On 9/2/04, Seth Dillingham <
seth@macrobyte.net> wrote:
>does that mean that keeping
>myself fully hydrated is an important part of this metabolic process?
In a different situation, I know this is true... with this idea in mind, I had successful experiments with deciding to drink water when I was feeling hungry and low on energy -- my body was whining that it needed food, but I figured that giving it only water would help it use more of its reserves. This worked out as well as I hoped; I trimmed up a bit and felt more energetic, and as a bonus I spent less money on food. This reminds me, I should get into that pattern again...
But you're not so interested in what happens at 3pm when you've been sitting in front of code all day. In the middle of your ride, I think the same basic principle is true though -- dehydration will inhibit your metabolism. You'll have some interesting logistic constraints, I expect... for instance, in the course of heavy exertion, you can only drink so much before you start to feel sick. And you can only carry so much water on your back.
But yeah, maintaining full hydration is a good area of focus. And good breathing patterns, too, since these metabolic pathways are aerobic.
I'll dig out my textbooks one of these days...
-Brian
