Good hydration is about more than just “drink lots of water”, and in fact it’s quite possible for a person to drink too much water, and at the same time, be dehydrated. Here’s how and why and what to do about it:

Water, water, everywhere

Factors that people forget:

• Electrolyte balance: without it, we can technically have lots of water while either retaining it (in the case of too high salt levels) or peeing it out (in the case of too low salt levels), neither of which are as helpful as getting it right and actually being able to use the water.
• Gastrointestinal health: conditions like IBS, Crohn’s, or celiac disease can impair water and nutrient absorption, affecting hydration
• Genetic factors: some people simply have a predisposition to need more or less water for proper hydration
• Dietary factors: high salt, caffeine, and alcohol intake (amongst other diuretics) can increase water loss, while water-rich foods (assuming they aren’t also diuretics) increase hydration.

Strategies to do better:

• Drink small amounts of water consistently throughout the day rather than large quantities at once—healthy kidneys can process about 1 liter (about 1 quart) of water per hour, so drinking more than that will not help, no matter how dehydrated you are when you start. If your kidneys aren’t in peak health, the amount processable per hour will be lower for you.
• Increase fiber intake (e.g., fruit and vegetables) to retain water in the intestines and improve hydration
• Consume water-rich foods (e.g., watermelon, cucumbers, grapes) to enhance overall hydration and support cellular function (the body can use this a lot more efficiently than if you just drink water).
• Counteract the diuretic effects of caffeine and alcohol by drinking an additional 12 oz of water for every 8 oz of these beverages. Best yet, don’t drink alcohol and keep caffeine to a low level (or quit entirely, if you prefer, but for most people that’s not necessary).
• If you are sweating (be it because of weather, exercise, or any other reasons), include electrolyte fluids to improve cellular hydration, as they contain essential minerals like magnesium, potassium, and in moderation yes even sodium which you will have lost in your sweat too, supporting fluid regulation.

For more details on all of these, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Water’s Counterintuitive Properties
• Hydration Mythbusting
• When To Take Electrolytes (And When We Shouldn’t!)
• Keeping Your Kidneys Healthy (Especially After 60)

Take care!

Pull-ups are a great compound exercise that works most of the upper body. However, it can be frustrating for many, if unable to do more than dangle and struggle while not going anywhere. That’s not actually bad, by the way! Of course it’s not great athletic performance, but in terms of exercise, “dangling and struggling while not going anywhere” is an isometric exercise that has plenty of benefits of its own. However, for those who would rather go up in the world, personal trainer Meg Gallagher shows the way:

The Only Way Is Up?

Gallagher offers a few methods; the first is simply an improvement on the “dangling and struggling while not going anywhere” method, but doing it with good form. It’s called the…

Hollow body hold:

• Hang from the bar with legs and feet together.
• Maintain a posterior pelvic tilt (i.e. don’t let your hips roll forwards, and don’t let your butt stick out more than is necessary by mere virtue of having a butt)
• Engage your core by shortening the space between your ribs and pelvis.
• Turn on your abs and lats, with your head slightly behind the bar.
• Practice the hollow body hang instead of dead hangs to build grip and core strength.

Another method is now moving on from the hollow body hold, and shows that in fact, up is not the only way. It’s called…

Negative pull-ups:

• Jump up to get your chin over the bar, then slowly lower yourself in a controlled manner.
• Prioritize negative pull-ups over other exercises to build strength.
• You can use modifications like resistance bands or feet assistance if necessary to extend the duration of your negative pull-up, but these are “crutches”, so try to move on from them as soon as you reasonably can—same if your gym has an “assisted pull-up” machine, consisting of a moving platform with a variable counterweight, mimicking how a pull-up would feel if your body were lighter.
• Practice resisting throughout the entire range of motion.

To give a sense of direction, Gallagher offers the following program:

• On day 1, test how long you can resist the negative pull-up (e.g., 10 seconds).
• For each session, multiply your time by 2 (e.g., 10 seconds × 2 = 20 seconds total).
• Break the total volume into as many sets as needed (e.g., 2 sets of 10 seconds or 4 sets of 5 seconds).
• After each session, add 2 seconds to the total volume for the next session.
• Aim for 3 sessions per week for 3–4 weeks, increasing by 2 seconds each session.
• When you reach about 25 seconds, you should be close to performing your first pull-up.

For more on all of this, plus a few other things to try, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Resistance Is Useful! (Especially As We Get Older)
• Resistance Beyond Weights

Take care!