Feuring Fitness

Staying Properly Hydrated

Staying properly hydrated can make the difference between a good training session and a terrible one. When you begin to become dehydrated you may begin experiencing many different symptoms all of which are unpleasant (muscle cramps, headache, thirst, irritability, and more. The symptoms get increasingly worse if the body continues to go without hydrating).

Your first choice during the day when thirsty should be water, but we also receive hydration from milk, juices, teas and coffee, and different  foods (such as fruit). The key to good hydration is to drink fluids before and after exercising, just make sure you are hydrating with healthy choices. Although you can even receive hydration from pop and energy drinks, they are still unhealthy for you. Be smart about healthy choices when you hydrate.

 While working out there is no set amount that you should drink, but the more intensely you exercise and sweat, or the hotter it is, the more you should drink.

Sport Drinks are a good choice when you need to exercise for longer or harder periods of time. When we sweat we lose water and other bodily minerals, sports drinks are especially helpful in replenishing the minerals and electrolytes we lose. But sports drinks are not a replacement for water! Use them wisely because they often contain sugar and 100 or more calories.

Energy Drinks are not the same as sports drinks! While sport drinks are designed for rapid re-hydration, energy drinks do not provide much hydration at all. Energy drinks also contain high levels of sugar and caffeine (usually more than double what pop has!) as well as ingredients like taurine and glucuronolactone (which are not even proven to be safe, especially when mixed with caffeine!). If you are looking to get a boost from caffeine, there are much more healthy alternatives than using an energy drink. If you are running low on energy, make sure that you are eating healthy and getting enough sleep.

Drinking too much water is a very uncommon problem but you should still know that it can happen! If a person consumes too much water a condition called hyponatremia can occur from having low blood sodium. So drink plenty of water, but be sure not to overdo it!