The Need For Water When Exercising

Almost everyone alive understands that you have to drink an appropriate amount of water in order to stay alive, but most people are not as sure of how much water is the appropriate amount to drink for the maximum health benefits.

While scientists have suggested different figures over the years, the truth is that the total changes for every separate person as factors such as your level of activity, residence location, and your health all play an important role in how much water is the correct amount for you.water1

First of all, you need to take a look at how much water you lose each day to decide how much you need to drink which can actually vary depending on the activity of your day.

Your body typically expels liquid when you breathe, sweat, and have a urine or bowel movement.

On average most adults lose about 1.5 liters of water a day through these avenues which is the equivalent of 6.3 cups of water. Since 20% of liquid comes from your daily food intake if you follow the replacement approach to water consumption you should aim to drink an additional 2 liters or 8 cups of water a day.

This rough average of what the normal adult loses from their body each day is the founding principle for the much preached principle that you should aim to drink about eight cups of water a day. This is also known as the 8×8 rule meaning that you need to consume eight glasses that contain eight ounces of water each day.

However, the Institute of Medicine advises that you consider adding more water to your diet as it suggests woman drink 2.2 liters of water a day which is about nine cups and men consume about 3 liters which is 13 cups of water a day.

While these examples provide you with an excellent rough guide to what you should drink each day, keep in mind that your level of physical activity plays a large role in how much you should drink.  Since you sweat while exercising, if you exercise on a regular basis you should add more water to your daily consumption plan.

Short bouts of exercise should be followed with an extra 400 to 600 milligrams of water which is about another cup and a half of water while exercise that lasts for more than an hour is particularly vigorous and should be followed with much more water, especially if you tend to sweat extensively.