Whether you are a casual or competitive athlete, staying hydrated during your workouts is important because athletic activities can cause you to lose up to 2 quarts per hour, according to the University of Arizona. For best performance and recovery, hydrate before, during and after exercise. Water, juice and sports drinks all help you replace the fluids that you lose during exercise. Vegetable juice also provides nutrients that water lacks.
Exercise and Hydration
To ensure that your body remains properly hydrated during exercise, drink two glasses of water before your session, according to Health Castle. While you are working out, you need up to an additional cup of fluid every hour. Instead of waiting until you feel thirsty, use a timer and plan to drink fluids during your workout, at least every 20 minutes. This helps you prevent mild or moderate dehydration that might affect your performance during exercise.
Exercise and Electrolytes
Water or non-caffeinated liquids are the best choices for workout hydration. Water is calorie-free, but it contains no electrolytes -- minerals that you lose during workouts. Juiced vegetables contain most, but not all, of the original nutrients found in whole vegetables. Columbia University’s Go Ask Alice notes that the main nutrient missing from juiced vegetables is fiber that helps you feel full and aids digestion. Since juiced vegetables provide the vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals found in the whole vegetables, drinking them during your workout helps you replenish electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, that you lose while exercising.
Glycogen Stores
For extended exercise sessions or intense physical exertion, your body also requires that you replace the stored carbohydrates, or glycogen, that provide you with energy for your muscles during exercise. When you don’t replace the glycogen that you used, your body will need to burn fat, a less-efficient fuel for your muscles. With insufficient fuel, your muscles will become fatigued sooner. Sports drinks and vegetable juices are beverages that prevent muscle fatigue during workouts, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Considerations
A normal serving of vegetable juice is 6 to 8 ounces. While vegetable juices contain less sugar than orange juice that athletes traditionally drink to replace carbohydrates, diluting your vegetable juice with water during your workout helps you avoid blood-sugar spikes from the carbohydrates in the juice that you consume. If you prefer to drink the juice undiluted, consider alternating juice consumption and water consumption. Juices made from watery vegetables have fewer calories and are lower in carbohydrates. Spinach, celery, peppers and tomatoes are common vegetables in this category. Vegetable juices that you create from root vegetables such as carrots, beets or parsnips have more carbohydrates per serving. The mineral and calorie content varies by the type of vegetable.
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