Drinking water during exercise typically comes second nature for many of us but it isn’t always as easy to replenish our bodies with what it needs. For proper muscle growth, our body must remain hydrated and not just before, during and after workouts…but all day long!
Our body must have water to perform essential tasks such as digestion, controlling body temperature, production of energy, and proper sleep cycles all of which are key in our journey to muscle growth. Becoming dehydrated can not only set us back in the weight room but can also damage our body. Consuming enough macros for what your body is burning during intense lift sessions is how your body will increase muscle size and strength and proper hydration allows that process to happen.
After we burn through tons of calories and tear down our muscle fibers in the weight room, our body needs to recover and repair itself. Muscle growth happens during this recovery process and getting a good night’s rest is a huge part. The entire night you are resting, your muscles along with your brain, which are made up of 75% and 95% water respectively, are working hard to accomplish processes needed to function on a daily basis and achieve those gains we desperately seek in the weight room.
Proper hydration is extremely important for our body’s metabolism levels to reach desired levels needed to burn excess fat and tone up our muscles. When transforming our bodies and increasing muscle growth, we need to remove unwanted fat from our bodies. Drinking water can kick start our metabolism and as soon as our body becomes dehydrated, we begin to suffer. Fatigue starts and our energy levels drop causing us to fall short of completing our intense workout sessions.
Although it may seem easy to just drink lots of water but it can be much harder than it sounds. You can find alternative drinks such as protein shakes and sports drink to aid in the hydration process. Also adding more fruits and vegetables to your daily diet can increase your water intake because those foods are largely comprised of water. If you are seeking muscle growth and body transformation, the bottom line is stay hydrated! Do not let a lack of the most important nutrient our body needs be the cause of failure in the weight room.
