Introduction
Today we want to talk about how much you should be drinking to stay hydrated during your workouts and what is the efficient way to hydrate. We know that hydration is so important because just a two percent level of dehydration in the body can equate to about a ten percent decrease in performance. And we know that as dehydration gets worse, performance typically declines.
Now staying hydrated during a workout, a training session of practice, or a gamer competition can be challenging because there are so many things going on during that time. But as an athlete, it is essential that you are staying on top of your hydration and making it your top priority to drink consistently throughout your workout, practice, game or competition. Following are the recommendations for best way to hydrate during workout.
Drinking in Moderation
So when we talk about how much you should be drinking, there is a general rule of thumb that basically says you should consume about five to ten ounces of fluid. Think of like those small cups every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise, so that would mean basically drinking a 16 to 20 ounce bottle an hour if that sounds like a lot to you.
You are probably not hydrating optimally during your training sessions, so drinking fluid throughout the workout is key. You do not just have to drink it every 20 minutes, but trying to get in about. Like five to ten ounces every 20 minutes is key, or thinking about it as a bottle an hour now when we talk about how much that is what if you do not have a bottle at practice, a little pro tip is that a medium, medium mouth full of water or sports drink whatever fluid you are drinking is about an ounce.
Hydration During Workout
If you think about that you are drinking out of one of the water fountains or hoses at practice, you could think about needing five to ten swallows of fluid every 20 minutes, that is a good way to kind of judge it. You might be asking me what? Should I be drinking during practice workouts, games, etc.
Well, it kind of depends on how long you’re training. If you are welf fueled and well hydrated leading into the workout, you can probably hang out and be okay drinking just water for the first 60 to 90 minutes of training.
Importance of Sports Drinks
Now can you drink a sports drink? Yes, but you will probably be okay drinking water if the length of the workout is only going to be about that long. The challenge becomes when it’s hot and humid outside when you train in the morning and or when you are going to be training for much longer than 90 minutes. Even if you are cycling around for your weight loss or muscle building, You can check our article on benfits of cycling for healthy body for further details.
Importance of Electrolytes
- In those scenarios you really need three things, you need carbohydrate for energy, you need electrolytes to replace what’s being sweat out during that training session, and you need fluid. Those three things can be found in a sports drink. Sport drinks are designed to provide your body with simple carbohydrate or sugar aka Energy.
- Electrolytes and fluid to help you stay on top of your hydration. So if you are going to be practicing for much longer than 90 minutes and you know that at the beginning.
- As an athlete you should start drinking a sports drink earlier. In your workout earlier in your game or your competition, if it is really hot and humid outside. Or maybe you are training in the morning where you have not eaten or drank that much prior to coming to practice. Then it is really important that you would probably start with a sports drink earlier on in your training session because that is going to give you what your body needs to help it. Stay hydrated throughout now when we talk about what is available at school or at workouts.
- If you are a heavy sweater, you might need to bring your own sport drinks. If they only offer water, you might need to bring your own electrolytes to dump into a bottle of water if that’s helpful. If your workout is going to be shorter, maybe only 60 to 90 minutes.
- But if you sweat a lot and you lose your salty sweater or you lose a lot of electrolytes. You can also really help your hydration by adding electrolytes to your fluid. That could be a little packet that you dump in and that could be a little tablet that dissolves. There is lots of good brands out there that provide you with electrolytes to help you stay hydrated.
Willingness of Staying Hydrated
Remember that hydration has three components, it has fluid, it has electrolytes, and for athletes training longer than 90 minutes, it also has carbohydrate. Your goal is to make sure that you are getting at least water and electrolytes consistently throughout your training sessions. Your practices and your games and competitions.
If you will stay on top of your hydration, the likelihood that you become as dehydrated is not that high now, Might it be challenging to keep up with 100 percent of your hydration during a training session? Yes, the goal is to combat it to the best of your ability, and you can do that by drinking five to ten ounces of fluid every 20 minutes during a training session, game or competition, or thinking about that as a bottle an hour.
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Conclusion
So as an athlete, bring your bottles of water. Bring your bottles of sport strength to practice, to your games and to your competition. Do not rely on anyone else for it, as it is all on you so Bring it yourself. If you do this, you are going to optimally hydrate, which is going to set you up to perform at a higher level.
FAQs
If you love this article and want to know the importance of other health and related tips then you can check out our latest articles too. Comment us down your thoughts and opinions about importance of hydration and also tell us what tips do you follow to stay hydrated during your work out. Also check out our latest articles about home gym ideas on budget and importance of rest and recovery during workout. Share this article with your loved one and with fitness freaks and also do remember to keep your body fit and stay healthy.
