How hot is too hot?

[Cornbread]

If on turf you can add 20+ degrees to the air temperature. It’s been so hot that it melted the bottoms on turf shoes

 

[HunterMO]

Many people miss the importance of pre-hydrating. "Pre-hydrate and re-hydrate so you don't dehydrate."

I know Gatorade takes its lumps, and I'm one who gives them. Be careful hydrating/rehydrating with Gatorade. While it does contain the needed electrolytes, it also contains lots of sugar. This is fine for a world class athlete who is burning thousands and thousands of calories per day, but not so much for kids playing baseball and softball.

At risk of this sounding like a shill ... I cannot consume artificial sweeteners, so even the 'Zero' versions of things are bad news for me. I recently found two things that I can drink, enjoy drinking, and see benefits from:

• Body Armor Lyte ... the regular is 90 calories in a 16 oz. bottle while the Lytes are only 20 calories. The key for me ... these drinks are coconut water based, not sugar based. Coconut water provides the electrolytes and flavor needed to make these a go-to.
• Liquid IVs ... expensive but worth it. They claim it has 3 times the electrolytes of sport drinks and helps your body absorb the water faster. I don't know if that's true, but drinking these in moderation does help me on long hot days.

Whichever it is, I only mix in one for every several bottles of water. During a 4-day varsity baseball tournament (14 games, avg. 2 hours each) in New Orleans' recent record breaking temperatures, I was drinking a half-gallon of water when on the bases, and 3/4 + of a gallon behind the plate. Between games I would alternate between a Body Armor Lyte and a Liquid IV.

It was hot, I was miserable, but I never got dehydrated (or over hydrated, for that matter).

DD normally drinks a fair amount of water everyday. But, 3-4 days before a tournament I make her start ramping up her water intake. The day of is not the time to pound a bunch of waters before a game thinking you'll be hydrated properly.

Liquid IV is absolutely worth it. We found out about it from DD's hitting coach. It has helped DD get through some 95-98+ tournaments. We also deal with a good amount of humidity. She drinks one before a game. Then just water during the games. Depending on schedule may drink another between games or after a couple in a row. They help.

 

[Orange Socks]

Like @The Man In Blue says, limit the Gatorade products. They are formulated for the athletes that go hard in bursts rather than all day exposure. I just sold a pallet of Sqwincher freezer pops to an industrial customer (free freezer too) this morning. This particular brand formulates it's ingredients for the industrial athlete to contain more potassium and less salt than other off the shelf products.

During training they emphasize the electrolytes need water molecules to transport the vitamins and minerals through the body otherwise it does not work properly. Water, Water, Water then 1 electrolyte product. And of course Proper Nutrition is key!!!!

 

[radness]

If on turf you can add 20+ degrees to the air temperature. It’s been so hot that it melted the bottoms on turf shoes

Warning!

 

[LEsoftballdad]

The doctor at the hospital recommended these.

 

[tomorrow]

Really, the adults that fund this should not be worried about proper hydration techniques but "Why are we even playing ?"
If it is to hot for games to be fun then it should not be played.

 

[The Man In Blue]

If on turf you can add 20+ degrees to the air temperature. It’s been so hot that it melted the bottoms on turf shoes

Absolutely this. Not only do those rubber pellets heat up and retain the heat, but the turf is reflecting the sun's energy (UV, heat) back at you also. I had to adjust my "base shoe" approach working in Mississippi, as it was almost all turf. I quickly switched from "polishable" to "light weight and breathable."

There was a new set of field that opened in Pearl, MS that used some sort of treated wood shaving instead of the rubber pellets on their turf. I only worked it a few times, but it really seemed to me that it negated much of the turf's added impact. (It also played more like dirt since it wasn't as bouncy.)

 

[The Man In Blue]

Like @The Man In Blue says, limit the Gatorade products. They are formulated for the athletes that go hard in bursts rather than all day exposure. I just sold a pallet of Sqwincher freezer pops to an industrial customer (free freezer too) this morning. This particular brand formulates it's ingredients for the industrial athlete to contain more potassium and less salt than other off the shelf products.

During training they emphasize the electrolytes need water molecules to transport the vitamins and minerals through the body otherwise it does not work properly. Water, Water, Water then 1 electrolyte product. And of course Proper Nutrition is key!!!!

That is an excellent way of wording that in simpler terms!

