Keeping hydrated this summer
Staying hydrated is important all year round but the warmer summer weather brings some additional challenges and considerations for the hydration strategies of athletes, gym goers, runners, etc. Here are some tips for staying hydrated whilst training this summer!
Why is hydration important?
Not drinking enough fluid leads to dehydration which is detrimental to both health and performance. Dehydration increases core body temperature, heart rate and even your perceived rate of exertion (making exercise feel even harder!).
Fluid is lost through breathing, urine and sweat (so you can see why people who are active in summer need to be proactive in staying hydrated!).
Tips to stay hydrated
- Drink water to hydrate when you wake up and sip on water throughout the day.
- If you struggle to drink plain water, try adding sugar-free squash or a lemon slice to your water to flavour it.
- Aim to drink around 350-500ml in the 2-4 hours pre-exercise, or more if your urine is dark.
- Add an electrolyte tablet to ~500ml of water to drink after intense training sessions (e.g., sessions longer than 60 mins in duration, or in the heat, where you sweated considerably) to replace the salts lost in sweat.
- Use urine colour to gauge hydration status throughout the day. Drink more if urine is dark and ease off if urine is clear/colourless.
- Don’t over consume fluids – particularly plain water without electrolytes if you have sweated considerably.
Watch the video here!
Rachel’s Instagram channel: @rcperformancenutrition
