Staying hydrated is a very important part of your everyday routine, especially when you are exercising. During exercise, you tend to lose all the water stored up in your body through sweat, and without the perfect amount of hydration, you won’t be able to work out or even jog easily.
The good thing about going running on a treadmill is that your water supply is not far away. The fact that you get a space for your water bottle present into every treadmill now is very helpful. It is important that you drink water before you start running, during, and even after you are done.
Important Hydration Aspects
Being hydrated is very important due to the effect it has on our bodies. It is crucial to drink enough water because it allows you to regulate your body’s temperature, prevents you from getting infections, keeps your joints lubricated, provides nutrients to your cells, and ensures that your organs function properly.
Drinking a sufficient amount of water or sports drink can affect your exercising ability and make it easier for you to work out. Since water comprises seventy-five percent of our muscle tissues and ten percent of our fatty tissues, even the slightest hint of dehydration can leave a huge impact on your performance.
Being well-hydrated also helps in improving sleep quality, mood, and cognition. Experts have recommended that you drink around eleven cups of water per day as a woman and sixteen cups for men. You do not have to drink all these cups of plain water; you can opt for flavored water as well, or you can go for coffee, tea, and juices.
Effects of Dehydration
Dehydration can become a serious condition if you do not drink plenty of drinking water, and it can lead to severe side effects. If you are thirsty, then this means your body does not have enough fluid to carry out its functions properly. Keep in mind that being dehydrated does not mean that your body is simply losing water; it means that you are losing electrolytes as well, such as potassium and salt.
These electrolytes help your body breathe, talk, move, and do other things such as running and being active. If you get dehydrated, it is very easy for you to fall sick. Being extremely dehydrated can lead to a fatal complication or injury, landing you in the ER room right away. Hypovolemic shock, seizures, and cardiac arrhythmia are very common if your blood level falls down.
To know if you are dehydrated, make sure you look for the following symptoms.
Bad Breath
Saliva comes with anti-bacterial properties, and dehydration can stop your body from producing enough saliva. If you do not make enough saliva, then you can have an overgrowth of bacteria in your mouth, leading to bad breath.
Dry Skin
Many people think that getting dehydrated leads to a sweaty face, but this is not true. You go through different stages of dehydration, and extreme dehydration leads to very dry skin. Another sign of dehydration is that your skin will get tinted once you pinch it and will take some time to reach its normal appearance.
Muscle Cramps
This is also very common because if your body loses fluid, it will not be able to cool itself, which can lead to muscle cramps. The hotter you get, the more muscle cramps you will feel because the heat will affect your muscle. Also, changes in the level of potassium and sodium can lead to muscle cramps as well.
Sweet Cravings
When you get dehydrated, your organs, such as the liver, do not get enough water and are unable to release glycogen and other energy-storing components. This leads to cravings for food, especially sweets and chocolate, because your body has difficulty in breaking down glycogen to get glucose into your bloodstream.
Headache
Even the mildest headache can be caused by being dehydrated. Even though other factors can contribute to it, too, if you continue to sip more fluid throughout the day, then you can easily ease your pain.
When to Drink during Training on a Treadmill?
In order to decide whether you are drinking enough water or not, you simply need to weigh yourself without wearing your clothes, before and after your workout routine. If you notice more than a two percent change in your starting weight, it is important to drink more water in your future workout routines.
To avoid this from happening, it is advised to make sure that you drink around seventeen to twenty ounces of drinking water. However, you should do this at least two to three hours before working out. Then when there are twenty to thirty minutes left for your workout to start, you must drink another 8 ounces. You can continue to drink around seven to ten ounces after a ten to twenty-minute interval while you are exercising.
Moving on, when you have thirty minutes left in the completion of your workout routine, you must drink eight ounces. Once you are done, you must gulp down around 24 ounces of water; one ounce for each pound that you have lost through sweat during your workout.
How Often and How Much to Drink while Running on a Treadmill?
Hydration depends on how long you want to exercise. If you plan on going for a short run, which is 20 minutes long, you can use your dry mouth as a guide. As soon as you feel dry and thirsty, you should drink water.
Then again, if you are in for a longer working out session, then it is recommended that you gulp down at least one to two hours before exercising. The recommended amount that you need to drink is sixteen ounces of water.
Bear in mind that you will sweat more when you start to run, so hydration is very necessary. However, this does not mean that you consume excessive water. The recommended amount is five to twelve ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes.
Which to Choose: Water or Isotonic and Electrolyte Drinks?
If you have been working out for more than an hour, it is important for you to substitute the electrolytes that you have lost from your blood. Isotonic drinks, which are commonly known as sports drinks and electrolyte drinks, can be the perfect solution to quenching your thirst after working out. However, the drink is not recommended for everyone.
Usually, it is advised that adults and children only drink sports drinks when doing heavy exercises that last for a long time. Mainly, water should be the beverage to drink. However, eight to sixteen ounces of sports drink is good after a long and extensive workout. The reason for this is the electrolytes that isotopic drinks provide.
These benefits include the following:
- Carbohydrates: if you have been undergoing strenuous exercises for over an hour, adding a carbohydrate source is good for you.
- Sodium: almost all types of sports drinks have sodium, and this is usually present between thirty-five to two hundred mg per eight ounces. Sodium helps in retaining water in your body.
- Potassium: most sports drinks also come with fifteen to ninety mg of potassium in eight ounces, which is good for you too. If you are participating in long endurance events with heavy sweating, then this is what you need.
Closing Thoughts
When it comes down to hydration and exercising, there is still plenty of research going on about it. This is a very vast subject. However, if you are planning on doing your exercise, then it is important to mention all the things mentioned above. Maintaining and enjoying your workout sessions must be your main aim while you drink enough water like you regularly do.
The best part about treadmills is that they come with water bottle holders. Some even have two holding spaces; one for the water bottle and the other for the sports drink, and you can use both of them for your ease. Use the information present above to understand how often you should drink water and stay away from a dry mouth, chapped lips, and flaky skin as a bonus.
