SPORTS LIFE Magazine: Ask The Expert

Since Rob Powell, the 4 Time WFC World Champion and 4 Time WFC/Guinness World Record Holder with over 150 Records in sports, fitness and martial arts and over 1,000 wins as an athlete and coach lives in Texas, USA and we are in Madrid, Spain, we emailed him to ask what was the best way to replenish fluids in extreme heat training. This was his reply:
“When you are training hard in the Summer heat of Texas sure you sweat a lot, and its got to be replaced. I drink more than a gallon per day of tea and water during that time. However, the stupidest fitness myth I’ve heard from the 90’s that is still used today is for everyone to drink a gallon of water per day. This goes against everything your body needs and wants. It’s hard on your kidneys and your bladder.
It also goes against your body’s basic utilization for survival skills of fighting dehydration.”

He went on to say. “Be smart in your workout and drink when your thirsty, unless you are extreme training for ultra marathon events.
But drinking a gallon of water per day, in general is not a good plan. It is a common fitness myth.”

We also asked him if pickle juice was good for plan for fluid replacement? And he said.
“Latest research says it is. I drink a little pickle juice from time to time in extreme cases of fluid loss.
The salts and vinegar in pickle juice seem to replace the salts we lose in extreme heat training.
Just a little cup of pickle juice, chased with quite a bit of water helps all of us recover quickly.
I recommend it to the military training in desert heat, and Texas football boys when training during two a days.”