Fighting Dehydration

[TheGoalNet]

7 hours ago, jeff da goalie said:

The Pedia means it's for kids.   Plus it tastes like ass.

It works though... and it’s not that hard to get down! 

[seagoal]

I struggle with dehydration, too, especially nowadays when it's hot out.

I started increasing my water intake on game days and during games, as well.  I use two full size green gatorade bottles for water for my weekly 90 minute pick-up game and I drink one for each half, switching them out at the bench at the 45 minute mark.

These days when it's hot out and the humidity is higher, these two aren't enough, even.  Last night for this skate I ran out of the second one with 6 minutes left to play and those last 6 minutes were rough.  It was tough for me to resist not chugging the Gatorade on my net, which I keep because I'm a type-1 diabetic and it's my emergency carb drink for when my blood sugar drops.  I had to fight the urge to not down it for thirst. 

Out of curiosity, I brought a scale to the rink a couple of months back and I weighed myself before and after this 90 minute pick-up.  I lost more than 2% of my body weight playing, which is about 4 pounds.  So I am a heavy sweater, especially considering my water intake during play.  

Stackem, have you thought to measure your weight loss?  Losing 2-4% of weight in a short amount of time will almost always dehydrate you. 

[coopaloop1234]

Gotta say, I'm the same age and a similar build (albeit) shorter. I follow a pretty similar pregame hydration method and go through the same amount of water. 

I do feel dehydrated but not terribly. 

My after game is a bit more indulgent though. 

I'm also a sweater. Like, not heavy, but more than average. 

Stackem, are you similar in sweatiness? 

[MTH]

An old school method I use:

REGULAR beer. Been working for goalies since ...there were goalies.

Look at the chap above. Happy. Using a pint glass and fantastic hair to boot.

Get that ultra light crap out of here. Stuff is hurting you. 

Read this about Mic Ultra:

Quote

If styrofoam could be put into liquid form, and bottled, this is what it would taste like.

[SaveByRichter35]

On 7/17/2018 at 10:27 AM, stackem30 said:

Wanted to poll the collective minds of this board on something: I've been getting super dehydrated after games lately, and I'm unsure of what to do about it. Here's the synopsis of my general hydration:

1. I'm 6'2", 185 lbs. Decent athletic build.
2. I play hockey once a week (55 minute game) and run/exercise at least two other days.
3. I am good about staying hydrated day to day, and after normal (non-hockey) exercise.
4. On game days, I am drinking 3+ Nalgenes (68oz total) of water throughout the day. It feels like a LOT. Let's just say the people in my office with desks close to the men's room see a lot of me.
5. During the game, I drink less than a single water bottle. I really hate feeling full on water when I play, and I'm so hydrated before the game that I'm rarely thirsty.
6. The rink I play in (Warrior Arena, where the Bruins practice) is crazy warm, so after the game I'm still sweating as we get undressed.
7. I usually have a (super light) beer with my teammates after the game.
8. I'll drink as many glasses of water (probably another 32oz) as I can when I get home. We play late (tonight's game is 11pm), so there's only so much time to sit drinking water at home after a game.
9. The next day, I often wake up with a headache, and my urine is darker than usual.

So what gives? Granted, I'm 'getting older' (30), but dehydration has never been an issue for me in my hockey career. Am I (somehow) not drinking enough water? Is it possible that I'm over-hydrating? Do I need to start paying attention to replacing electrolytes after a game (admittedly, I've always ignored much of that stuff, and assumed it was mostly a tool to help sell Gatorade...)?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks everyone!

I think that I do a very good job of keeping myself hydrated on gamedays and honestly it sounds like you're putting plenty of water into your body before and after your games.  More than I do in fact.  I don't get headaches but I might try drinking pedialyte postgame anyway.  I don't really drink much of anything after my games except for whatever is left in my water bottle.  Sometimes a chocolate milk too.

[stackem30]

On 7/19/2018 at 2:37 AM, coopaloop1234 said:

I'm also a sweater. Like, not heavy, but more than average. 

Stackem, are you similar in sweatiness? 

Not on a day-to-day level, but I sweat like c-razy playing goal... more than I used to, it seems.

