How to Hydrate During A Workout (and Consequences of Not)

One of the first things I go over with my personal training clients before embarking on a big workout is the importance of good hydration.  For everyone that works out, it’s vital that they are hydrating properly because this can have a significant influence on the overall performance.

Here are some of the main points regarding hydrating yourself properly around your workouts:

Stay On Top Of Hydration From The Start

First and foremost, always make sure you are staying on top of your hydration needs in the first place. If you aren’t in a dehydrated state before the workout session occurs, you won’t have to take in as much fluid which could potentially lead to cramping.

Dink 8-10 Oz. An Hour Before

To top off your hydration, make sure that you consume around 8-10 oz. of fluid about an hour before the workout.

This will give it enough time to hit the body, have a positive effect, but still not cause cramping to occur.

Sip Fluid During

Sipping fluid during your workout is another way to stay on top of your hydration needs. You don’t want to be drinking larger amounts because, again, it can cause cramping to take place. Replacing some of the lost fluid through these small and frequent sips can prevent declines in performance.

If the workout is going over the one hour point, you may want to drink a light glucose or electrolyte solution such as G2 (may want to dilute this, depending on goals) or Powerade Zero.

Replenish After The Session

Finally, make sure that you replenish any lost water after the session is over. Drink at least a 16 ounces of water/liquid so that you are back in a fully hydrated state and don’t have to make-up for it later on.

Pure water tends to work best in this case, unless you’re using a protein powder as a post-workout meal, in which case your post workout shake will work best.

The Consequences Of Dehydration

Let’s go over what happens if you end up in a dehydrated state.

Your Energy Levels Decline

The very first issue with being in a dehydrated state is that your energy levels are going to decline significantly. Even slight amounts of dehydration can have quite the negative influence on how energetic you feel throughout the day, possibly impacting your day to day functioning.

In addition to this, when most people feel the energy decline caused by dehydration, it leads them to want to eat more food. Thus taking in far more calories than they should.

Your Metabolism Slows

Another negative effect of dehydration is that your metabolism will slow down. Being that your metabolic rate is a primary determinant of how quickly you’re shedding excess body fat, it's not something you want moving along sluggishly.

Kick-start your metabolism by hydrating adequately.

You Aren’t As Mentally Fresh

The next problem with lack of hydration is that it will cause you to be less mentally fresh overall. You may find that your concentration and focus isn’t as strong as it normally is and you’re constantly feeling distracted as you go about your day.

If you have a very mentally demanding career, you can imagine what this is going to do to your performance.

You May Be Hungrier

Finally, the last issue with lack of proper hydration is that you may find yourself hungrier throughout the day. I touched upon this above, but it deserves it's own "problem" category. Many people do mistake thirst for hunger, so if you aren’t hydrating as you should, it can become quite the problem.

So there you have the main points to keep in mind at all times regarding proper hydration around exercise. This is one element that far too many people completely overlook that can have quite a significant influence on the rate of progress that you see.  Make sure you are taking care of your needs.