The importance of hydration for good health and properly functioning body systems cannot be overstated. As the warmer months approach and outdoor activities increase, special attention needs to be given to proper hydration and to the prevention of heat illnesses for all, but especially for young athletes.

Because the body cannot store water, we must constantly provide and supply it with water to maintain our body’s many functioning systems. While water contains zero calories, it is considered a nutrient, comprising 55-70% of our body’s composition.

Acting as a cooling agent for our body, water is also essential for all major bodily functions, to include: 

• Maintaining the health and integrity of every cell in the body
• Aiding in blood circulation
• Carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells
• Helping to eliminate the byproducts of the body’s metabolism
• Regulating body temperature through sweating
• Moisturizing the skin
• Moistening mucous membranes
• Lubricating and cushioning joints
• Aiding in digestion
• Helping convert food to energy
• Helping the body absorb nutrients
• Protecting and cushioning vital organs
• Removing waste

Contrary to popular belief, simply drinking water when you are thirsty is not good advice when it comes to properly hydrating the body. When the thirst mechanism activates, it is usually a sign the body is already under hydrated (and possibly headed toward dehydration). At this point, the body has to catch up to function properly. 

How Much Water Is Enough?So, how much water should young athletes drink? The answer is - it depends. Water intake is based on several variables, and even within that set, will vary according to the needs of the individual. General considerations of hydration might be based on the length of the activity, environmental conditions such as heat and humidity, the length and intensity of the practice or game, and additional gear the athlete may be wearing, such as football or hockey gear. 

While considering some of the environmental factors of hydration, consideration must be given to the individual needs of the athlete, such as the weight and age of the athlete, the intensity level at which the athlete trains or plays, the current physical conditioning of the athlete, and the current hydration level of the athlete. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)recommends drinking four to eight ounces of water every fifteen to twenty minutes of exercise as a good starting point for hydrating athletes. 


The ACSM provides the following guidelines for the maintenance of optimal hydration: 

• Before Exercise: 16-20 ounces within the two-hour period prior to exercise.
• During Exercise: 4-8 ounces every 15-20 minutes during exercise.
• Post Exercise: Replace 24 ounces for every one pound of body weight lost during exercise.

Jeanne Goodes Coach Family and Kids, Baseball, Strength and Conditioning

Grip strength has been an integral part of conditioning for baseball for decades. Why? Because years of practical experience and scientific research indicate that grip strength can have a significant effect on offensive performance in professional baseball players. In a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (1), 343 professional baseball players in the Texas Rangers organization were tested over the course of two separate seasons. Players represented all levels within the Rangers organization. Ninety Rookie Ball players, 84 A-ball players, 50 AA players; 52 AAA players and 62 Major League players were tested for grip strength, power, speed and agility. Regression equations were developed to determine the relationship between each of these tests and performance as measured by home runs, total bases, slugging percentage and stolen bases. While the results indicated that the best predictors of over-all performance were power, speed and agility, grip strength was significantly related to home runs, total bases and slugging percentage. It is also interesting to note that the players that had the most lean body mass, greatest power, fastest speed and best agility, also had the most grip strength.
Training for grip strength should be similar to that for other forms of strength. Baseline values should be obtained and training should follow a periodization model in which exercises, volume and intensity are varied throughout the season. Assessments of grip strength should be performed at regular intervals to determine progress, evaluate program effectiveness and monitor compliance.
Most “authorities” on grip strength say that there are two basic types of grip strength:

• Pinching strength. This type of strength is developed by squeezing something such as a weight plate between the thumb and fingers. Although you will see players performing pinch strength exercises in most weight rooms, pinching strength has little practical application to the sport of baseball other than increasing thumb and finger strength.

• Crushing (gripping) strength. This type of strength is often developed with “traditional” wrist and forearm exercises, such as squeezing a rubber ball, compressing a hand gripper and/or working on wrist rollers. With this type of strength, the palm remains stationary while the fingers move toward it in a gripping movement. Crushing strength has direct application to baseball. It is used on offense when you grip a bat handle and on defense when you apply pressure (grip) to the ball.

So how do you develop crushing grip strength in baseball? While there are numerous effective exercises, most exercises can be divided into one of the three basic groups; traditional, support and suspension exercises.

• Traditional exercises. These tend to be isolation exercises in which movement occurs at only one joint; either the wrist or fingers. Isolation exercises are effective for improving wrist, and forearm strength, but they work only about two percent of the total muscle mass of the body and have little transfer effect to other areas of the body. The most popular exercises in the wrist/forearm group are wrist curls, extensions, abductions, adductions, supinations, pronations and wrist rollers. Those that involve primarily the muscles of the hand and fingers include hand grip devices, rubber ball and putty squeezes and rice bucket exercises.

