A rush of fitness

The unusual heat in the supposed rainy season has already caused the spread of illness in many parts of the world. Forest fires in Greece to heat waves in the United States and the spread of heat-related illnesses in the Philippines – the extreme temperature has taken its toll.

Research by British scientists suggests that dehydration is a major cause of stress, regardless of the urbanization of the environment. Research shows that office workers’ anxiety levels tend to soar when the atmosphere is dry, as it is in this country. And since the human brain is about 75 percent water, and our muscles are about 60 percent water, it makes sense that we perform and think more clearly when we are properly hydrated. This is particularly crucial at the hottest times of the day, shortly before until shortly after noon.

When we exert ourselves, our muscles produce great amounts of heat as we burn calories. Muscles, our circulatory system and other major organs of the body like the skin can only keep working at their most efficient levels if the heat is dissipated properly. When we exercise in the current type of warm weather, most of the muscle-generated heat is removed from the body as sweat evaporates, taking with it important minerals and electrolytes that the body needs to keep running smoothly. This is one of the main causes of loss of body fluids, which, when not replenished, actually make the body overheat.

But it isn’t just athletes who need these important materials replenished. A recent study showed that many people are already dehydrated even before they start exercising. This means that ordinary people aren’t even able to replace the regular supply of minerals, electrolytes and vitamins they lose in normal day-to-day activities. In other words, don’t wait until you’re thirsty. By then, you’re already performing at a sub-par level.

“People think that only hard-core athletes need replenishment of vital fluids and minerals, and only when they perform hard exercise,” says Vince Mendoza, beverage brand department head of Universal Robina Corporation (URC). “So casual athletes and ordinary people don’t realize that they can actually perform better, even in their regular, day-to-day exercise and work routines.”

Seeing this need borne of medical research, URC produced Rush Fitness Water, which treads the vast ground in between water and sports drinks. Apparently, there is a major difference in the needs of ordinary people (and weekend warriors like most of us), and competitive sportsmen, like varsity players and professional athletes.

“If you exercise heavily, then you will really need major replenishment, heavily loaded with minerals like potassium sodium and so on,” Mendoza explains. “But if you aren’t really a heavy-duty athlete, that may be too much for you. Some sports drinks have a lot of salt in them, for example, which may be harmful if you don’t really sweat heavily.”

On the other hand, low levels of electrolytes like those found in drinking water, do not address the body’s needs to distribute nutrients, and can even affect your ability to absorb water. If you don’t take the appropriate drink for your needs, it can even affect the ability of your blood to perform its function of carrying nutrients throughout the body – which is crucial in the performance of even the most mundane tasks. Besides, some sports drinks also have heavy calorie content, which is fine for a cross-country run, but maybe not that jog around the neighborhood. You might actually end up consuming more than what you burn, which obviously defeats the purpose of exercising.

To stress the value to novice athletes and even those who exercise just to maintain their fitness level, Rush has sponsored children’s sports like the Ateneo Basketball School, as well as other sporting institutions and events nationwide, and is expanding its reach to other schools that teach kids sports. Since the participants are not really competitive athletes but kids just being introduced to sports, they don’t need the heftier servings contained in sports drinks.

To further alert the public to the necessity of the appropriate hydration for the appropriate fitness level and exertion, Rush is planning a nationwide awareness campaign coupled with activities in indigenous kids’ games, so that the learning of the sport will also be coupled with education on proper hydration.

After all, kids aren’t the only ones who prefer learning when it’s fun.