HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I DRINK WHILE WORKING OUT?
The simple concept for this article is just to say, drink more water. However, everybody knows this but I see so many people fail to hit their hydration goals. Let me discuss how proper hydration, especially during your workout, is a major benefit!
Here are some questions we are going to address in this article:- How much water should I drink per day?
- How much water should I drink during my workout?
- What are the benefits?
Drinking enough water sounds like something so simple, but it’s something that a lot of people don’t place enough emphasis on. Most people don’t drink enough water because they drink other liquids or they simply get distracted with their day and forget. Some people don’t drink enough water because they don’t know how much they should drink. Considering that your muscle is still primarily made up of water, it’s a very important thing to get right!
How much water should I drink per day?
Let’s start with the easy target. You should try to consume a minimum of 1 gallon of water per day. This may sound like a lot to some of you, but if you exercise and you are active then it should be pretty easy. If you’re very petite then you might be able to get away with less, but this is a good starting goal for 90% of the population. If you are advanced and carry a significant amount of muscle mass then you will want to increase that daily consumption even as high as 2 gallons of water per day. If you have a manual labor job, or work out in the heat, etc. then you will also want to increase your total water intake. These should be common sense responses, but if you didn’t know this before…well now you know.
Can I drink too much water?
Yes, but I highly doubt that you will unless you make one hell of an effort to do it. Hydration is consuming enough water and electrolytes. Not all water is equal, and if you don’t get enough electrolytes in your diet then consuming too much water leads to peeing/sweating out more water…and with it comes electrolytes. So, you can actually do more harm than good if your diet isn’t good and you’re not able to get enough electrolytes. There are simple electrolyte supplements that make this an easy fix. Outside of having a medial issue that causes you to hold water, you have to really try to over hydrate to the point that drinking water becomes harmful, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
Why a gallon? Why not ½ a gallon or something else?
A gallon should be enough for you to hit your daily hydration goals and it will also help make sure that your muscle is staying hydrated. If you’re active, sweating, and drinking less than a gallon per day then you may be living every day slightly dehydrated. This varies from person to person. Some need more and some need less depending on body type, lifestyle, etc. It’s pretty safe to say that 1 gallon should be good for most people so I suggest we start the target there! If you keep reading, you’ll notice that I suggest drinking around a ½ gallon of water during training alone. So 1 gallon should not be a problem for most people if you simply drink water with (or in between) meals and replace your other beverages with water (like get rid of soda, etc. and drink water instead).
How can I make sure I drink a gallon of water per day?
I recommend breaking your gallon up into ¼ gallons and set times (even alarms on your phone) to drink at least ¼ gallon throughout the day. You can drink your first ¼ gallon by 10am, next ¼ gallon by 2pm, 3rd ¼ gallon by 5pm, and the last ¼ gallon in the evening before bed time. If you forget to drink water then set alarms and reminders and make this a focus. You’ll be glad that you do! Don’t get overwhelmed with this. You may need to set reminders and track your water intake in the beginning, but at a certain point you’ll develop good hydration habits and be able to hit this goal without even thinking about it anymore.
Why should I worry about how much water that I’m drinking?
First, a hydrated muscle is a stronger muscle and a hydrated muscle is one that is harder to injure. You lift weights and exercise, right? You want to be stronger? You want to build muscle? You want to recover faster? You want to burn body fat? These are all great goals and the easiest thing you can do to achieve them is drink enough water because it will help you with all of them. Hydrating a muscle gives you a bigger pump too so that’s a bonus! Also, if you’re dehydrated…all of the things I just mentioned becomes that much more difficult. In fact, stop worrying about your training program, supplements, personal records, etc. because none of that matters if you aren’t properly hydrated. This should literally be the first thing that you accomplish before worrying about anything else!
How much water should I drink during my workout?
I recommend at least ½ gallon during training. That sounds like a lot and you’ll probably pee a lot after your workout but it’s worth it! When you get a pump you’re pushing blood (and water) into a muscle. The fuller the muscle becomes then the less likely it is to tear or get injured. You’re getting a bigger pump and increasing strength and endurance simply by drinking water. No supplements or crazy techniques…just drink more water and pump that water into the muscle. Lastly, and most importantly, the muscle cells produce waste during exercise and water is needed to help remove that waste. Taking an expensive pre-workout or creatine? Guess what…water is needed to help drive those ingredients into the muscle as well. You can drink 1/3-1/2 gallon during training and count that towards your daily gallon…so you can get a good part of your daily water intake during your workout alone. Also, the act of lifting weights, getting a pump, and hydrating the muscle will also make you feel a lot better in your day to day life too. So many people complain of pain in their back, legs, joints, etc. Adding weightlifting and hydration to your life will fix a good majority of those issues as long as that pain isn’t stemming from an actual injury. If you’ve ever gotten a deep tissue massage they suggest drinking a lot of water before and after the massage to help with pain, recovery, and the removal of waste. It’s the same concept for weightlifting.
What are some things to be aware of regarding hydration?
As I previously said, sometimes water isn’t enough and we need electrolytes too. A lot of supplements come with electrolyte blends and some of the water flavorings that you can add will come with electrolytes too. You can also buy electrolyte supplements and add them to your water if you need to. If you are outside in the sun and/or sweat a lot then adding electrolytes may not be a bad idea. You also want to watch out for natural diuretics like stimulants (caffeine). Drink a lot of coffee? Coffee is a diuretic. Take a pre-workout with caffeine and other stimulants? That’s also a diuretic. So, if you don’t focus on drinking enough water and you’re using these things then you’re definitely dehydrated during the day and during your workouts. You’re taking something like a pre-workout for performance and it’s possibly dehydrating you and decreasing performance if you don’t focus on your water intake. You need to be aware of these things to prevent dehydration. You will feel better physically and mentally if you do.
Key point here is that hydration is important. It may sound simple but it’s one of the most important things that you can focus on every day. If you go the step further and start supercharging your water with specific supplements and driving those into the muscle during training, now you’re operating on a level that most people never get to and you’ll see results that much faster…so drink up!
