How Hydration Will Help You Meet Your New Year Fitness Goals

January is a fascinating time when memories of the past year hang heavy and the promise of a new year shines so brightly. It stands to reason, therefore, that so many people want to put their best foot forward and make changes that will improve their health and their lives.

 

Whilst it is perfectly fine to delay the start of a new year’s resolution, many people will throughout January begin to explore how they can make a new version of themselves to match the coming year.

 

For a lot of people, this will involve changing their health and fitness routine, either through a stringent regimen, changing their diet or simply ensuring they add a bit more nutrition and exercise to their life.

 

One of the biggest, and indeed easiest, ways to help you meet your fitness goals, regardless of size, is to look into sports hydration and ensure that you are drinking enough to allow your body to push further than you thought possible.

 

Here are some facts, tricks and tips regarding hydration’s role in your fitter future.

 

How Much Water Do You Actually Need?

There is a common belief that people need eight glasses of water a day, equalling roughly two litres, but in practice, hydration is more complex than a single, solid number.

 

First of all, water requirements will depend considerably on a person’s size, the intensity of their exercise and how hot the location they are training in actually is.

 

Secondly, as long as you are listening to your body, you may not necessarily need two full litres of water, and indeed in some cases having that much water may not necessarily be healthy.

 

And finally, you can fulfil your water needs through a lot of different drinks. Outside of alcohol, any other drink will help quench your thirst in one way or another, so whilst drinking water is ideal, especially if infused with electrolytes, it is not the only way to meet your needs.

 

When Should You Drink Water?

Exactly when you should rehydrate will vary, but little and often is the key, as it often is for other aspects of life.

 

If you are exercising at a moderate level of intensity for less than an hour at a time, you will be fine drinking water before, after and occasionally during your exercises.

 

However, if you are doing endurance training, you may need to drink water more regularly, ideally with more specialised hydration ingredients that restore electrolytes and sugars lost when you sweat it out. 

 

How Dry January Can Help With Fitness And Hydration

Whilst not a new year’s resolution in itself, Dry January is not only good for its own sake but can also help you achieve your fitness goals.

 

The reason for this is that alcohol is one of the only drinkable liquids that makes you more dehydrated, as well as affecting the body’s ability to recover, increasing fatigue and reducing the quality of sleep.

 

Dehydration also makes it harder to concentrate, which can in itself affect performance.