@seagoalI've weighed myself on a digital scale before and after games (in my underwear, with no trips to the bathroom — 1 or 2 — in between, etc.) and often I'll have lost over 3lbs. That seems like an obscene amount of sweat, but I don't know... I really go all-out when I play, and the locker rooms are absurdly warm. I'd love to replace that (water) weight while I play, but I can't see myself drinking much more water than I do during games — I hate the feeling of being too full when I play. So I'm not sure what to do there.

@SaveByRichter35I have been drinking Pedialyte before and after games for the last couple weeks (since I posted here, anyway), and while it's helped a little, I've still woken up with some bad headaches. I've also had some before bed and when waking up after a night of drinking, and I have noticed a big improvement there... which leads me to believe dehydration may not be 100% responsible for my hockey headaches.

I had my annual physical this week, and per people's recommendations, I brought it up with my doctor. She recommended that I also focus on relieving tension in my shoulders and neck after games via stretching or a massage, which I believe is something that was mentioned on this thread. She said that relieving this tension could go a long way to preventing headaches. And while I do stretch after games, admittedly I focus almost entirely on my groin and back, and neglect my shoulders and neck. So I'm going to have to try that.

[stackem30]

Update: Bingo. I got home late from my game last night, threw on an episode of Deadwood, and spent the entire hour doing some stretches to relieve tension in my neck and shoulders, (along with some other post-game stretches that I rarely take the time to commit to). This morning, I woke up without a headache for the first time in what seems like months.

I'm just 1 for 1, so I haven't enough evidence to claim that I've solved the problem for good. But I'm pretty encouraged... considering that my headaches persisted when I've been hydrating and replacing electrolytes with such purpose, I was at a loss for why I kept waking up feeling so poorly. But I think I may have found the problem, and hopefully the solution.

Anyone else here experience a similar situation (headaches from tension in the neck, success relieving it, etc.)?

[coopaloop1234]

2 minutes ago, stackem30 said:

Anyone else here experience a similar situation (headaches from tension in the neck, success relieving it, etc.)?

Can't say I face the same issues (generally), but there is always the day after fatigue.

I'm going to try this after my ice time tonight. I'm curious to see if it'll positively affect me or not.

[stackem30]

It certainly can't hurt, even if you're not experiencing tension headaches. For the record, I never would have expected I was getting headaches because I was carrying tension in my neck/shoulders... not that I'm a physician, but the correlation just isn't something I would have envisioned. But I'll be damned if it didn't seem to make a big difference in how I felt this morning.

For what it's worth, I referred to this video for the stretches. I usually approach YouTube health/wellness videos with the appropriate amount of skepticism, but these stretches seem innocuous enough, and they're pretty practical. I wasn't looking to start exercising my neck with anything complicated or strenuous. 

[MTH]

How about that. Good job.

[stackem30]

Thanks @MTH. Now I get to pivot, and wonder why neck tension has suddenly become an issue after almost 20 years in goal. I can't think of any adjustments I've made to my stance or how I play, and I've never been more conscious of my posture and lessening the amount of time I spent hunched over my phone/laptop.

My best guess is my new mask — the switch from my old Hackva to my Protechsport does somewhat line up with when I started getting headaches the next morning. But aside from being a generally superior mask, my Protechsport is lighter than the Hackva, which was a tank. Maybe I can fiddle with adjusting the straps to see if the weight distribution is a little off...

Another possibility, possibly the most likely: sometimes these things just happen, without any one discernible cause. I'm 30**, and many of my friends and I are beginning to feel minor aches and discomforts where there were no problems before, even when we're generally more conscious of taking care of ourselves.

**Don't scoff, old guys — I know it only gets worse

[Naz]

19 minutes ago, stackem30 said:

**Don't scoff, old guys — I know it only gets worse

Yup, you're getting old.  Welcome to the club where stuff hurts for no apparent reason.

[Mroy31]

I get tension headaches generally when I sleep in a stupid position, which happens more often the night after a later game, but can just happen anytime.  Maybe your pillow just happened to get old the same time you did

[MTH]

My body fell apart after 30. Second half of my 30s I was ok. Hang in there.

[SaveByRichter35]

I just turned 35 last week.  Things are a little achy here and there but not to the point where I had to change my approach to pre/game/post activities.  I've definitely started gaining weight a little easier since about 33 though.  

[creasecollector]

I applaud you guys for playing through those aches and pains. I'm 25, so while I haven't experienced this yet, I know full well that it'll be my time one of these days. I'll play through the pain because I love this position, even though I'll hate every moment of it.

Respect.