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5 Ways To Drink More Water

ways to drink more water in the desert with a bike

Summer is here! If you’re like me, this is your favorite time of the whole year: hot weather, long days, and lots of sweat. What isn’t there to love? But with all that sweating comes something very important, staying hydrated. It’s important to consider ways to drink more water.

Obviously, you should stay hydrated all the time, but in summer it is especially important. Most of us are outside more than we are in the winter. We are generally more active. It is warmer, therefore we sweat more. Now, I know drinking lots of water can be difficult, but there are some things you can do to make it easier.

Here are 5 ways to drink more water

And not feel like it’s a chore…

1. Add flavor

Drinking a gallon of water day in and day out can definitely get (and taste) monotonous. But, adding a light flavor can give the water some taste, and variety. The flavoring of your choice should come from natural whole foods, not a brightly colored bottle you bought at the convenience store.  

Some popular choices are strawberry, cucumber, lime, lemon, mint. It’s super easy to add flavoring this way. Chop up whatever you want to use as flavoring, add it to a large pitcher/container of water, and place in the fridge overnight. When you wake up you will have cool, refreshing and great tasting water.

2. Drink 32 oz of water when you wake up

Drinking 32oz of water (about 4 cups) as soon as you wake up does a couple of good things. 

It gets a big portion of your daily water done before you even leave the house. Also, by doing this you wake the body and mind up. You have just gone 8 (hopefully restful) hours without any water, so you need to rehydrate.

I find it easiest to just drink this 32oz as fast as possible instead of sipping it and having it take forever. And sidenote: starting your day with small successes such as this will help motivate you throughout the day to meet your other goals!

3. Divide the day up

Telling yourself you have the whole day to drink a gallon of water is almost a sure way to put the majority of it off until it’s too late in the day to accomplish. 

So, give yourself smaller timelines. A favorite of mine is in the next hour I will have at least 30oz of water.  Then every 15 minutes I take a few big gulps. By the time the hour is up, I have met my goal. 

Another popular way is to mark on your water bottle increments of time. You can set a reminder on your phone, and when the alarm sounds, drink to the corresponding time on their bottle. Pretty ingenious!

4. Be ready to use the restroom

If you are used to having a bathroom nearby and are not used to drinking large quantities of water, then you’ll be using the restroom more often than usual.

So, the day to start drinking more water is probably not the same day you and the family go on that summer vacation that requires 12 hours of driving. 

But I promise you, the more water you drink, the more your body gets used to it and the longer you can hold it. Plus, if you are sweating a lot you won’t need to use the restroom as much. This is yet another reason to get out and enjoy some summertime physical activity!

5. Go sustainable 

You don’t even want to know the markup on a bottle of water. But I will tell you anyway, 4000% (no, not a typo) is the MINIMUM! It can be as high as 280,000%! This means bottled water has a higher markup than any other product.

Stop drinking bottled water! Besides the obvious financial savings, you also will contribute less to plastic pollution. This is not only hard on the environment when it is being produced, but the millions of plastic bottles in the world will take (450) years to fully break down.

So do yourself and the world a favor, get a Nalgene, Yeti, Rtic, or any other reusable container. An at home water filter is also a great way to not buy plastic bottles.

Do you have a tip/trick to drink more water? Let us know – we love talking about water!

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What Is Active Recovery?

guys playing basketball outside for active recovery after a workout

Taking a day off from the gym is not something most of us want to do, but it is definitely something we all should do. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a day to eat 4 large pizzas, and down a 30 pack. So now the big question: if I’m not going to the gym, and I’m not drinking beer and eating pizza, what am I doing? Allow me to introduce active recovery.

What is active recovery?

I’m sure there is some super scientific description out there, but here’s your super simple answer. Active recovery is anything that gets the heart rate in the 60%-70% of max range. Yeah, we get sweaty or breathe a little heavy, but we don’t end up on the floor wishing we were dead.

Active recovery shouldn’t make you super sore. It shouldn’t be anything that is a sprint. It doesn’t even need to be seen as “fitness”. But it does mean getting around and moving.