• Support exercises. The exercises in this group develop “support” grip by requiring players to use their hands and fingers to hold and move DBs, kettlebells and weights while executing traditional resistance training exercises. Examples of “support” grip exercises include kettlebell swings, vertical pulls (lat pulls and pull-ups), horizontal rows (seated rows, DB rows, cable rows and incline rows), DB squats and lunges, RDLs, deadlifts, power clean, DB bench and incline, rope curls and presses and thick grip barbell and DB curls and presses. Support grip strength tends to have more carry-over value because it is developed in conjunction with strength in other areas of the body, not in isolation. When you swing and throw, the wrists and hands are the last link in the kinetic chain to move. Training them to function as part of the kinetic chain should enhance performance more than training them to move independently of the rest of the body.

• Suspension exercises. You will need a towel and resistance (body weight, DB, KB, weight plate or barbell) for the exercises in this group. There are several effective suspension exercise options, but for maximum effectiveness you must grip the towel as hard as you can throughout each exercise. Typically towel (suspension) training is used with pulling movements for the upper and lower body. Using a towel has an improved carry over value because it allows you to improve grip and pulling strength at the same time. Effective towel suspension exercises include farmers’ carries with a KB, incline rows, pull-ups, grip hangs, one-arm KB rows, T-bar or landmine rows, KB RDL, KB deadlift and KB swings.

Increasing grip strength will improve your ability to handle heavy objects, enhance the quality of training, help prevent injury, and improve performance.
References

1. Hoffman, Jay R., et. al., Anthropometric and performance comparisons in professional baseball players. J. Strength and Cond. Res. 23(8): 2173-2178, 2009.
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Jose Vazquez, PT, CSCS is Head Strength Coach, Texas Rangers.

Harvard Health Blog » Grip strength may provide clues to heart health - Harvard Health Blog
​Grip strength may provide clues to heart health!

POSTED MAY 19, 2015, 12:11 PM , UPDATED SEPTEMBER 08, 2016, 5:16 PM
Howard LeWine, M.D., Chief Medical Editor, Internet Publishing, Harvard Health PublicationsA strong or weak hand grip carries more than just social cues. It may also help measure an individual’s risk for having a heart attack or stroke, or dying from cardiovascular disease.
As part of the international Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, researchers measured grip strength in nearly 140,000 adults in 17 countries and followed their health for an average of four years. A device called a dynamometer was used to assess grip strength.
Each 11-pound decrease in grip strength over the course of the study was linked to a 16% higher risk of dying from any cause, a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, a 9% higher risk of stroke, and a 7% higher risk of heart attack.
The connections between grip strength and death or cardiovascular disease remained strong even after the researchers adjusted for other things that can contribute to heart disease or death, such as age, smoking, exercise, and other factors. The findings were published online in The Lancet. Interestingly, grip strength was a better predictor of death or cardiovascular disease than blood pressure.
“Grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual’s risk of death and cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Dr. Darryl Leong, from the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University in Canada, in a news release.
Is grip strength a measure of biological age?The findings from the PURE study aren’t new. Previous research has also linked grip strength with future disability, death, and the onset of cardiovascular disease in adults. But this is the largest study to have made the connection. The fact that grip strength was a relevant measure across high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries lends credence to the findings.
An individual’s age in years (chronological age) can be quite different from his or her biological age. Although there’s no exact definition for biological age, it generally indicates whether the body is functioning better or worse than its chronological age.
Many things influence biological age. Key factors include overall physical fitness, the presence or absence of certain medical conditions, and muscle strength.
The PURE study suggests that simply measuring one’s hand grip strength could be a good way to assess biological age. In an editorial accompanying the PURE results, Avan Aihie Sayer and Thomas Kirkwood of the University of Southampton and Newcastle University, both in the United Kingdom, suggest that “grip strength might act as a biomarker of ageing across the life course.”
One intriguing finding was that a weaker hand grip wasn’t associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, or other chronic conditions. So why would it be linked with a greater risk of dying? The researchers suggest that weaker muscle strength makes it more likely that a person will die sooner if he or she develops a chronic medical problem, compared with those who have more muscle strength. In other words, muscle strength could be good for survival.
Strong muscles need work, nutrients, restTo build muscle strength, do resistance training two or three times per week. Give your muscles one or two days off in between workouts.
Most people turn to dumbbells and weight machines to build muscles. Resistance bands work just as well. They are flat or tubular rubber bands that provide resistance as you move your arms and legs through different ranges of motion.
You don’t have to limit muscle building to workouts. Take advantage of daily activities to challenge your muscles. For example:

• Lift a carton of milk a few times before you put it back in the refrigerator to build your arm muscles.
• Take the stairs whenever possible. This will build the muscles in your legs, hips, buttocks, and abdomen.
• Get active while talking on the phone or standing in line by doing leg lifts and heel raises. This will help strengthen the muscles in your legs and buttocks.

It’s also important to get enough sleep. Sleep is critical for muscle recovery and proper healing of stressed tissues. Aim for seven to eight hours per night. That will give your body time to repair muscle tissue and replenish your muscle’s energy stores.
Finally, your muscles need healthy nutrients to get stronger. You don’t need protein supplements or lots of meat. Beans, nuts, and fish can provide plenty of healthy protein. Get your carbs from whole grains and foods made from them. And eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.