Workout has become an essential part of everyone‘s lives. Just as the workout is important in the same way, no matter in which physical activity you took part, that is whether you are participating in a one-hour HIIT class or full-blown marathon, it’s essential to stay hydrated throughout the workout.
Staying hydrated is an important aspect of your daily routine, especially if you’re working out at the gym and sweating off a lot of the water you’ve saved.
If you do not keep yourself hydrated, your ability to perform in a workout class or jog around the neighborhood can reduce quickly.
In fact, that thirsty feeling you start to get in the middle of doing a workout can mean you are already dehydrated. Oh, God! Let me tell you that water comprises 75 percent of all muscle tissue and 10 percent of fatty tissue in our body.
So even the smallest hint of dehydration can have a huge impact on your performance and your day to daily activities.
It is important that you prepare yourself well during workout times by drinking the recommended amount of water as per your need and fueling your muscles after with another glass or two.
Drinking water during workouts is essential for everyone from high athletes to fitness newbies. Earlier it was believed that simply if you drink plenty of water after a long workout that was good enough to prevent dehydration.
However, now numerous studies conducted in the last decade proved that consuming water both during and after a workout is a much healthier option.
Why is it important to drink water during the workout? Let me tell you that drinking water is more than simply a reason to take a break during your workout. Water is an often yet important requirement for athletes.
To stay healthy and avoid the hazardous effects of dehydration, you’ll need to balance the water your body loses via sweating with fresh water.
Understanding the value of water during exercise allows you to cherish water breaks even more than previously. Let us now know what are the benefits of drinking water during a workout by reading this article further.
Benefits of Drinking Water During Workout
1. Your body sweats to cool itself down when you perform the workout, which obviously means that you lose water during exercise.
The human body can lose several liters of water even in one hour during exercise, so you will have two options, either you should replace that water which you lost in form of sweat by drinking more water or face the effects of dehydration which can sometimes even be life-threatening.
Of course, water is not the only nutrient that is lost during the workout. Some of the essential minerals like, sodium and magnesium are present in sweat. So if you sweat in excess, it might cause loss of these essential minerals.
2. You might think that skipping water intake is not a big deal, but guys it’s not so! When you take less water that can cause dehydration.
Now, what is dehydration? It is basically a condition in which your body lacks water. The symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dark color of urine, and decreased urine production.
The best indicator of dehydration can be your urine’s color. If the color of your urine is clear it means your body is hydrated on the other hand dark urine and infrequent urination indicate that you have dehydration.
However, it is essential to note that, particularly in older adults, dehydration can even occur without thirst. This is why it is important to drink more water when you are sick or during hot weather.
Some of the other symptoms include dry mouth, lethargy, weakness in muscle, headache, dizziness. If you have Severe dehydration which means there is loss of 10-15 percent of the body’s water then that can be categorized by some of the symptoms like lack of sweating, sunken eyes, shriveled and dry skin, hypotension, increased heart rate, fever and sometimes even unconsciousness. So, drink during workouts and keep yourself hydrated.
3. Another reason why drinking water during workout is important is that It is estimated that In one hour of exercise the body can lose more than a quarter of its water.
Not only this, lack of water can even lead to muscle fatigue and loss of coordination. If there is not an adequate supply of water the body will lack energy .
According to one of the study, the muscles that are Lean their tissue contains more than 75 percent water, so when the body lacks water, muscles are more easily fatigued and you become restless.
If you Stay hydrated it will help in preventing the decline in performance, strength, power, aerobic and anaerobic capacity during exercise.
On average a person loses 27 to 47 fluid ounces of sweat per hour while doing the workout. Overall, one glass of water contains around 8 ounces, implying that the average individual sweats nearly 3-6 glasses during a one-hour activity.
Many studies have shown that the amount of sweat we produce can differ greatly depending on the age and sex of the person. it also depends on the intensity of the workout and the range of temperature during the workout.
If the temperature is high then the Maximal sweating capacity can rise to as much as 100 fluid ounces an hour which is almost (equivalent to 12 glasses).
