All too many times walking through the clubhouse or out on the course do I see golfers walking around with cans; cups or bottles of some dark colored syrupy drink. Contrary to popular belief, these liquids DO NOT hydrate the body or the brain properly. Since golf is such a cerebral game it would make sense to give yourself every possible advantage, right? One of the easiest and most effective ways to do so is to “STAY PROPERLY HYDRATED!!”
Proper hydration on and off the golf course will improve your game both mentally and physically. The human body is about 60% water, the brain is as much as 80% water and the lungs are about 90%. All of these organs play an integral role in your performance on the course. Additionally, our blood is about 80-85% water. Our blood helps with digestion and to regulate body temperature, and with summer time temps in Chicago regularly in the 80’s—we could all use some help with body temperature regulation.
In my 16 plus years of being a personal trainer, I have researched many methods of getting in the correct amount of fluid and have run across some great calculations for doing so—but I am going to share you the one I personally have used and direct all of my clients to use. The optimal amount of water per day should be half your body weight in ounces.
For example, I weigh 213 lbs. therefore my water intake per day is about 107 ounces or just about a gallon, it may seem like a lot but over the course of 24 hours, 12-16 of which I am awake, that’s just about a cup an hour. A key point to remember is that other fluids such as coffee, tea, any kind of soda and/or most flavored waters do not count toward water intake. In fact, most of these kinds of drinks tend to dehydrate the body. Fluids with high sugar counts take water from the body to dilute the liquid down so that it may be assimilated into the blood stream.
Proper hydrations will improve your quality of life on and off the golf course. Please contact me at steven@dynamicgolfinstitute.com if you have any questions. Good golfing!