How Much Water Do You Really Need When You Hit The Gym?

If you cannot decide how much water to drink when exercising, talk with your health care provider. You can see why staying hydrated is important, but with so much conflicting information out there, it is difficult -- bodybuilder or not -- to figure out exactly how much water you need to drink while exercising. It is obvious that, as with anything, there will be differing opinions about how much water someone should be drinking each day. Some experts, though, think you should be drinking water all the time during the day, even when you are not thirsty, as long as you are exercising.   

Some people think that you need to sip on water even if you are not thirsty, and some people advise that you do not need to drink more than 2 liters of water every day. The American Council on Exercise recommends drinking seven to 10 ounces of water every 20 minutes during workouts. Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water 2 to 3 hours before starting exercise. Once you are done exercising, make sure you drink an additional 16 to 24 ounces for each pound of water weight lost.  

BEFORE AND AFTER WORKOUT

During and after your workout, you will need three cups of water for each pound lost. For instance, if you lost a pound or two of your bodys water in one vigorous exercise session, that water needs to be replaced prior to exercise on the next day. If you are doing a moderate-to-high-intensity workout of more than 90 minutes, then it is likely that you will only need to replace a little bit of the water

DRINK MORE 

If you are exercising outside in summer, you may need to consume more than water. If you plan on exercising in the summer, consume lots of water to keep your muscles and internal organs cool and functioning correctly. If you are exercising for more than two hours, or in a warm, damp environment, drinking water regularly may not suffice for the amount of work you are putting your body through.   

You have to take into account factors including how much sweat you are producing, how warm and humid the environment is, and how much you are exercising and working out. The amount of water you need depends on a number of factors, like climate conditions, your health, clothing, your intensity, and the length of time you are exercising. This calculator tells you how many ounces of water you need per day, depending on how much exercise you do.  

For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you will need 75 to 150 ounces of water per day. A 75-kilogram man living in Jaipur will have to drink much more than a 75-kilogram man living in Kashmir. An average-sized, healthy man could generate up to 32 ounces of sweat during a 60-minute vigorous exercise session in an indoor gym, and although this may seem intense, it is something you should not feel affected if you are adequately prepared during the day, drinking, you guessed it, the recommended amounts of water

CHECK YOUR WEIGHT

If you are losing weight after your workout, it is a sign that you need to up the water volume that you consume for your next workout. Maybe you are drinking way more than the classic recommended 64 ounces a day of water, just to cover the bases. The easy fix, of course, is to drink plenty of liquids while exercising.  

There are many benefits of water consumption, and medical experts typically recommend that 2.5 liters of water should be consumed daily. In the two or three hours right before a workout, aim to consume between two and two-and-a-half cups of water to get your body ready to exert itself. Aim for that Gallon a day if possible.