A few posts ago I discussed what snacks would be good before and after working out. I said that water could possibly be the most important part of snacking before and after working out. A great friend of mine Scott Olson runs a fitness blog and complete with Workout videos, fitness tips, exercises of the week, fitness products, and other great ideas. He is one of the best trainers I have ever worked with and I have learned so much from him and his site Train2move.com. One of the weekly posts is by another great trainer Loren Sheets. He is in charge of the “Fitness Tip Of the Week”. A few weeks ago he did a good post that fits in with what I just discussed a few days ago, drinking water and working out. Thank You to Train2move and Loren Sheets for the following information:
How much water (or liquids) should you drink when you are working out? Many studies have been done to determine how much, what kind, and how often people should drink during their workouts. But there are many answers to these questions, and many variables come in to play. The answer may vary by the type of exercise, the temperature, and each individual person. So what is the best rule for hydration that we should follow?
The easiest way to answer this to think about our bodies and how they respond to fluid loss. When participating in vigorous exercise, our bodies sweat as a means of cooling our body temperature. Sweat is composed mostly of water, about 99 percent, and contains other chemicals and minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and several others. Also, water escapes your body when you exhale. More water will be lost this way while exercising than when resting.
So with these things in mind, what kind of drinks should we bring with us to the gym or perhaps on a run, if you can carry a bottle or take short breaks? You can never go wrong with water, but I would even suggest buying those enhanced waters that contain sodium and vitamins, such as vitamin water or propel. Avoid things like gatorade if you can, simply because of the high amounts of sugar. They tend to leave a film in your mouth that creates and even greater desire for water.
When answering the question of how much to drink, I would trust our natural instincts on that one. Listening to your body will probably be the best guidelines here, simply because thirst is an instinctive response that our bodies produce in order to balance our fluid content. So, drink before you feel thirsty. If you get to the point of thirst it can be too late. Make sure on a day you are going to workout that you are keeping yourself hydrated prior to your workout, not just during. Another good rule that I learned is the color of your urine. If it is clear, it is an indicator that you were well hydrated. I recommend Using these simpler approaches, since there are too many other factors involved to really put a number to it that will work for everyone.
When I go workout, I typically have a bottle of water close by and take a quick drink every couple minutes, whenever I feel like it. This usually adds up to maybe one, sometimes two full bottles of water, depending on what and how long the workout is, and how hot it is. Try keeping a vitamin water with you this week when you work out, and let your body tell you when its thristy.
Here is a goal for this week, try to drink a minimum of 80 ounces each day. Spread it out so get a water bottle, many are 16 ounces, and drink 5 of them. This has some great benefits to it that go beyond just hydration as well. Here is an
article we posted about other benefits of water from Jack Medina.
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