20 June 2017
Hydration - The background stuff
Water is important! Your body uses it in many ways from controlling your temperature, transporting nutrients and oxygen around the body and aiding the digestive system and getting rid of waste.
Your body naturally loses water through sweating, breathing, bowel movements and if you drink too much alcohol.
If your body is using more water than you are putting into it, you can become dehydrated.
How do I tell if I’m dehydrated?
Key signs include headaches, feeling weak/tired, dry lips, colour of urine, mood swings and confusion.
If you have mild dehydration, the solution is to just drink some more fluid, little and often.
For the more extreme cases you may also need to replenish your salts and sugars. This can be done by drinking light sports drinks, many sports drinks have more sugar than your body needs, so going for light option reduces the risk of a sugar overload).
Even better or the best way is to use re-hydration sachets, which can be purchased from any supermarket or chemist.
This chart is a great quick way to test how hydrated you are by checking the colour of your urine.
Can I over drink?
Less likely to happen but you can drink too much water. Drinking too much water can be dangerous as it causes the salt in your body to drop to a low level. A sign that you’re drinking too much is that you go to the toilet more often and your urine always looks really pale.
What should I be drinking when exercising?
Making sure you are hydrated before, during and after exercise is extremely important. If you are not hydrated enough before you start, your core temperature will rise faster than normal and your heart will have to work harder.
During exercise and to help keep your energy levels up, drink little and often. The amount you need to drink will all be dependent on a number of factors including the intensity, your genetics, how fit you are (fitter people generally sweat more) and environment.
After exercise, having a drink of water will help replenish the fluids you have lost and help your muscles to recover.
Most importantly if you feel thirsty drink, your body is telling you something!! Stay hydrated this summer.
Over 30 classes are available each week at BS7 Gym, take a look at the timetable here