Hydration, consuming water is important for your health. 55-60% of the human body is water. Learn tips to stay hydrated below.
Hydration
Being properly hydrated is one of the most important aspects of being healthy and fit. As little as being 2% dehydrated can have a big impact on your cognitive and physical abilities.
As simple as hydration should be there are many differing opinions and suggestions on how to stay properly hydrated. Most of them have positives and negatives but you just need to figure out which one is most sustainable to you. The suggestions I’m going to give you will help keep you moving in the right direction.
Every hour on the hour strategy
The first strategy I’m going to suggest is the simplest and easiest to implement. Simply have 8 ounces of fluid each hour for the first 10 hours you are awake for a total of 80 ounces. The reason why we want to slow down a bit after being awake for 10 hours is that our kidneys are highly influenced by our circadian clock. The filtering function of the kidneys slows down a bit and starts putting an emphasis on other functions after about 10 hours of being awake. You still want to hydrate as you wind down for the evening, just slow down a bit.
Bodyweight hydration strategy
The second strategy I’m going to suggest is pretty easy too. Simply take your body weight, divide it in half for your goal intake for the day. As an example I weigh about 175 pounds, so I’m shooting for 87.5 ounces. This is a good starting point and is really the minimum you’re shooting for. Once you consistently reach this initial goal of half body weight in ounces, you’ll want to gradually increase your intake. Many people can go up to equal ounces to body weight. However, drinking this much water isn’t usually necessary to be well hydrated.
Find what works best for you!
Keep in mind both of these suggestions get you to a base line of hydration. Every athlete is different. Temperature, humidity, workout intensity and duration can have a big impact on how much you need to stay properly hydrated. Therefore, test and see what works best for you!
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OC has been operating in Bend, Oregon since May of 2009. OC offers Personal Training, Nutrition and Group training.
