We meticulously record our weights/reps and our times in training to measures our progress, however hydration is often an overlooked aspect of our training regiment.
We have apps like Myfitnesspal and My Macros+ to track our nutrition to make sure our food choices are aligned with our goals.
We often “try” to drink more water, we might “try” to drink a litre a day, but in actuality we don’t really know how much we are drinking nor is it consistent on a daily basis; for the most part it’s not one of our top priorities.
But without proper hydration we are giving away our performance. If you’re dehydrated by just 2% your V02 can drop as much as 11%. This will directly effect how much oxygen your body can process.
Overall there will be less blood for circulation, and less blood means not as much oxygen, nutrients, hormones; protein and much more being delivered when you need it most during training and life.
Not taking hydration seriously enough will also affect how your joints and muscles function. You’ll notice a greater range of motion in your muscles if you’re hydrated, they will be able to move easily sliding over surfaces in the body.
Imagine a wrench in an auto body garage that is dropped on the floor by a mechanic with grease all over his hand while working on a car. While the mechanic goes to pick up this wrench that’s covered in grease he accidentally kicks the wrench making it slide with ease across the floor; this is the feeling of your muscle full of water; the grease is water and your muscle is a wrench. Compare this to a dry wrench (muscle) being kicked; it’s just not going to slide well; it’s going to stop sooner or very abruptly, this is your muscle dehydrated. Even the cartilage around your joints are affected by hydration levels; with well hydrated cartilage it’s going to slide better much like our greased wrench; if you’re noticing an old injury that seems to be creeping back and affecting your training, check to see how much water you’ve been drinking.
Other side effects of dehydration is muscle cramps, dry mouth, fatigue, lack of sweating, faster heartbeat, higher body temperature, all of which is going to hinder your training.
You should now understand why you should be hydrated; work your way into drinking 2 – 3 litres per day every day and see what kind of difference you notice.
Coach Jamie