It's essential for regulating body temperature, maintaining blood volume, contracting muscles, lubricating joints and removing waste products from the body. If you don't drink enough leading up to your workout your training performance will suffer along with your results. You should try to drink 1 litre for every 25 kgs of body weight plus 1 litre for every hour of exercise. So, if you weigh 75 kg's and do 30 mins of exercise a day - that's 3.5 litres you should be drinking daily. It's also beneficial to try and drink 1/3 of your recommended fluid intake first thing in the morning. This will rehydrate you after a nights sleep and also help to detoxify your system.
Check out these 10 easy hydration tips to make sure you are ready to work hard come training time and get the most from your session...
1. Carry a bottle of water with you everywhere you go as a reminder to drink regularly.
2. Drink a glass of water first thing every morning as soon as you wake up, and last thing every night before you go to sleep.
3. Have some freezer safe bottles of water frozen so you can grab one on the way out the door and have cold water available for the day.
4. Know the volume of the bottle you use so you can estimate your water intake across the day and ensure you reach requirements.
5. Have a drink of water after going to the toilet. This will serve as a reminder and replace fluids as you lose it.
6. Have a drink of water with each meal.
7. Always say 'yes' when offered a drink of water at meetings, when visiting friends, at restaurants etc.
8. Drink water when consuming alcohol, try to go 1 for 1, one glass of water for every standard alcoholic drink.
9. Add a wedge of lemon or lime to your water to give it a bit of flavour. This will help with flavour fatigue.
10. Increase water intake to account for loss of fluids during exercise or in warmer temperatures.
The daily recommended amount of water is 2Litres, this is equal to approximately 8 glasses or 3 bottles. Keep in mind this is a general guideline only and warmer temperatures, humidity and exercise may increase requirements. Other fluids such as fruit juices / drinks, sports drinks, tea and coffee do contribute to daily fluid intake however WATER is the BEST choice.