Due to the mechanism of cooling of our body, we do not realize how much water we have lost. So whenever you feel thirsty grab a water bottle and drink it.
Some more benefits of drinking water during workout are:
1. Water helps in Energizing Your body
let me explain how? Muscles just like other organs and things in the body, muscles require a certain balance in order to function at their optimal levels.
It does not matter Whether you’re drinking water before you hit the gym or before to an important race, without enough water, your muscles do not get the essential electrolytes that you need to maintain balance. lack of those electrolytes results in weakening strength and control.
2. Water also Lubricates the Joints.
Water is a fundamental nutrient in the synovial fluid’s composition. it helps in lubricating your joints and allows for ease of movement.
If you do not drink enough water, even for a short time, less fluid is available to protect your joints, this can be detrimental with the added stress from weight lifting.
Drinking water during workouts provides that protective fluid that will help you to increase the efficiency of your performance and give longer life to your joints.
3. Water Helps You Tolerate More Pain
If you drink an adequate amount of water it can help in increasing your tolerance to pain. When you are in a dehydrated state which means that you are drinking under your recommended daily dose of water, sensitivity to pain is radically higher.
If you want to keep your workouts longer without much pain, and more intense to build better muscles, up your water intake will surely benefit you.
4. Water also helps in Speeding Up Your Recovery Time
Sometimes due to excess workouts, you have swelling in muscles. Sore muscles are one of the biggest inhibitors of consistent strength building and can be tough to work through.
Water deficiency might make the recuperation process even more difficult. Drinking water is beneficial in speeding up that recovery time and lessening the feelings of soreness by removing toxins and unwanted substances from your body and keeping your muscles in proper working order.
5. Water also speeds up our metabolic rate
There are many people who complain of headaches, feeling tired, poor performance in the gym. All this occurs because many times they don’t drink anywhere near enough water.
It’s funny that many people turn up to the gym without a water bottle. Let me tell you that we are made of up to 70 to 75% water! Therefore, it’s hugely important and essential to stay hydrated so our bodies can function properly.
Water is essential for sustaining excellent health and a great performance in the gym or anyplace else you train. We lose water not only while peeing but even faster when it’s hot or we are physically active so we need to replenish to stay hydrated.
Though Our bodies have different ways of telling us when it is dehydrated we should not be waiting for these signs to be seen.
So I recommend that you should Drink water throughout the day and increase your water intake capacity during physical activity when you are feeling hot due to the weather.
What will happen if you drink less water during workouts?
If you drink less water during gym, not only the temperature of your body but also your heart rate may rise which can be because when the total amount of water in your body is below normal level your body wont be able to properly regulate heat.
You may feel more tired and sluggish than normal, which will make your workout more difficult.
Lack of drinking water may also cause You to be unable to think clearly because of which your motor control, decision-making abilities, and concentration may be impaired.
It may also cause the body to slow down some activities, such as gastric emptying, causing you to feel uneasy in your stomach.
Overall, I would want to emphasize the need of drinking water throughout the exercise to maintain a good hydration level. Aim for 17 to 20 ounces a couple of hours before your workout, followed by 8 ounces 20 to 30 minutes before you begin.
And, when you’re exercising, drink 7 to 10 ounces for every 10 to 20 minutes of activity, and then cool down with 8 ounces within 30 minutes.
While exercising, seven to ten ounces of water should be consumed every 10 to 20 minutes. The General recommendation may vary with each individual.
It is also vital to keep in mind, that individuals with certain health conditions such as kidney or liver disease may retain too much fluid and should consult their physician before drinking it.
If you do not know how much water you should drink per day or while you are doing your workout, then speak with your doctor who will surely be able to provide more specific guidelines.
For others, I highly advise you to Start Investing in a water bottle with measurement markings that can surely help you ensure that you’re drinking enough. Having Good hydration means you are getting the right amount of water during the exercise. Trust me if you drink an adequate amount of water during workout, you will start seeing improvement in your performance and this will ultimately boost your confidence!
Final Words:
So friends these were the benefits of drinking water during workout, If you have any doubt then you can ask me in the comment section below also please share your thoughts and please share this post so that more and more people will get help from this article.
