Hydration 101

Hydration 101

Hydration is crucial for everyone, regardless of one's health and fitness goals. Proper hydration not only helps maintain optimal physical function but also supports cognitive performance, energy levels, and overall health. Hydration goes far beyond just water intake, it also includes the amount of electrolytes you consume in your diet as well, and many of us are severely dehydrated. Below are the steps to ensure you know everything needed to hydrate properly. 

The best estimation for daily water intake is your body weight in Ibs divided by ½ and converted to ounces (i.e. 200 pounds BW / 2 = 100 oz or a little over .75 gallons). This should be your base water intake. From there, you need to account for how much you sweat each day It is estimated that you need about 10-15 oz of water for every 30 minutes of exercise you do, depending on your size and the rate at which you sweat. This estimation means that you need an extra 20-30 oz of water for every hour of exercise. Calculate your total daily water with this equation, then add the adequate water for the average amount of time you train per day. Err on the higher side if you are bigger, sweat more than average, or are training in a hot environment.

Water throughout the day should have a mix of high quality electrolytes added in to ensure the body is actually putting this water to use. This can be as simple as a pinch of pink Himalayan salt but it would ideally be a mix of sodium, potassium, chloride, and even magnesium. Hydration supplementation is an extremely easy way to get these levels up. Hydrolyte by Tonificare is a blend of all these crucial electrolytes and is available in several delicious flavors. Pick some up at our Yukon location today and try it yourself!