What are some examples of active recovery?

Active recovery that isn’t “fitness-y”

  • Yard work. Mowing your lawns or doing some general home maintenance will be a surprising workout, and feels so satisfying.
  • Cold water/hot water (showering from cool/cold water to warm/hot water, switching back and forth every 20-30 seconds)
  • Breathing exercises
  • Sauna or sunbathing
  • Playing around – such as climbing a tree; playing with your dog; jumping in the pool and climbing out a bunch of times; taking your kids to the park and playing on the jungle gym with them
  • Yard games – such as volleyball; bocce; frisbee; etc

Active recovery that is “fitness-y”

  • Walking – you can go with your family and friends, or just by yourself
  • Row/bike for 20-40 minutes at a pace you can hold a conversation at
  • Hiking – check out some cool spots in your area
  • Body weight get ups. This literally is just getting up off the floor. There are tons of ways to do this. If you do them a few times, you’ll learn a surprising amount about your body
  • Backwards walk. Get ready to look weird. Go for a walk but make it a rule you can’t walk forwards. You can walk backwards, side steps, crossovers, butt kickers, etc. Use your imagination
  • Try a new sport. Go rock climbing, play basketball with some friends, wiffle ball batting practice etc

How often to do it

If you are a gym goer 3/4 days a week, schedule your active recovery for 2 days of that week. If you are a 5/6 day a week person, give yourself a day of active recovery. I think 1 day of good solid rest, where you are fully letting your body and mind recover is needed for most people.  But that’s not a rule! If you feel like going and doing something active and fun, get out and do it!

Possibilities for active recovery are endless! The only rule is to have fun. Doing something you enjoy it will help you feel better and help you relax in ways you didn’t even know you needed.

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Exercising Later In Life: It’s Never Too Late

exercising later in life man walking on beach

Getting older sucks…or so the saying goes. But why does it suck? A big reason is loss of health. As we age, we typically lose muscle mass, have less energy, a compromised immune system, higher blood pressure, and more. Years of unhealthy habits finally catch up to us, and we have to start paying the piper.  Even so, there’s another (better) saying: “it’s never too late”. Exercising later in life is an excellent way to combat these common issues.

I want to brag for a moment. At Buffalo Nickel CrossFit we currently have 6 members over the age of 55. One of them is my own mom. I can’t tell you how proud I am of these 6 people, for multiple reasons. 

One being, CrossFit is totally different from the health and fitness routines that they were taught growing up. Secondly, they haven’t let age determine their health. They embody “it’s never too late.”

Lastly, when I first started CrossFit I was in my early 20s and relatively fit. I was still nervous walking in. These folks started CrossFit in their 50s and 60s.  They took a huge step out of their comfort zone and stepped into something that requires discipline and grit. That is awesome!

So, are you too old to join a gym? 

No way, not even close.  Fitness is healthcare, even just being interested in fitness is caring for your health.  In fact as we get older it is even MORE important to take an interest in your health.  It is like planning for retirement, earlier is better but even if you don’t start until your senior years you can still reap benefits.

How can exercising later in life help your mind?

Exercising helps with multitasking and creativity. It also prevents some of the common effects of ageing such as memory loss, cognitive decline, and dementia.  In some cases, it can even slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Exercising is great for your body and brain. Committing to exercise later in life is a perfect way to slow the cognitive effects of ageing.

How can exercising later in life help your body?

It boosts your metabolism and builds muscle, in turn burning more calories. Exercise lowers your risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, and certain types of cancers.

It also improves strength, flexibility, and posture, which helps with balance and coordination, and helps prevent falling. As an older person, you’ll find that exercise alleviates symptoms of arthritis. Working out over 50 is one of the best things you can do for your body.

Living a happier, healthier life can start at any age. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  If you are still uncomfortable in a gym setting, there is plenty you can do from home to help increase your fitness and be healthier.  Unsure where to start?  Reach out to us, we have some of the best coaches who would love to help you.   

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