Hydration Is Key

Staying hydrated is extremely important for your body.  
Your body is made up of 60% water. 
Water helps to regulate body temperature, transport nutrients and waste throughout the body, and it acts as a lubricant for the joints.

For exercise it is important to make sure you are hydrated before the workout, during, and after.  When exercising, your body loses water through sweating, and should be replenished after.  

How Much Water Should I Drink?                                        

We are told that we should always drink about 6-8 glasses of water a day.

• A person should drink between .5oz - 1oz of water per pound in body weight throughout the day.  For example, for somebody who weighs 135lbs, they should drink between 67.5oz - 135oz per day to stay hydrated. 
• Before exercise you want to drink about 15-20oz of water 2-3 hours before the workout, and 8-10oz of water 10-15 minutes before the workout.
  
• During exercise, you can add water breaks every 10-15 minutes.  (If the workout is longer than 90 minutes, you should drink 8-10 oz every 15-30 minutes.)

• After Exercise you want to drink the amount of water that has been lost. For example, if a person is 135lbs before exercising, and is now 130lbs post workout, that individual should hydrate by drinking 2.5oz - 5oz of water. 

Hydration And Exercise Performance                          

Dehydration can occur for a couple of reasons:

• Inadequate fluid intake
• Excessive Sweating 
• Failure to replace fluids lost during and after exercise
• Exercising in dry, hot weather
• Drinking only when thirsty (Feeling Thirsty is a sign of dehydration.)

Dehydration can decrease exercise performance and can lead to:

• Muscle cramps
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Heat Illnesses (Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke)

Can You Drink Too Much Water?                                            

Absolutely, it is a very rare thing to happen but  too much water can be toxic to the body. It has been seen in marathon runners and military recruits.  It can occur with somebody who is not as active and drinks too much water.  

Water intoxication, also known as Hyponatremia is when you drink an excessive amount of water which causes the sodium levels in the blood to drop.  This can be fatal.

I Don’t Like The Taste Of Water, What Should I Do?                                                                                                                           

You can get some of your daily water intake from your daily fruits and vegetables.  These types of food are usually made up of water and when we eat them, we can add that to our water count for the day.

Spice up your glass!
Add some flavor to your water by adding local fruits.  Put some strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, and lemons into your water.  This will help add flavor to your bland drink while keeping it healthy.