Dai Master Rafael Nieto, founder and owner of Xen-Do Martial Arts, focuses on his motto: “Keep It Simple”. Don’t be fooled by this statement, as anyone who has trained here at Xen-Do knows that “simple” surely does not mean easy. One simple thing that IS easy to do is to stay hydrated. The secret to getting better at everything from training to working to sleeping is simple: drink more water!

Water is essential to human life (meaning your life at Xen-Do too), it’s that simple. As summer is quickly approaching we want to stress the importance of staying hydrated. There are many perks of having a glass of water:

– Without water running through your body your mental awareness suffers. Over 70% of your body is composed of water, therefore dehydration affects every bodily function. Lack of water to the brain can cause problems with focus, memory, fogginess, headaches, temper issues, depression and much more. If drinking water helps you be more aware, happy and ready for anything, why wouldn’t you drink up!?

– Drinking water before and after you work out (especially with the amount you sweat during a kickboxing class) will help prepare and recover your body. Water helps alleviate muscle cramping post training sessions and replenished the fluids you lost during training to prepare you for the next one.

– Trying to lose a few pounds before the beach season begins? One quick and easy way to do that is to drink more water! Your bodies can often misconstrue dehydration as hunger, resulting in overeating. To stop the food cravings, try to drink a cup of cold water before you snack. If you are still hungry after you drink water then you are truly hungry!

Not a fan of water? Try adding fruits or vegetables to spice it up! Lemon, lime, cucumber, mint and berries are great additions to a glass of water.

Drink up,

Ouss!