The Importance of Water
It is one of the essential
components of all life, you could survive a couple of months without
food but without water you'll last a matter of days.
We humans are made up of 70%
of the stuff, so it's easy to see how a small drop in levels can
effect your performance not only physically but also mentally. This
fact makes staying hydrated equally important whether it's inside the
gym or out.
Most of us do not drink
enough and the majority that we do get is through other calorie
loaded beverages such as colas and coffees.
The average male needs
around 12 glasses or 2 litres a day, while the average women needs a
little less at around 9 glasses. Factors including the temperature,
exercise, diet, supplementation, illness and alcohol consumption all
increase the amount needed.
How do you know when you are
dehydrated? Well there are a few tests, the easiest being looking at
the colour of your urine, if it is dark in colour then you are
dehydrated, you want to maintain a pale yellow colour. You can pinch
the back of your hand, if the skin returns to it's normal position
quickly then you are fine, if not then you need water. Also back when
I used to play football we used to be weighed before and after
training and we weren't allowed to go until we had drunk enough water
for our weight to be the same. And finally when you feel thirsty.
If you wait until you feel
thirsty then you are already slightly dehydrated so you should aim to
never reach this point and I know most people wake up with a dry
mouth so I personally find that drinking a pint of water before sleep
and a pint again upon waking puts pay to this.
Around a 3% drop in water
levels can reduce your performance levels by up to 95%, so whether in
or out of the gym you can see why it so important to maintain your
levels.
There are a lot of companies
pushing their isotonic sports drinks to the public, but the reality
is unless you perform an intense activity for more than an hour then
you do not need them and if you are not training then all they'll do
is contribute to making you fat!
Also a plus of water is that
it contributes to making you feel full, so therefore you'll eat less
thus helping you to lose weight or maintain you weight whatever it is
you're after.
So what are you still doing
sitting there? That's right go to the kitchen and pour yourself a
glass!
