‘I need to drink more water’
You guys tell me this all the time.
It’s a common mantra in health and fitness circles, but how much do you actually need?
But how much water should you drink?
Well this will vary between different people but we can estimate this with a simple sum:
• 25ml per kilogram of bodyweight
• plus 500-1000ml per hour of exercise (depending on how much you sweat)
For example:
If you weigh 70kg you should aim for 1,750ml (70kg x 25ml).
On days where they perform half an hour of exercise (but didn’t sweat that much) then add another 250ml on top of that (bringing it up to 2l for that particular day).
Do I have to just drink water?
Well, no you don’t.
All liquids count so the intake can be made up of protein shakes, tea, milk, squash, even coffee. Remember though that these will contain some calories whereas water is naturally calorie-free.
Now, shots DO NOT count (both espresso and spirit/liquor based) but I’m pretty sure you weren’t expecting me to tell you they did, were you?!
There is likely no benefit at all to drinking any more than this and you may even find that you don’t need to pee half as often!
