Let’s talk hydration. Whatever you are doing, keeping your body well supplied with enough water is critical to your health. It is a necessary ingredient in most of your body’s processes from regulating temperature to digesting food, and most of your body is made of it.

Even if you’re sitting at a desk, you’re going to need to top up several times a day. If you’re training, you’ll need to do that more often as you’re going to sweat out a lot more. Exactly how much depends on what you’re doing, and where. Being in a hot environment will obviously make you sweat more, but don’t go by the heat alone. A windy or very dry environment will also drain you faster, as will air conditioning.

In general, it’s better to take small sips at regular intervals to keep going. Water isn’t absorbed into your system as soon as you drink it, so drinking regularly keeps your levels up. Taking sips rather than chugging it down also avoids getting a load of water in your belly, which can be unpleasant if you’re running around or getting punched.

While it is possible to drink too much water, to the point where it is a danger to you, this condition is more usually observed during marathons and heavy duty competitions where there is an extreme loss of minerals through perspiration. This is well beyond the level of activity we usually discuss here, so let’s just leave it at a warning not to drink so much water that it makes you feel sick.

What should you drink? Water’s obviously a no brainer – the best way to get water into your system is to drink water. Sports drinks are also an option, although they can have somewhat mixed results. For long sessions and intense activity, they’re useful as they help replenish minerals lost through sweating. However, most contain sugar or other additives which you don’t need. Natural alternatives such as coconut water may be cleaner, but again unless you’re in the middle of a long, hard session, you should really not be losing minerals so quickly that you need this kind of boost.

Caffeine during training is a bad idea since it slows down the absorption of water in your system. We’re big fans of coffee – it would be difficult for us to do anything useful without it – but the middle of a training session isn’t the time for it. On the other hand, some people may benefit from a cup taken half an hour or so before a session. People’s reactions to caffeine vary a lot, so it’s up to you to see if this works for you.

Whatever you choose to drink, remember to stay hydrated and take care.

Header image: Drops #5 by Davide Restivo (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Stay Hydrated by Ryan Hyde (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Fresh cuts of fruits and vegetables by Peggy Greb, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public domain)
A small cup of coffee by Julius Schorzman (CC BY-SA 2.0)