DITCH DEHYDRATION

Don't forget that food isn't the sole key to unlocking your power; water is just as important. When you are perspiring heavily during exercise and your body loses large amounts of water, it's easy to become overheated and not be able to perform to your full potential. In hot or humid weather, heat exhaustion can become a real hazard if you're not staying properly hydrated while you're exercising.

The best way to keep hydrated is to drink before, during, and after exercise (or a game or event). The amounts you should drink are as follows:

• 1 to 2 hours before exercising: 12 to 16 ounces of cold water (about 2 cups or 1/2 liter)
• 10 to 15 minutes before exercising: 12 to 16 ounces of cold water (about 2 cups or 1/2 liter)
• While exercising: 3 to 4 ounces of cold water every 15 minutes (about 1/2 cup or 1/10 liter)
• After exercising: 2 cups (about 1/2 liter) of cold water for every pound of weight loss through sweat (this means about 1 to 2 cups, or 1/4 to 1/2 liter, for most teens; if it's a hot day you may feel thirsty enough to drink even more)

The main thing to remember about staying hydrated is to drink regardless of whether you feel thirsty. Thirst is a sign that your body has needed liquids for a while. And when deciding what to grab to quench your thirst, the best drink is cold water - it's the simplest thing for your body to absorb, it's usually easy to find, and it's free! If you like sports drinks, they are also OK, but like sports foods and supplements, they're not necessary for you to get what your body needs. They also tend to be pretty expensive. But if you like the taste and tend to drink more of a sports drink than you would of regular water, then it's fine.

If you want to drink water but want a tiny bit of taste, try mixing a splash of juice or a sports drink with the water in a water bottle. But be sure to avoid straight juice or soda because these contain carbohydrates that could give you a stomachache while you're competing. Also, the caffeine that's in many sodas can actually dehydrate you more, which defeats the purpose of drinking in the first place.

Edible Energy

When game day finally rolls around, most of your body's energy will come from the foods you've eaten in the last week, but you can enhance your performance even more by paying attention to the food you eat that day. Foods that are ideal for top performance contain carbohydrates for energy, a small to medium amount of protein, and very little fat.

• Foods to eat 1 to 3 hours before the game or event: fruit or vegetable juice or fruit (especially plums, melons, cherries, and peaches) with bread, a bagel, or an English muffin. (But if you like cream cheese or butter, now is a good time to skip it; the fat in these products could make you feel sick while you're competing.)
• Foods to eat 3 or more hours before the game or event: same as above, plus peanut butter, lean meat, low-fat cheese or yogurt, a baked potato, cereal with low-fat milk, or pasta with tomato sauce.

It's a good practice to avoid eating anything for the hour before you compete, because digestion requires energy - energy that you want to use to win! Also, eating too soon before certain types of events can cause food to slosh around in your stomach, which can leave you feeling sick and nauseated. It's also best to avoid candy bars or sodas before your event; these types of foods will give you quick energy, but it won't last long enough to see you through your event.