Drinking while exercising can a difficult undertaking. No, I’m not talking about kicking back a rum & coke while you’re on the treadmill.

Trying to get a drink of water in while walking on the treadmill with your heart rate elevated is a bit like playing a game of Frogger. Imagine that the opportunities to take a drink between breaths come as often as the gaps between cars on this busy avenue—few and far between. After going from a wide-mouth bottle to a small-mouth and spewing water all over the treadmill, not once but twice, this is what I’ve come up with.

Puff out your cheeks. You can still breathe through your nose. Now try this with a mouthful of water. Hold the water in your mouth but continue to breathe through your nose. Now, breathe in, hold it, swallow the water, breathe out, and continue.

It may sound simple, but it took me a while to get this down. It makes the difference between taking birdie drinks of water and actually getting enough to feel sated for the next quarter mile. Give it a try!