Perform exercise intensely enough to make you sweat, and you will lose water. According to the American Council on Exercise your body can lose more than a quart of water during an hour of exercise. This amount of water loss decreases your exercise performance, reduces your coordination, may cause muscle cramps and leads to early exercise physique. A study on dehydrated athletes reported in the American College of Sports Medicine showed that subjects who drank water could sustain a three-minute longer workout than those who simply rinsed their mouth with water. Proper hydration begins prior to your workout.
Step 1
Drink 17 oz. to 20 oz. of water two hours before you begin exercising.
Step 2
Weigh yourself for an accurate calculation of water loss at the end of your workout.
Step 3
Drink 7 oz. to 10 oz. of cool or cold water at 10 to 20 minute intervals during your workout. Drink more frequently if you began your exercise session at a slightly dehydrated state. Drink even if you are not thirsty, because thirst is an indication that you are already dehydrated.
Step 4
Weigh yourself on the scale after your workout.
Step 5
Drink 16 oz. to 24 oz. for each pound lost during your workout.
Tips and Warnings
- Aim to maintain a daily intake of 91 oz.of water if you are a woman and 125 oz. of water if you are a man. Add a small amount, 1/2 tsp., of salt to your 16-oz. water bottle to aid rehydration. Avoid drinking alcohol prior to your workout because alcohol increases your risk of dehydration. Avoid consuming caffeine prior to your workout because caffeine consumption may increase your risk of dehydration. Drink a carbohydrate sports drink if your workout lasted longer than one hour or your exercise was in high heat or humidity. Water is the best choice for hydrating your body. Sports drinks that contain electrolytes and carbohydrates are beneficial for exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes. Also, if drinking a sports drink is easier for you than drinking plain water, use the sports drink to hydrate your body if you will drink more of it than you will of water. Drink even if you are not thirsty, because thirst is an indication that you are already dehydrated.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
References
- American Council on Exercise: Healthy Hydration
- National Strength and Conditioning Association: Essential Heat and Dehydration Information
- FitDay: Sports Drinks vs. Water: Which is Better for Exercise?
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise": Water Ingestion Improves Performance Compared to Mouth Rinse, in Dehydrated Subjects; Giannis Arnaoutis, et al.; June 2011
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