Between breathing, sweating and using the restroom, your body loses water every day. Proper hydration is critical to maintaining normal functionality and peak athletic performance. Water content can come from both beverages and foods, however, without the proper consumption of liquids, your body can begin to shut down through dehydration resulting in fatigue, reduced coordination, light-headedness, cramping and in more severe cases, potentially life-threatening conditions like heat stroke.
Dehydration Decreases Performance
The golden rule has typically been to drink eight glasses (or 64 ounces) of water in a day. However, when it comes to exercising, your body’s demand for fluids increases. Recent studies have shown that at least half the population is dehydrated at all times. Most often, individuals suffer from dehydration because of inadequate fluid intake, excessive sweating, failure to replace fluid losses during and after exercise and exercising in dry, hot weather. Staying properly hydrated can lead to better decision-making skills and concentration, elevated moods and improved coordination. Just imagine what that could mean when it comes to affecting your workout and performance.
Hydration and Exercise
Staying hydrated before, during and after working out is essential to comfort, performance, endurance and safety. Although individuals vary depending on workout routine and personal body needs, a good fluid guideline to follow includes:
- Before Exercise: 2-3 hours before exercising, drink about 15-20 fluid ounces of water. 15-30 minutes before exercising, drink 8-10 fluid ounces of water. Before starting your exercise, weigh yourself so that you know how much water you end up losing during your routine.
- During Exercise: Every 10-15 minutes during exercise, drink about 15-20 fluid ounces of water.
- After Exercise: First, weigh yourself again to see know how many pounds of fluids lost. For every 1 pound lost, drink 20-24 fluid ounces of water.
Final Considerations
The amount of water required to stay properly hydrated can be dictated by certain health conditions such as kidney stones or bladder infection. Furthermore, you may also need to increase the amount of liquid consumption based on exercising inside or outside and during hotter months versus cooler weather. Most importantly, get the most out of your workout routine by keeping yourself properly hydrated.
Contact Ace Platinum Fitness today and take the first step toward achieving your fitness and health goals.
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