Plan ahead with these three essentials that will fuel your workouts and ensure your survival in the summer heat.
• Energy on the go
Hectic afternoons can lead to subpar fast food lunches if you haven’t planned ahead. Pack a lunch that doesn’t need to be reheated if you’re going to be on the run, and if you’re trying to stick with lighter summer dishes, try a cold quinoa salad topped with last night’s grilled chicken.
Quinoa Salad With Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 2 limes, fresh squeezed
• 2-3 mint leaves, chopped
• 2 tbs. cilantro, chopped
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 garlic clove, minced
Directions
Rinse and cook quinoa as directed on package. Place cooked quinoa in a bowl, add remaining ingredients, and toss lightly to combine. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate. For a packed lunch, dice leftover grilled chicken breast and mix with the quinoa.
Nutrition Info: Calories 398; Fat 10g; Protein 42g; Carbs 35g
• Hydration Essentials
With as little as a 2 percent loss of body weight via sweat, your strength, endurance, and cognitive function will start to nosedive, while your perceived sense of exertion will be on the upswing.
For regular day-to-day hydration or for shorter, less intense workouts lasting less than 60 minutes, water is typically sufficient, but If training sessions are longer, intense, or in hot/humid conditions, you’ll want an electrolyte-based sports drink with 6-8 percent carbohydrate and electrolytes. 
This will provide you with quick-digesting carbs for energy and replace the electrolytes lost in sweat. Products like Gatorade Perform and Gatorade G Natural (for a cleaner ingredient list) are what you’re looking for, as they serve up 50-70 calories, 14-17g of carbs, 110-190mg sodium, and 10-30mg potassium per 8 ounces.
Drink Up
• Pre-Training: Consume 8-16 ounces of water 15-30 minutes before your workout.
• In-Training: Consume 5-12 ounces of water or sports drink every 15-20 minutes as tolerated.
• Post-Training: Consume 16-24 ounces of water or sports drink per pound body weight lost due to sweat.
When you don’t need the added carbs of the traditional electrolyte sports drinks for refueling, try low sugar/Stevia sweetened versions such as Gatorade G2 Natural, Ultima Replenisher, and VegaSport Electrolyte Hydrator.
• Sunscreen
A little sun is good for us, as we need Vitamin D, but extended exposure can be dangerous. Choosing the right sunscreen is important to ensure your protection. Here are a few things to avoid and look for before you lotion up.
• Avoid sunscreen in spray or towelette forms. These make it difficult to judge coverage and inhaling sunscreen mist is no beuno.
• Avoid sunscreen containing Oxybenzone or Retinyl Palmitate which have been shown to affect hormone levels and increase the chances of skin damage.
• Avoid sunscreen with super-high SPF (100+): The SPF (sun protection factor) on these products refers to protection against UVB rays that will burn your skin, but it has nothing to do with protection against the deeper penetrating, more dangerous UVA rays. For the best defense, choose a UVB/UVA balanced product with an SPF in the ranges of 30-50, and reapply as directed and often.
For balanced UVB/UVA protection in optimal SPF ranges, check out these FIGHT! approved brands.
• Aubrey Organics Natural Sun Sport Stick Sunscreen SPF 30+
• Aubrey Organics Natural Sun Sunscreen for Active Lifestyles, Tropical SPF 30+
• Badger Sport Sunscreen, Unscented SPF 35
• Badger All-Season Face Stick SPF 35
• Sunology Natural Sunscreen for Face SPF 50
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