Hydration: drink water to perform better in your workouts

 In case you didn't know, either you hydrate well or it won't do any good to exercise.

Muscles, fat, skin... and the main of all the constituents of the organism: water . Also considered a food in itself since it contains various nutrients such as electrolytes, sodium chloride, phosphates, magnesium and potassium.

How do we use water?

Water is involved in almost all body functions, it is especially important in thermoregulation. Muscular activity produces energy and 75% is transformed into heat, raising body temperature. The excess must be regulated through the dispersion of heat that is transported by the water through the blood capillaries, they come out in the form of sweat and evaporate, lowering the body temperature. The more dehydration the less sweating capacity and the body could not lower the temperature causing various problems.

Does hydration affect our sports performance?

Of course, hence our great interest. Various studies determine that with weight loss of only 2% of water, decreases in sports performance of 10-20% are already observed and with 5% of losses it decreases up to 30%.

Dehydration affects cortisol levels, which increase catabolism -destruction- and impair the anabolic effect -construction- of exercise . As well as the feeling of perceived fatigue, reducing training capacity , especially in exercises lasting more than 40 minutes.

Hypotonic dehydration (when we lose more electrolytes than free water) causes an electrolyte deficit, the main cause of muscle cramps. Therefore, replenishment of not only water but also electrolytes through sports drinks is important .

Acute dehydration alters cognitive function (concentration, short-term memory and alertness) and is one of the key points in sports performance, especially in competition. Chronic dehydration occurs if correct rehydration is not carried out after physical exercise on an ongoing basis. It causes a feeling of general fatigue, headaches, loss of appetite, sensation of specific heat, lightheadedness and nausea.

The risk of dehydration increases if you start exercising poorly hydrated, if there is high humidity or temperature, if the exercise is intense and long-lasting, if there is any kidney disorder.

When should we hydrate?

We should not wait until we are thirsty to hydrate ourselves since the mechanism that controls the feeling of thirst is not fast enough to prevent dehydration, at the moment it appears we are already dehydrated. To ensure good hydration we must drink fluids before, during and after, thus avoiding dehydration .

A good method of controlling dehydration is through the color of the urine, the darker the more concentrated the urine is, which indicates more dehydration.

How much should we hydrate?

• Before exercise it is important to drink at least two glasses of water (500ml), during the 2 hours prior to the start of the exercise. In case the exercise is going to last more than 1 hour, isotonic drinks are recommended.
• During , if it is an exercise with little sweating, you should drink a glass of water every 30 minutes, and if it is a high sweating exercise, we should increase it to two glasses every 30 minutes. Again, if the duration is greater than 1 hour, drinks with salts are convenient (avoid hypertonic drinks, replace them with isotonic or hypotonic ones to maintain a correct balance of salts in the body. THIS COULD BE ANOTHER ARTICLE IN ITSELF).
• At the end , 150% of the lost weight should be ingested since the rapid consumption of liquids causes their loss in urine. We can calculate our degree of dehydration by weighing before and after exercise .

It is important to adapt the pattern to the needs of each one. The adaptation to a new pattern lasts about 4 or 5 days and it is important to follow the same pattern in training and competition.