Arizona’s climate allows for year-round outdoor activities, however dealing with extremely high temperatures, proper hydration is critical for any physical activity, especially outdoors.

Here are some tips to minimize the effects of dehydration:

Keeping water cold during any outdoor activity or workout can aid in cooling the body when it becomes hottest during the midday and afternoon hours – buy a Hydro Flask! It’s worth it. A bright red face is a great indicator that a break in the shade with some cool water is needed!
Plan your activities the day before, to allow for proper hydration throughout the evening prior. This is especially important for students participating in summer sports or continuing training/conditioning.
Hydration decreases the amount of strain on the body during activity and allows for better body temperature regulation.1 This is important during activities on hot days or summer training sessions.

Beginning any activity or workout under hydrated will likely increase the hydration deficit during activity, no matter the availability of fluids.1
If proper hydration is not achieved after activity, the athlete will begin the next training day inadequately hydrated.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adolescent athletes drink 1-1.5 liters or 34-50 oz of water per hour during exercise or competitions.
50 oz of water is equal to a little more than 3 disposable water bottles

Prolonged workouts lasting longer than 90 minutes or activities in the heat require electrolyte replenishment, so bring a sports drink along with more cold water. Aim for drinking about one water bottle over a 30-minute period, including about ¼ of a sports drink as well.
Be aware of hydration particularly in the morning and before bedtime to ensure the next day of activity begins with a hydrated athlete.
Make time for breaks during activity and enjoy some relaxing rest time after being outdoors in the heat, keeping a bottle of water or two nearby to prompt rehydration.

What’s a quick way to calculate how much water we need in a day to supply our body for generally good function? Take half your weight in pounds in ounces per day! For example, if you weigh 160 lbs you would need 80 ounces of H2O (160 lbs / 2 = 80 oz). One regular bottle of water is about 16 ounces, so you need at least 5 bottles per day for general activities, not including any additional outdoor sports! Drink up!

References:

  1. Arnaoutis G, Kavouras SA, Angelopoulou A, et al. Fluid Balance During Training in Elite Young Athletes of Different Sports. J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(12):3447-3452. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24513625
  2. American College of Sports M, Sawka MN, Burke LM, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(2):377-390. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17277604/