The Benefits Of Water During Exercise
Do you practice good hydration?
Like, do you drink water before and during every workout?
Oh, you don’t?!?!
Ha, no wonder your performance level is as bad as it is!
Not drinking water explains a lot about you and your struggling in the gym.
See, water has a lot of vital functions in the body, such as transporting oxygen and nutrients to the cells and flushing waste products, for example. Now, your body is constantly losing fluid through breathing, sweating, and urinating. If that lost fluid isn’t replaced prior to or during exercise, an activity that increases the body’s water demand, then you become dehydrated. And if you become dehydrated while exercising, then the body doesn’t have access to as much oxygen, sodium, potassium, and other nutrients it needs nor can it adequately remove urea, salts, and nitrogen from the breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids. The deficiency and excess of those respective things all hinder the body’s ability to operate at peak performance, which is borne out with the experiencing of muscle cramps, slow reaction times, and the quick onset of fatigue, among other things.
So yeah, drink water before and during your workout.
Oh, and while nothing has been said of it here, be sure to drink it after, too!
But how much?, you ask.
The exact amount of water you should drink before, during, and after working out will vary from person to person and depends on a myriad of factors, such as the weather, amount and type of clothing you’re wearing, the kind of exercise you’re doing, and the level of intensity that’s performed. Be that as it may, there are general guidelines.
At least 2 hours prior to working out, you should drink 17-20 oz of water or about 6-7 oz half an hour before go time if you’re unable to hydrate earlier. Then every 10-20 minutes during the workout, you should consume 7-10 oz. Once you’re done working out, you should spend the next 2-6 hours drinking 16-24 oz for each pound lost from sweating.1That means weighing yourself naked before working out then weighing yourself naked after working out and drying yourself completely. Subtract your weight after the workout from your weight before and then deduct the amount of fluid that was consumed during the workout. Next, multiply that sum by 16-24 oz to find out how much water you need to drink to properly rehydrate.
NOTE: While you’re naked in the locker room, make sure to plop down on a bench without a towel underneath so your ass is in direct contact with the surface other people have to sit on and then strike up a conversation about mundane shit with every single person who has a locker nearby. People love that shit!
Lastly, water is the preferred beverage for hydration because it’s free, readily available, and contains no calories. But there are times when it’s not the best choice, such as when planning to perform exercise at a moderate or vigorous intensity for longer than 45 minutes. In that instance, a sports drink is better than plain water because the sugar content in the sports drink will help provide energy to sustain the activity and the electrolytes will help replenish lost salt while water would further dilute them. That said, sports drinks are often high in calories and loaded with sugar, so it’s best to only use them when necessary.2Sodium, magnesium, potassium, and chloride are examples of electrolytes, which are minerals that help the body absorb nutrients into cells. That’s just one of their functions. The primary role of electrolytes is to help the nerves transmit electrical signals that trigger the muscle contractions necessary for movement. Without the right balance of electrolytes, the performance of the body’s muscles, organs, and joints decreases.3Other options include making your own sports drink to get the benefit of the beverage without as much of the calories. One way is to add flavored electrolyte powders or tablets to water and another is to sprinkle salt into a liter of water along with sweetener or fruit to enhance the taste.
Glossary: calories, exercise, gym, intensity, muscle, work out, workout
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