Nov 08
6
How To Get A Great Workout (Part 3)
The Importance of Staying Hydrated During Your Workouts
Once you’ve fueled your body for a super effective workout, the next thing you should focus on is staying properly hydrated. Your body is made up of over 80% water, so it stands to reason that water is of extremely high importance when it comes to accomplishing your fitness and/or weight loss goals.
Water plays several key roles during exercise. Any time you burn stored bodyfat for fuel, waste by-products are made and introduced into your blood stream. By simply drinking a bottle of water during your workout sessions, you can do a lot to flush out and remove those waste by-products.
Water is also very important for muscular contractions. Without the right water balance, your muscles can’t contract as hard as they normally could, leading to lackluster performance and a decrease in the effectiveness of your workouts.
A drop in body water volume of a mere 1% can cause a reduction in performance of over 10%. That means you’ll have to exert yourself much harder during your workouts to achieve the same results you’d get if you just drank some water!
And last, but certainly not least, water can really help you to reduce the soreness you feel after an intense bout of exercise.
Muscular contractions (like those you experience during exercise) cause the release of a chemical called hydroxyproline from the connective tissues and muscle cells. This chemical is very irritating to the nerve endings and is the direct cause of delayed onset muscle soreness (the soreness you feel the day or two after you workout). Your body will naturally bind this chemical and remove it, but drinking plenty of water, both during and after exercise, will speed up that process dramatically.
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