You Need Water While Exercising!



Posted: Tuesday, October 06, 2009

by Robert Braun
http://www.treadmill-world.com

Why does everyone say you need to drink a lot of water during your workouts? How much is a lot?

Why? Your muscle contractions generate heat when you exercise. Your body sweats to reduce this temperature. Sweating out as little as two percent of your body weight (three pounds if you weigh 150 pounds) can adversely affect your metabolism and performance. Not drinking enough is often referred to as "dehydration." Dehydration can lead to fatigue, decreased coordination, and muscle cramps. In hot weather, it can also lead to heat exhaustion.

Serious atheletes will tell you that sufficient water intake can have a significant effect on their results. To the more typical user, who may just want to lose weight, the importance may not be so obvious. When the body uses stored fat for fuel, it creates waste. The excretory system transports this waste into the blood. Drinking enough water speeds the transport of this waste out of the system. Drinking water during exercise also contributes to the process through which generating heat raises the metabolism and burns more calories. A rule of thumb among long distance runners is to drink 20 - 24 ounces for each pound they lose while running.

Sufficient water intake is also necessary for your muscles to contract efficiently. With insufficient water, your strength and performance is impaired. The effectiveness of your workouts is also reduced. A one per cent reduction in water volume can result in reductions in performance of over ten percent.

Water also helps reduce the soreness you feel after an intense workout. Muscular contractions stimulate the muscles to release a chemical called hydroxyproline. This chemical irritates the nerve endings and causes the muscle soreness you can feel the next day. You flush this out of your blood with the other waste products, but only if the blood is sufficiently hydrated. Sufficient flushing of the blood can also expedite recovery.

How Much? First, we are talking about water, not alcohol! Alcohol actually dehydrates you by causing you to excrete a greater amount of water than you would have had you not drank the alcohol. Competitive runners will often drink a commercial product like Gatorade, on the theory that they need to replenish electrolytes, sodium, and other things excreted through sweating. However, this is not necessary for the casual exerciser so neither are the drinks.

Serious runners suggest drinking 6 to 8 ounces every 20 minutes during your workout. During longer workouts or running in hot weather, more may be necessary based on how much you sweat. Some people sweat a lot more than others. The amount could be anywhere from a quart per hour to 4 quarts per hour. It is easy to underestimate this amount because small amounts evaporate quickly on contact with the air.

A half hour run on a treadmill in an air-conditioned room probably does not require a careful monitoring of fluid intake during your workout. In any case, a few cold swigs after a workout is never a bad idea. The old adage holds true; drink before you get thirsty.

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Robert Braun is Vice President of Sales at Treadmill-World, one of the the leading sources of treadmills , ellipticals, and stationary bikes on the web. For more exercise tips, see http://www.treadmill-world.com
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