Water. Don’t you just feel better when you drink it? For me, it’s a small glass of iced water and a slice of lime on a hot day or even just after a workout. But what about before? In some of my RISEUP videos, I propose having a sip of water at the beginning of your class. You’ll even see me drinking it. A student asked me why I do this? Great question!
Water is known to do the following:
· Help flush body wastes
· Maintain blood pressure
· Assist our airways
· Lubricate the joints
· Prevent kidney damage
· Help with cognitive function
· Boost performance during exercise
Let’s look at: Lubricating the joins and boost performance during exercise.
As a quick overview, I like to think of drinking a small amount of water, even a small sip before exercising as a mini ‘pre-hydration’. During exercise, we lose water even if we don’t feel excessively sweaty. To start already dehydrated can be risky.
“The idea that bodily fluid loss, in the form of dehydration, impairs an athlete's physical performance is not new. In 1955, Buskirk et al. discussed the negative impact dehydration had....Since this research, evidence supporting dehydration related impairments in aerobic performance, anaerobic performance, and cognitive performance, have been published, as have incidents whereby athlete dehydration has led to the risk of fatality.”
In other words, if you don’t have enough fluid in your system before exercise, you run the risk of injury and even carking it. Realistically, we need to make sure that we are well hydrated a few hours before exercise. A large glass of water right before exercising could cause cramps. I know, I used to try running cross country like this. The idea behind taking a small sip of water is to give your body a little extra fluid before you begin your workout and keep your mouth moist. In RISEUP series or any other classes I have where we are combating fatigue, we are already dealing with our bodies at a low optimum, so this is giving it a small boost. If you are already severely dehydrated though, I recommend having a decent intake of fluids an hour or two before beginning any of my classes, not right before.
How do you know if your dehydrated? Unless you’ve taken a vitamin C tablet (which I do a lot) or have other health conditions, you’re urine should be pale in colour, indicating that you are well hydrated.
So how much water should you be drinking? According to humankinetics.me, 5-10ml per kilo of body weight is sufficient.
What type of water? Water water is best. Meaning, water from the tap or from a safe BPA free bottle is best. Fresh fruits and juices also count towards our daily water intake, up to 20%. But again, like with drinking a massive glass before exercise, don’t gobble up an apple right before you hit the mat. Try to avoid throwing in man-made additives to your water. If you ‘find water boring’ as one friend said, try adding a slice of lemon, orange, lime, even a few raspberries or blueberries. Keep it natural if you’re able to.
Now that you have a few more ideas about hydration you can start to figure out what works best for you in your regime. All the best!
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