This is my water bottle. It was a gift and I love it. Some might question whether a personal trainer should be advertising cupcakes, but I say everyone deserves a guilty food pleasure and mine so happens to be cupcakes. But that's not the point of this post. Let's talk about hydration instead.
The single most important thing you can put in your body is water. Especially if you're working out. Our bodies are full of it and therefore need it to function. Dehydration limits performance and puts you at risk for a variety of medical conditions. Pay close attention to the temperature outside, humidity levels and the duration of your exercise session. All of which can affect the rate at which your body uses water. And since we aren't camels, we can't grow humps of water to tap. It all comes back out, as you know. Which means we have to be on top of our hydration at all times. As gross as this sounds, the darker your urine the more dehydrated you actually are. So take a peek after you leak!
And make sure you have a sustainable water bottle, one that's easy to refill throughout the day. If you're a distance runner, invest in a hand-held water bottle so that you can maintain hydration during your run. My personal trainer manual suggests that the average individual needs 2 to 3 quarts of water every day. That amounts to about 75% of a gallon. (Keep in mind some of that will come from food, too.) But if you're exercising, my manual also suggests that you'll need to take in 7 to 10 ounces every 10 to 20 minutes. And that depends on the intensity of your workout, of course.
Bottom line, drink water. Plenty of it. Drink before you even get thirsty because once the thirst kicks in, you're already dehydrated.
Oh, and—treat yourself to a cupcake every so often. They're divine.
