Liquids: a Key to Healthy Muscle Growth
The Right Balance of Certain Liquids is Vital to Improved Condition
Oct 17, 2009
Considering the human body has a liquid content which is some 60 percent of overall weight, athletes such as bodybuilders -- where the appearance of the physique can be significantly affected by the degree of water content and moisture -- have probably the greatest reasons of all to pay attention to liquids and their benefits. Of course, it's not only the final point of stepping onto a contest stage when a bodybuilding athlete needs to be concerned about liquids, their effects and benefit, but the entire period of training preparation leading up to that moment.
How the Body Loses Water - and How to Prevent It
Nowadays, athletes have the choice of a wide range of liquid supplements and post-workout drinks along with plentiful bottled water. The decision to make between relying on water or having a daily sports drink should depend on the intensity, frequency and duration of their gym workout, along with their individual needs from the mineral and other nutritional replacement benefits that a sports drink can provide. Water is in general sufficient to replace fluids that are lost during low-to-moderately intense exercise that lasts less than an hour. For longer and more intense exercise, the intake of sports drinks is more effective for rehydration and to replenish carbohydrates as the body's muscle and liver glycogen supply begins to decrease.
Sports drinks are geared to a variety of training situations. Those made with simple carbohydrates -- and which are most common -- are easy for the body to burn for energy during a workout. Because longer and more intense training can lead to electrolyte imbalances, sports drinks with electrolyte content can help prevent this and in the appropriate quantities -- something water alone cannot provide.
Competitive bodybuilders are in this second category. Notes massive young amateur heavyweight Rich Legislador, who won his class and overall at the NPC Western Regional Championships in 2006: "I live and train in a dry and desert environment. Remaining constantly aware of my liquid intake is extremely important to my overall condition and progress." Rich is typical of rising amateur heavyweights who can lose a large amount of body moisture because they live and train in an extremely dry climate. Their solution: a ready supply of both pure bottled water for those hours of the day when they are not working out, and then switching to liquid replacement drinks after workouts. A meal in liquid supplement form is also a useful method of speeding absorption into the digestive system before or after a training session.
Staying hydrated in different conditions and climates
It is not only hot or tropical climates that can create extra demands on the body's ability to remain well hydrated. Winter weather, for instance, can lessen your awareness of sweat loss, but the body's need for hydration remains as constant as always and should not be ignored. The body continues to evaporate water even in the coldest of weather.
Another challenging environment is high altitudes, so if you live and train high above sea level, then you may notice how the body tends to easily dehydrate also in such locations. The lungs must work harder and faster in thinner air, resulting in fluid loss from the evaporation in the body's respiratory tract. It is certainly wiser to take in more fluids at higher altitudes than when being at closer to sea level. Swiss bodybuilding champion Phil Von Kaenel is on such athlete who lives and trains in a dry and winter climate: "I rely on liquid replacement drinks frequently after a workout, whether at home in Switzerland or traveling in warmer, humid climates," he says.
To summarize the key points to remember about hydration throughout the day:
- Make sure to always start a workout being well hydrated. Drink about 500 ml. of fluids at least two hours before exercise.
- During your workout, take your fluids early on in the session and try to take in around 125-250 ml. during 10-20 minute intervals.
- Your goal should be to replace at least 80 percent of water loss through body perspiration during exercise.
- For low-to-moderate intense training lasting less than one hour, water is a sufficient fluid replacement drink.
- For intense training lasting up to an hour or more, a sport drink with an eight percent carbohydrate content can increase the rate of water absorption. It also provides additional fuel, delays fatigue and boosts your performance.
- Fluid replacement drinks which are carbohydrate (energy) drinks are an excellent resource for rapid rehydration and recovery. Consuming 30-60 grams carbohydrate per hour can stabilize blood sugar levels, and improve exercise performance that lasts more than hour.
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