Posts Tagged ‘Powerade’
Importance of Proper Hydration
Every Tuesday for the last two months I’ve played in a work softball league that starts around 6 PM. Fortunately in the last few weeks our games have been played in relatively mild temperatures, but there was a stretch where the temperatures were pretty high. Well, I’m an outfielder, generally center right or center left (we play four outfielders in our league, which I believe is standard), which means I get to stand in the sun and wait for fat old people to crush balls in my direction.
Anyway, when it’s in the 80s or 90s, even standing perfectly still out in the sun at 6PM will get me sweating and so it’s important to remain hydrated for our two and half long double headers. This usually means just a 1 quart bottle of Powerade or Gatorade (not Powerade Zero Mixed Berry though) throughout the first game.
What happens when you don’t get proper hydration? (we’re talking mild dehydration, not the headaches, muscle craps, death-type of dehydration… don’t ever let yourself get that far) I’ll tell you what happens to me, I get really irritable, sluggish, and my reaction time slows. When you’re playing in a work softball league, you’re really out there to get a little exercise, have a good time, and hang out with your friends. If you’re irritable, sluggish, and your reaction time is slow, it’s hard to have a good time. If you’re losing, it’s even worse.
The first few games of the season I didn’t bring my bottle of Powerade/Gatorade and so I felt like I wanted to go to sleep every time I stepped up to bat. Now, armed with my sports drink, I feel great and have been playing better, enjoying the game better, and overall been happier out there.
Subscribe to the comments for this postPOWERade Zero Mixed Berry Tastes Not So Great
This week we had two double header softball games in the wonderful heat and humidity that is Maryland. The first game was on Tuesday and the second was just yesterday, Thursday, and it was pretty warm on both days. Tuesday was far worse, with a combo hit of humidity and heat that really sapped our strength. I didn’t bring any water, though I chugged a bunch of water and Diet Coke before the game, and was really feeling it in the second game. To remedy this in time for our Thursday game, I took a trip to our local Giant and picked up a few bottles of Powerade, which were on sale 10 for $8, a pretty sweet deal.
That’s when I saw that Powerade had come out with a line of calorie free products. I actually never looked at the caloric content of Powerade before and was surprised. One of the regular bottles was on the fat side of 200 calories a bottle! That surprised me… until I realized that the only time I’d be drinking it would be when I was burning significant calories.
However, since I don’t mind Diet Coke (I actually prefer it now), I figured I’d give Powerade Zero a shot to see if I’d like it too. I didn’t. The after taste of the artificial sweetners was too overpowering, which surprised me. I think I don’t mind artificial sweetners in soda because of the carbonation, but without the carbonation the fake sugary stuff hits you full on. I’m not a fan of artificial sweetners in my coffee either, so that could be the reason.
Luckily I only got one bottle to test it out and have three more regular Powerade stuff to feed my thirst.
Incidentally, the Powerade website has a pretty cool soundtrack.
