Fluids are very crucial to ensure your body functions accordingly and stays hydrated. Wherever you are a professional athlete or just exercising to keep your body in shape, it’s crucial to ensure you hydrate your body constantly. When you fail to take in enough water, your heart rate and body temperatures may rise due to the inability of your body to regulate the temperature. You will feel tired and unable to think clearly, leading to impaired concentration. There are various ways you can rehydrate to keep your body moving. You can consider at-home IV treatment after and before exercise since it’s a faster way to get hydrated. This article will explore the importance of hydration for fitness.
What do Hydration Entail
Hydration depends on factors such as the climate, your health, the climate condition, duration, and intensity of your exercise. It’s important to note that your body water need will differ from another person’s due to these factors. You can know if you need water in case your sweat heavily or have a medical condition such as heart disease or diabetes. If you have cystic fibrosis or your medication acts as a diuretic, you need a high-water intake. Most people will only need water when they feel thirsty or already dehydrated.
Why Hydration is Important
Hydration is crucial to ensure healthy brain, heart, and muscles and regulate body temperatures. When your body is well hydrated, your overall exercise improves, and you can detox and get enough sleep. Dehydration has also been crucial to weight loss, especially when using it instead of beverages associated with weight gain. The urge to consume sugary juices and sodas is reduced when drinking water regularly. Also, consuming cold water helps increase the energy required by the body. If you don’t hydrate well, you experience dizziness or fainting, which can be dangerous, especially when you are not around people.
How to HydrateWhen Exercising
Most people don’t know how to keep their bodies hydrated when working out, which is very dangerous. Before starting your exercise, it’s essential to try and drink at least 2-5 liters of water, especially when in a hot climate. However, the amount of water you intake will depend on age, weight, and height. However, you can take at least 17 ounces three hours before they start exercising. You can take at least 8 ounces of water thirty minutes before your exercise time or during warming up. However, it’s crucial to measure the amount of fluid you lose after every workout to know the amount of water you need to intake. An easy way to do this is to measure your weight before and after exercise to know the amount lost. For athletes, you are required to replace every pound lost with at least 24 ounces
Indications to Know If You are Dehydrated
When you experience the since below, it’s time to take water whether you feel thirsty or not. These signs include
- Clammy skin
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Chills
- Shortness of breath
- Dry mouth
When they get these signs, most people rush to take expensive medication while all they need to do is drink enough water. When exercising, you lose a lot of water and might experience some of these symptoms. Dehydration can lead to heat stroke, and your sports performance may be restrained, especially during hot conditions. Dehydration will slow all your body functions, including emptying and gastric, making your stomach uncomfortable.
Muscle Cramping
The most common negative impact that results from dehydration is muscle cramping. Cramping often occurs when the muscle tightens, causing severe pain, and you need to stretch the muscle. Muscle cramping, especially during vigorous exercise such as lifting weights, can be risky as you might end up hurting yourself. It’s crucial to seek help during the cramps or have someone massage the muscle while it’s still stretched to relax it. However, the best solution to reduce this is a high-water intake to help hydrate the body and relax the muscles. However, they can consider taking quick doses of sodium or potassium, including pickle juice, bananas, or salt.
What Happens When You Drink Excess Water
There is a required amount of water that your body needs to function according. However, most people drink a lot of water, thinking they are hydrating themselves, which is not valid. When you drink a lot of water, you can get hyponatremia. This often occurs when your body cannot lose water through sweating or weaning. The excess water in
your body will dilute the salt causing the cell to swell up. This can cause health complications if not checked. You should not that hyponatremia can vary from one person to another depending on various factors. Some of the symptoms include feeling sick or vomiting, confusion and headaches. You will also experience blotting and seizure which is very severe. It’s important always to know your sweat rates and to track how much water you are taking to avoid drinking excess water.
Tips for Staying Hydrated
There are many ways to ensure you are hydrated and your body has the right amount of fluid to avoid dehydration and hyponatremia. Some of the crucial tips include
- Ensure you drink enough water before exercise, preferably some hours before you warm up, to ensure you are hydrated.
- Always estimate the weight to gained or lost immediately after the exercise to know the amount of fluid you need to replace it.
- During exercise and breaks, you can consider replacing the water lost from exercises to replace the water lost through urine or sweating.
What to Avoid Drinking When Exercising
It’s essential to note that while fluids are vital for your body, not all are recommended when you are exercising. You should avoid cordial, soft drinks since they are rich in carbohydrates and low in sodium. Also, ensure you avoid caffeine since it’s a diuretic.
Bottom Line!
It’s essential to keep your body well hydrated to help it function, mainly when exercising. Always contact a doctor to guide you through the amount of water you need to take. You should also ensure you have water available to sustain and keep you hydrated during the day.
