Water During Exercise

Words: 1296
Pages: 6

Water is as essential to the body as oxygen and food. Although a person can never live without oxygen, and thirty days without food, they can only live without water for three days. Maintaining the balance of fluids during exercise needs careful consideration by all people, but it is especially important to an athlete. Without the proper intake and outtake of water, an athlete can become dehydrated, have diminished athletic performance, and have serious health issues.

Water, the main component in blood, which carries, oxygen, nutrients, hormones and other substances to cells also removes waste products from cells. Water plays a vital role in other bodily functions by lubricating joints, protecting body organs and tissues, heat dispersion,
…show more content…
(Benardot, 102) Fluid consumption during exercise can also prevent muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. The latter two being extremely dangerous conditions that result from improper fluid intake combined with the outside temperature. Muscle cramps are caused by the imbalance of fluids and electrolytes caused by not taking in the proper amounts of fluids for exercising. If you sweat more than most, or lose more sodium and other electrolytes in your sweat, you can get cramping in your muscles. Drinking sports drinks which contain sodium can help alleviate this issue. If heat exhaustion occurs, getting the athlete cooled off quickly is the first step in recovery. An athlete who experiences heat exhaustion should not try to return to exercising or participating in a competition and instead should take the rest of the day off using rehydrating strategies. Heat stroke, which can be more dangerous than heat exhaustion, occurs when there is a high rise in body temperature, hot and dry skin, and a rapid heart rate. (Benardot, 96) In order to prevent these issues an athlete needs to consider not only drinking water but also sports drinks containing electrolytes and carbohydrates. Since glycogen is depleted during exercise, drinking fluids that have carbohydrates in them can sustain mental function as well as an athlete’s performance. An athlete wants to make sure they try to take in at least one gram of carbohydrates per minute of exercise. (Benardot, 105) Athletes will want to try different sports drinks out to ensure they do not cause them any intestinal issues during exercise and competitions. Hydration during exercise is different depending on the activity. If an event is less than 30 minutes, an athlete would need fluids at more that 15 minutes beforehand. Runners, and endurance athletes should drink fluids