With summer here, I wanted to provide you some hydration tips for safety and to help you perform at your highest level.
How much water should you be drinking and why is drinking plenty of water daily so important? We should be drinking approximately half of our body weight in ounces. An example if you weigh 200lbs you should be drinking 100 ounces of water daily however this is the minimum I like to tell my clients shoot for 1 gallon of water a day. If you are not peeing crystal clear you are not drinking enough. This will fluctuate depending on the activity level or the individual. Most of us have experienced it at some point while working out-fatigue sets in, your mouth feels dry and your legs feel like lead. These are common signs of dehydration.
Did you know?
- Dehydration makes your workout feel harder
- As little as 2% dehydration can cause a drop in endurance
- Exercisers who drink fluid may go 33% longer in training than exercisers who don’t drink anything at all.
- By the time active people become thirsty they are already dehydrated.
TIP: If you are participating in an activity where you are sweating profusely then you might consider mixing a fruit juice in your water, tea (studies have shown tea is great for hydration) or incorporating a sports drink (Gatorade, Propel, Etc) in your daily fluid schedule. This will allow your body not only to get water but also some simple sugars and electrolytes which you are losing due to excessive sweating.
Post By: Rick Saggese, XFS, CSAC