How much do you drink before, during and after exercising???

mf0u1098
mf0u1098 Posts: 61 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm normally very good at drinking a lot of water throughout the day, I don't drink caffeine drinks, fizzy drinks, tea or coffee. However, I've realised (since having heat exhaustion on Sunday!) that I don't drink anything during workouts. I'm just not thirsty and don't sweat very much even when I work out really hard. It's made me realise that I probably feel lightheaded every time I exercise because I am dehydrated (duh!). Sorry, I know it's probably really obvious but it honestly didn't occur to me that I wasn't drinking anything. I've been given some electrolyte powder to make into drinks to replenish them to help but....

My question is, how much water or electrolyte stuff should I be drinking before during and after exercise to stop feeling like this? Is it just trial and error?

I really want to up my exercise level and start running more races but it's scared me how bad I felt!

Replies

  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Before (and is questionable): 1L of water, electrolytes not necessary, shortly before you start (might only be applicable if you're doing longer endurance event type things).

    During: 1L every hour. More if you sweat a lot, or if it's really hot. If it's less than 1 hour of working out, electrolytes and sugar aren't necessary. If longer than an hour, use a sports drink like Gatorade. Add salt and other electrolytes if your clothes are white after they dry (i.e. you sweat a lot of salt).

    After: I'd just drink twice as much as you normally would during regular day hours for an hour or two. Again, I don't feel electrolytes are necessary here.

    Adding: Your body relies on water to work at it's peak efficiency. If you lose 2% of your body weight in water (1 lb of water = 500mL), your body's efficiency drops by 20%, and continues to drop as you lose more water. You can EASILY sweat off 500mL of water in an hour, so if you're going for longer, it's vital to drink something.

    If it's less than an hour, it's not necessary to drink during the workout, but make sure you get in plenty before and after.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Hmmm ... I don't drink during workouts unless I'm on my elliptical because I HATE carrying water bottles on runs. I sweat like crazy in AC doing yoga, so you can imagine me in Florida summers outside running up steep hills! lol

    For me, just drinking a ton of water during the day (usually 8-14 glasses, depending), including usually 2-4 after a workout, depending on how thirsty I am, works fine. But everyone is different. You'd probably be OK just taking a 16-20 oz bottle with you and sipping as-needed.
  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
    Actually, NOT sweating during an intense workout is usually a huge indicator of dehydration. (Especially if outside in heat, it's an emergency signal that you are close to heat exhaustion, your body stops sweating to try and retain what little water it has left).

    So yea you are probably not drinking enough. I don't think the electrolyte stuff is going to help with the dehydration per se. I mean, what you really need is water, electrolytes don't solve not drinking enough.

    I read on some exercise blog somewhere (sorry I don't remember the source) that you should try to drink 2 glasses of water about 2 hours before exercise. That way you hydrate but have time to "eliminate" if you catch my drift (so you don't have to pee in the middle of exercise!). Then you should try to drink a glass of water after a workout, and usually sip/drink some during if you can.

    Basically, to stay hydrated just drink more *through the day* and that should help. If you are working out really hard, it probably does help to drink some sports drink but that's more for endurance/performance I believe. *Not an expert* though by any means.
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    I am currently training for a half marathon - and on long run days, I put my water bottle at about the two mile mark -- and then I can pick it up there and take it with me..... I also need to start using gu's during my run. I've been just having gu's after my run and they are a huge help. I usually end up having close to 16oz of water during a 6 mi run... when I'm inside on the treadmill, i keep my water bottle with me and run as I go -- it averages about the same..... water definitely helps.... If you're not sweating, chances are you're not doing as great at staying hydrated as you think. Even those in amazing shape sweat. But you can only sweat out what you put in. You're probably not drinking as much water as you think you are. I usually drink around 20 cups (Or more) a day.

    I ran a 10k in march - I cramped up really bad at mile 4. I didn't drink nearly enough water that morning..... but since I've been drinking more while running and beforehand - I have had NO problems! I also sometimes have a vitamin water zero (w/electrolytes) or a small bottle of g2 after my runs -- and the gu's - i'm telling you - work wonders!! Also are you eating after your runs? You really do need to replenish your body with protein & carbs after hard workouts - and running is no easy feat.

    ETA: I've read you should drink 15oz of water for every 15min of exercise to stay properly hydrated.
  • wolfgate
    wolfgate Posts: 321 Member
    We are all an experiment on one, but...

    In general, I drink depending on time and conditions. In the summer, if I'm running 50 minutes or less I just go. More than that, I'll drink. I typically use a fuel belt at that point and will drink one of the small bottles every 2-3 miles or so. In cooler weather, I'll go up to about 1:30 without drinking. For runs less than 90 minutes I don't use electrolytes unless it's hot and humid. Otherwise about half my bottles are electrolyte and half water.

    Curious what you're experiencing and how long time wise you're running. If properly hydrated overall, shorter runs shouldn't be an issue - and you said "every" time you run. So that seems inconsistent with dehydration if you're drinking well all day. ???
  • mamakate3
    mamakate3 Posts: 28
    You are probably not sweating enough because of lack of hydration as well.....sweat is a good thing!

    I try to drink 24 oz of water before a long run or hard workout (not directly before but within an hour of starting) I also sip here and there during tough workouts, and then rehydrate with at least 24 oz of water after. I personally do not usually drink electrolyte drinks but they will definitely help you with the lightheadedness!
    Definitely a trial and error but make sure you especially drink enough before and after...you will probably find that you start sweating more!
  • mf0u1098
    mf0u1098 Posts: 61 Member
    I think I'm definitely getting enough calories. I'm not too bad in the gym in the evening but I still don't sweat and feel slightly "off balance" on the treadmill. I drink about 2 litres of water during the day then go to the gym for over an hour where I'll generally do cardio and some weights.

    The main problem is when I run races cos they are almost always in the morning! I have IBS so have a dodgy tummy every morning and so struggle to eat anything before a race. Sunday was unusual in that it was 24degs in full sun and I don't generally run in them conditions. I was very lightheaded, my heart rate was 181bpm and I was just getting so weak and hot that I had to walk most of it. When I got home I drank some water and asked my mum to make me a banana butty cos I was just too exhausted to do it myself and crashed out in bed for a few hours. I didn't start feeling better until about 8hrs later (had really bad headaches too). It was almost like when you have flu and have absolutely no energy at all, I felt all the life had been sucked out of me! Honestly, it was so scary to feel that bad after doing just a 10k run which I should have been able to do easily!

    I think I'll start to really log when I drink and how much and see how I start to feel. I've always used the "pale pee" test to see if I'm dehydrated and try to make sure it's as pale as poss. I guess I just need to keep experimenting with hydrating and seeing what works for me.

    Thank you all for your help. It is very much appreciated xxx

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