EXTREME performance, there is very little you can do DURING the performance to affect your electrolyte balance. IF you are balanced prior to the match, even a 12 stage Area 4 in July/August effort will not significantly throw off your Electrolyte balance... YES, you will deplete them, but it will generally not be a performance impacting depletion level... HOWEVER, it's not a "bad" thing to take in a reasonable amount of replenishment materials during the performance to offset/speed up RECOVERY after the perfromance. Generally, however, what you eat for step three below SHOULD be MORE than adequate for this purpose.

Aside from hydration, it is the glucose/insulin roller coaster that affects performance more than anything and is OFTEN mistaken for simple dehydration. This is a very complex balancing act and I won't go into the long explanation, but suffice to say THIS one REALLY needs "training" before the performance, and needs AT LEAST as much maintenance DURING performance as hydration.

Your glucose/insulin (et al.) system needs to be "in shape" prior to performance... The best way to do this? Work out, eat 6+ SMALL meals a day of the PROPER food a day. No caffeine, tobacco, excess processed carbs (sugar/bad starch), or any other synthetic chemicals in the diet...

Same thing DURING the performance... NO caffeine or sugar etc. Keep a constant/consistent supply of GOOD food/fuel during the performance to maintain the balance.

Cellular activity specific to muscular exertion (and brain function as well) is akin to keeping a steady fire going... It's easier to KEEP a fire going than to start one or RE-start one that you let die down.

Dumping several loads of fuel on a fire on an infrequent basis will do one of two things... Casue you to have a fire that burns really hot for a short time and then dies down to a less than adequate blaze for the majority of the time, OR worst case... dumping TOO much fuel on the fire smothers it out altogether to a smolder that takes forever to catch back on.

If you have a good fire going, you KEEP it going by constantly tending it... Keeping the ash (waste) from building up, adding small amounts of fuel FREQUENTLY and consistently, and making sure there's plenty of oxygen available.

Eating sugar or trash carbs is akin to dumping gasoline on a fire... It burns like crazy until it burns the accelerant off, then dies very quickly. In the body, this also serves to jack up the insulin balance which does bad things for both your muscles AND your brain.

Caffeine, tobacco, et al. screw up body chemistry in countless ways... Addictive... meaning your body becomes accustomed to them. If you are addicted to them now, it's not a good time to quit if you have a lot of matches coming up... Actually, it's a great time to quit anytime, but your performance will likely suffer until your body heals. Essentially, your body needs about 21-30 days to detox enough from either to reduce the dependency enough that the effect on performance becomes un-noticed. So, pick a 30-60 day match lag (July/August for me) and QUIT them both cold turkey... Also helps if you can hang out in a cave in Tibet too... so that you won't abuse all the folks around you during withdrawal.

Match Food Tip: There are lots of food replacement options, but I find that EAS's Myoplex Lite bars are a great match food. Quick and easy to eat. Low in sugar, and they are well balanced in all the goodies you need. I try to eat one about every two hours during a match, every three hours when not during a match. When I am PROPERLY observing my nutrition plan, I have Breakfast, MR, Lunch, MR, Dinner, MR, (MR). MINIMUM 1.5 gallons of water per day (10 pints). Add a half pint additional for each NON-water beverage consumed. Add 1 QUART additional minimum for each alcoholic based beverage (1 quart PER ounce of alcohol). Needless to say, it's better to forego the alcohol altogether from a strictly perfromance/health performance standpoint.

MR - Meal Replacement: A Myoplex mix, Myoplex Ready to Drink, or Myoplex Bar in order of precedence... Mix requires less additonal water than RTD, which requires less additional water than bar. Each bar requires at least 1 pint additional water.

(MR) is an optional "meal" added if bedtime is later than 2100hrs. Eat every 3 hrs. NEVER get "hungry". NEVER get "FULL". Don't eat within 1.5 hrs of bedtime, preferably 2. Sleep AT LEAST 6, preferably 8 hours a day. DO NOT sleep in a room with TV, radio, or lights on. Don't read before etiring. Try to have at least 30 minutes of non-stimulation time prior to retiring (improves sleep quality and gets you to REM quicker).

Wow... Sorry... Got a little more detailed than I intended. Aren't you glad I didn't do the LONG version?

Hope this proves useful... BTW, I am not a doctor or a Nutritionist... but I lived with a certified Dietician and bonafied nutrition nut for 14 years...

The above plan is a modified "Body-for-Life" plan that I have successfully used to lose/maintain substantial weight losses, and BF % reductions (on the order of 45lbs in 12 weeks). It's hard to get through the first few weeks, but way easier to keep doing it for life as long as you pay attention.

[kimel]

Good synopsis Cautery!

Addictive... meaning your body becomes accustomed to them. If you are addicted to them now, it's not a good time to quit if you have a lot of matches coming up...

Ah yup. A former professor I knew was a heavy man (probably 50 lbs overweight), heavy smoker and heavy drinker.

His doctor told him to lose weight, stop smoking and stop drinking or he would be dead in a year. So he did all three on the same day. 72 hours later he woke up in the hospital having been very near death. His body couldn't handle the change and he went into what amounted to shock. An extreme case but a good illustration.

I have come close to needing hospitalization a couple times due to dehydration and the last time I probably would have been better off in the hospital with an I.V. as it took me several days to get rehydrated and stabilized (but I am a guy and guys don't go to the doctor unless the stitches we put in ourselves aren't holding anymore).

Proper hydration is extremely important for every basic metabolism mechanism in the body. It doesn't surprise me in the least for EricW to say his shooting has improved when he is properly hydrated. Dehydration affects vision and muscle movement both of which are super critical for shooting.

Those of us that live out here where 20% relative humidity is "a humid day" simply cannot take on enough fluid to stay hydrated when exerting. Basic fact. The best you can do is to be well hydrated when you begin and take on fluid every chance you get and hope you aren't too dehydrated at the end of the day.

There are individual differences at work here too. The best thing to do is to follow the "urinate every 2 hours rule". Try this for the next couple days and you will realize just how much you are riding the line between hydration and dehydration. And don't be surprised if you find out you are usually somewhat dehydrated. If you can go a whole day at work and not need to run down the hall; you are dehydrated.

One final warning...it is possible to overhydrate. You have to work rather hard at it but you literally can hydrate yourself to the point where your kidneys cannot keep up clearning fluid and you "drown". If you have kidney disease or a variety of other ailments or are on certain medications this is easier than for a healthy normal person.

[Steve Moneypenny]

Really good posts here guys.

Some things i've noticed are

People only worry about hydration on the shooting day it's self! when it really begins 2 days before shooting! which sucks for those of us driving long distances... gotta go every rest area at the furthest.

What about liquids like Orange Juice. it really seems to make me wake up before a match.

As concerned folks we really have to look at the nutrition lables and find things to eat that aren't high in sugar or other bad things for us.

I have a custom snack mix i make to take to matches a lot of the time.. sunflower seeds some dried fruit, peanuts almonds, very natural stuff bought from a bulk foods store here that is pretty cheap. My problem with all of these bars that are good for you is they make you go bankrupt! $2 is norm for a single bar a lot of times. thats meaning cost is 6-8$ per day.

Soda = evil the high fructose corn syrup gives you such a short sugar rush you might as well snort cocaine (which atleast will help you lose weight instead of turning into fat!!! )

[9146gt]

If I would have known that I would be this thristy today after being at the bar last night I would have drank more last night!!

Tom