I've never done Sqwinchers, but when I worked for the utility company I know our linemen used them. I always intended to grab some to try, but never did.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Really, the adults that fund this should not be worried about proper hydration techniques but "Why are we even playing ?"
If it is to hot for games to be fun then it should not be played.

As I add to the length of the hydration conversation ... you are correct that this should be the point.

What it will take is teams stepping up and saying "We aren't doing it and we aren't going to continue to pay for your tournament unless you adopt better policies." Tournament directors (and corporations) aren't going to do it on their own out of the goodness of their hearts.

The other place I focus some anger at on the issue is the scheduling of umpires. It is awful for these teams to be out there to play a couple of games and maybe have a break and play another one or two ... but it is worse for the umpires who get scheduled 5, 6, 7, or 8 games in a row with no scheduled break or relief beyond 10-15 minutes to take off/put on gear.

I don't have all the answers, but ideally I think when it comes to heat warnings, tournaments should not play during the times of the issued warnings. They could host a morning session, take the afternoon off, and then play an evening session if the weather allows. (I know ... too many places don't want to spend the money on the lights.)

 

[kibadbo]

DD normally drinks a fair amount of water everyday. But, 3-4 days before a tournament I make her start ramping up her water intake. The day of is not the time to pound a bunch of waters before a game thinking you'll be hydrated properly.

Liquid IV is absolutely worth it. We found out about it from DD's hitting coach. It has helped DD get through some 95-98+ tournaments. We also deal with a good amount of humidity. She drinks one before a game. Then just water during the games. Depending on schedule may drink another between games or after a couple in a row. They help.

Many people miss the importance of pre-hydrating. "Pre-hydrate and re-hydrate so you don't dehydrate."

I know Gatorade takes its lumps, and I'm one who gives them. Be careful hydrating/rehydrating with Gatorade. While it does contain the needed electrolytes, it also contains lots of sugar. This is fine for a world class athlete who is burning thousands and thousands of calories per day, but not so much for kids playing baseball and softball.

At risk of this sounding like a shill ... I cannot consume artificial sweeteners, so even the 'Zero' versions of things are bad news for me. I recently found two things that I can drink, enjoy drinking, and see benefits from:

• Body Armor Lyte ... the regular is 90 calories in a 16 oz. bottle while the Lytes are only 20 calories. The key for me ... these drinks are coconut water based, not sugar based. Coconut water provides the electrolytes and flavor needed to make these a go-to.
• Liquid IVs ... expensive but worth it. They claim it has 3 times the electrolytes of sport drinks and helps your body absorb the water faster. I don't know if that's true, but drinking these in moderation does help me on long hot days.

Whichever it is, I only mix in one for every several bottles of water. During a 4-day varsity baseball tournament (14 games, avg. 2 hours each) in New Orleans' recent record breaking temperatures, I was drinking a half-gallon of water when on the bases, and 3/4 + of a gallon behind the plate. Between games I would alternate between a Body Armor Lyte and a Liquid IV.

It was hot, I was miserable, but I never got dehydrated (or over hydrated, for that matter).

Great points. As far as hydration products go, they are all usually some combination of sodium, potassium and magnesium with some sort of sweetener and flavor to make them palatable. There are endless options but we primarily use Emergen C packets. They are cheap, portable and easy to stash so we always have them around.

I found them when on a hiking trip at the Grand Canyon. The temps in the summer get outrageous in the canyon. I've seen thermometers register nearly 130 degrees at the bottom. Also, you absolutely earn a hike through the GC. It's strenuous. Needless to say, dehydration is a very big concern. The issue is that people will sweat out all their electrolytes, lose the ability to properly control their muscles, and fall off the cliff. So they have rangers whose job is to just walk up and down that huge hole every day and check hikers for dehydration. They all carry around Emergen C packets and hand them out like candy.

I would also recommend everyone listen to this Huberman Lab podcast:

Dr. Craig Heller: Using Temperature for Performance, Brain & Body Health

In this episode, Dr. Huberman is joined by Dr. Craig Heller, Professor of Biology at Stanford and a world expert on the science of temperature regulation.

hubermanlab.com

The TLDR: Cooling the palms of hands, soles of feet and upper face is the best way to reduce body heat. Also, the typical ways people use to cool off (ie head, neck) can have the OPPOSITE effect. They compare it to cooling down your thermostat in a house. The thermostat actually increases the heat because it registers that the entire house is cold.