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Hydration & Heat

4 questions answered about hydration & heat for people who work with their hands.

Working in extreme heat isn't just uncomfortable—it's dangerous. Roofers on black shingles in July. Concrete crews in direct sun. The dehydration and heat exhaustion that tradesmen face is different from athletic dehydration because you can't just stop when you need to.

The Problem

By mid-July, most outdoor tradesmen are chronically dehydrated. They drink water but skip electrolytes, or they rely on sports drinks that dump sugar into an already stressed system. The result: afternoon crashes, muscle cramps, and heat-related incidents that could've been prevented.

What You'll Learn

How much fluid you actually need in extreme heat, why water alone isn't enough, the difference between sports drinks and electrolyte powders, early warning signs of heat exhaustion, and how to prep your body before the hot season hits.

I watched a roofer named Miguel go down in Fort Worth last July. 102 degrees on the ground. God knows what it was on those black shingles. He'd been drinking water all morning. Thought he was doing everything right. He wasn't. Here's what nobody tells you about hydration in extreme heat. ## The math of sweat Miguel was sweating about two liters per hour. That's what happens when you're working on a surface that hits 160 degrees. He was drinking about one liter per hour. Seemed like a lot. I...

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Derek was pouring a foundation in Mesa. 108 degrees. Thought he felt fine. Then his foreman noticed he'd stopped talking. Just stood there, trowel in hand, staring at the concrete. "Hey. Derek." Nothing. They got him to shade. Got water in him. He came back around. Didn't remember the last hour. That's how fast it happens. ## The progression nobody talks about Dehydration isn't binary. You're not fine and then suddenly not fine. It's a gradient, and the early signs are easy to miss if you...

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Tommy used to drink three Gatorades a day on the job. Thought he was doing it right. Then a nutritionist friend asked him a question: "Do you know how much sugar is in that?" Twenty-one grams per bottle. Three bottles. That's sixty-three grams of sugar. While working in 95-degree heat. He was hydrating and giving himself metabolic whiplash at the same time. ## The problem with sports drinks Gatorade, Powerade, and similar sports drinks were designed for athletes. Specifically, athletes doin...

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An ironworker named Antoine taught me more about heat than any medical textbook. We were on a site in Houston. 97 degrees, 85% humidity. The kind of heat where the air feels like soup. Antoine had been working in it for 20 years. Never had heat exhaustion. I asked him his secret. "Ain't no secret," he said. "Just three rules." ## Rule one: Acclimatization is everything Your body can adapt to heat. But it takes time. When the temperature spikes—first hot week of summer, or you're coming bac...

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