The Importance of Hydration and its Effect on Performance
It’s common knowledge that proper hydration is important for our overall health and wellbeing; if we’re dehydrated, our body will not perform at optimal levels. We also all know the easiest ways to tell if we’re dehydrated– little or no urine, darker urine, dry mouth, headaches, and fatigue. But what is the cost of dehydration? How does it affect our everyday and athletic performances? How much water should we be drinking and how can we take steps to increase water consumption?
At the most basic level, proper hydration allows many important processes in the body to take place. According to the Association of UK Dieticians, “From our blood system carrying essential glucose, oxygen and nutrients to cells, to the kidneys getting rid of waste products we no longer want, fluid in the body is vital to allow these to occur. It also lubricates our joints and eyes, helps our digestive system function and keeps our skin healthy.” In addition, our body is designed to regulate its own temperature through perspiration, “The more water we lose through sweat, the more we need to replace, so those who live (or vacation) in a hot climate, or lose more fluid than normal doing sporting activities will need to drink more fluids more regularly to replace that lost through sweat.”.
While most guidelines state that we should be drinking at least 8, 8oz glasses of water per day, as HIIT athletes we are putting our body under additional stress and in most cases this amount may not be enough to perform at our best. Other factors to consider when determining the amount of water you should drink include your gender, weight, current state of health, activity level, and environment. In order to calculate a baseline for the number of ounces you should be drinking per day, you can use an online hydration calculator hydration-calculator.
If you’re not drinking enough water to sustain proper hydration levels for your body, it will have an effect on your athletic performance. In a scholarly article by the American Council on Exercise, “Individuals who are under hydrated display shorter exercise times to exhaustion and higher perceived exertion ratings.” In other words, if you aren’t hydrated you won’t be able to work to your max potential and you will feel tired quicker. The article also goes on to state that, “In addition to compromised endurance performance,several studies have shown impairments in anaerobic performance. The mechanisms underlying anaerobic performance decrements are not well understood but are likely due to reductions in muscle strength and power. Underhydration also impairs cognitive function, including reaction time, task performance and mood state.”.
If you struggle to get enough water in, try to set yourself up for success and find ways that you can enjoy drinking water, and set some rules that you can stick to: invest in a water bottle that you like, add fruit to your water, drink water at the temperature that you prefer, tie it into your daily routines, alternate with other beverages that are hydrating, or make it a rule to finish at least one bottle by the end of your HIIT Logic workout. If you are taking time out of your schedule to make it to classes, be sure you are staying hydrated so you can maximize your performance and allow your body to perform at its highest level.