Water is good for you. You should drink more of it.
We all know this because we’ve all heard it a hundred times… Every health blog and magazine has done it’s rendition of “10 Reasons You Should Drink Water” and “Why Water is Beneficial to Your Health”.
But the truth is we still don’t drink as much as we should. We forget, we get busy, we don’t keep up with how much we’re actually drinking. After all, not drinking enough water isn’t that big of a deal is it?
But honestly? It is.
Especially for someone who does CrossFit.
I could list all the benefits of drinking water like clearer skin, better hair, better digestion, weight loss, etc. But this post is for the CrossFit athlete. So let’s get right down to performance.
Because like it or not, water is effecting it.
A reduction of just 2% of fluid can result in degraded performance by as much as 10-20%.
That’s no joke. Take a minute and think about the amount of effort that you put into training to improve your performance by just 5%. All that can go down the drain just by inadequate hydration.
Water is used to cool the body through perspiration. So a lack of water reduces perspiration and leads to fatigue.
So if you’re finding that you’re hitting a wall due to fatigue, it could be that you’re lacking hydration (it could also be a lack of fuel if you haven’t eaten anything in hours… we covered that in our post Fuel Up Right For Your Workout).
Water also lubricates your muscles and joints. This is essential for lifting heavy weights.
You need water in order to move muscle. Muscle is considered an active tissue and water is found in the highest concentrations in active tissue.
So let’s say your body is dehydrated. Chances are you’re not going to have a very productive weight lifting session. The reason? Because your muscles are deprived of electrolytes.
When you’re dehydrated, your muscle control and strength are weakened. So you want to lift more? Drink more!
Water also helps out with the lubrication of your joints. Water is a primary ingredient in the the lubricating fluid between your joints and if you want to keep doing CrossFit for years to come, you better take care of your joints.
So if you are lacking in water, even for a small amount of time, there is less available fluid to protect these areas.
As you add more weight and stress to your body (C’mon you’re doing CrossFit… when is that not happening?) the demands from weight lifting on the joints will increase and that’s why you need adequate protective fluid for optimum performance. This will also give longer life to your joints.
Also given the fact that we live in a hot climate, hydration is all that much more important. When it’s hot, you can easily lose a lot more and therefore, dehydrate very quickly.
So make sure you’re going into your workouts hydrated and make sure to hydrate afterward as well. If you don’t replenish after exercise, your performance on the following days will suffer.
Though this post is emphasizing the importance of drinking lots of water, there is such a thing as drinking too much water which leads to some pretty intense symptoms. It’s not nearly as common as dehydration, but it is a real thing. So don’t greatly exceed the suggested amount for your weight (formula below).
Also make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes.
Electrolytes are very important for athletes. When we hear electrolytes we immediately tend to think, “Gatorade!!” and imagine one of those sweat laden commercials with dripping athletes making ferocious faces while punching things. But there are a lot of other ways to replenish and get electrolytes… and without the sugar.
Coach Haley Hudson uses Nuun tablets which provide electrolytes without all the sugar. Coach Joshua Jericho Littauer takes Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)… he uses the Humapro tablets and power and says it’s a great way to supplement your workouts.
So are you wondering how much water is enough? Here is a simple formula to get you started in the right direction… the results tend toward the low end so you probably need at least this much. Depending on how much you sweat, how intense/long your workouts are, and what the weather is like, you may need to add more.
LIQUID MATH Formula:
Your bodyweight (in pounds) x 0.5 = the number of ounces of water you should be drinking per day.