Exercise and regular physical activity are essential to promote health, improve your psychological well-being and maintain a healthy body weight. However, exercise can result in injury or illness if you don't take proper care of your body. After you finish a workout, your body is at risk of dehydration. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.
Dehydration
Water is an essential component to the human body. To maintain normal function, you must consume water each day to replace the amount lost. If you do not replace water lost during activity, your body will become dehydrated. Dehydration is caused by excessive sweating, inadequate fluid intake and failure to replenish fluids during and after exercise. Optimal performance, safety and comfort rely on proper hydration and adequate fluid intake. Dehydration can lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, fatigue, heat exhaustion or heat stroke, the American Council on Exercise warns.
Adequate Fluid Intake
There are no set-in-stone guidelines on adequate fluid intake, because many variables affect fluid loss. The two methods used for estimating adequate hydration are urine color and weighing yourself. Light-colored urine indicates you are properly hydrated, whereas darker urine indicates dehydration. Weighing yourself before and after exercise can also indicate fluid intake. Any weight lost during exercise indicates a fluid loss. Drinking plain water is sufficient enough to keep you hydrated for normal training sessions.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes are essential minerals in the body. They help maintain the acid-base balance for cellular activities as well as control osmosis, the movement of water between body compartments, explains the Brian Mac Sports Coach website. Electrolytes found in sweat include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, chloride, phosphate and sulfate. Plain water does not contain any electrolytes.
Sports Drinks
Gatorade and other sports drinks do contain electrolytes. Normal training is not enough to deplete your body's stores of electrolytes, but it is important to replenish electrolytes if you are exercising at high intensity for long periods of time --- more than 60 minutes --- or in high temperatures. During long, intense exercise, Gatorade is the best option because it will provide the caloric needs for you body to continue performance and restore lost electrolytes.
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