Benefits of Drinking Water - By: Robert Harden

Most people know that drinking water is essential to human life. Without it, the human body will shut down and experience life-threatening health problems, or even death. However, many people tend to forget just how important water is to staying healthy and fit. The fact is, anyone who adopts a fitness regimen needs to understand just how important water is to a great workout and the role it plays in achieving optimal physical results.

Working out will make you thirsty, but be sure you are drinking enough to compensate for your exercise? During one hour of intense exercise, the average person can lose a one quart of water just by sweating. To prevent dehydrating, it is a good idea to drink one glass of water for every twenty minutes of exercise. If you know you are prone to sweating a lot, you should be sure to drink even more.

Drinking water during exercise is extremely important. However, it is just as important to drink water before and after a workout as well. If you are planning on a tough workout session, you should drink 3-4 glasses of water in the 3 hours before you start sweating. If your muscles are not hydrated when you begin working out, they will be more prone to cramping and injury. Dehydration is also linked to muscle soreness, so be sure your muscles are warmed up and hydrated before you begin.

After your workout, you will want to rehydrate your body with even more water. The optimal time for this is within the first two hours after you exercise. At a minimum, you will want to consume one cup per hour. By drinking water in this key period, you can help your body recover and decrease your chance of developing muscle soreness. Plus, you?ll feel more energized for the rest of the day as dehydration from exercise can cause fatigue.

Of course, water it not just necessary when you are working out. It helps our body function in everything we do. For one, water is essential to help our kidneys process waste. Water is also easily absorbed and can help your body better absorb nutrients from your diet. Some people like to drink sports drinks or other fluids instead of water. These might claim to fuel you with electrolytes, vitamins, and other ingredients. However, these are usually packed with sugar and excess calories. There is no real substitute for water, so remember to drink enough every day.

About the Author

Robert Harden, fitness coach at Extremely-Fit, invites you to visit http://www.extremely-fit.com for more fitness and nutritional articles, like this one. In addition to drinking water for your health, try a fitness program like P90X .

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