One single 16-ounce bottle of water…
That’s how much water polls consistently show most people manage to drink in a day.
While there isn’t a magic number of ounces that everyone needs to drink in a day to be hydrated (hydration needs vary from person to person), we can say with confidence that one bottle of water is not nearly enough for anyone, especially if you exercise.
Furthermore, even if you carry around a gallon water jug and religiously drink every last drop, there is a strong chance you’re still not doing enough to really be hydrated.
That’s because proper hydration goes beyond how much water you drink. Most people miss a crucial component of adequate hydration.
Today, we will share the best practices for staying hydrated.
You’ll learn:
- Why hydration is important (especially during workouts)
- What can happen to your body if you aren’t hydrated during workouts
- Signs your body may be underhydrated
- Why you might not be properly hydrated (even if you drink a lot of water)
- The role of salt in hydration and fluid balance
- Smart hydration strategies
- What to do if you need to rehydrate fast
By the end, whether you are a beginner just starting your fitness journey or training like an Olympic athlete, you’ll know exactly what your body needs to be well-hydrated enough to perform at your best and recover faster, ensuring you make the most of your training efforts.
Why Hydration is Crucial if You Exercise
We’re sure you’ve heard it a thousand times: drink more water. We don’t have to tell you that staying hydrated is essential for your health.
But as a refresher, you literally can’t survive without water, and you won’t function optimally if you’re even slightly dehydrated. The human body is about 60% water. Nearly every system relies on it, including muscle function, brain health, nervous system signaling, blood circulation, digestion, and body temperature regulation.
Water also supports immune response, cushions your joints, flushes out toxins, and keeps your heart and metabolism working efficiently. That’s one reason many people notice fat loss after increasing their water intake, even without making any other diet or exercise changes.
If you breathe air, you must stay hydrated.
Even without exercise, your body loses water daily through various natural processes, including breathing, digestion, stress, and sleep. Add caffeine to the mix, and water loss increases due to its mild diuretic effect.
However, if you’re physically active, your hydration needs go up, especially during workouts.
That’s because exercise doesn’t just cause you to sweat; it also increases your core temperature, speeds up circulation, and accelerates most systems in the body. All things that place greater demand on your body’s fluid reserves.
What Can Happen to Your Body if You Aren’t Hydrated While Working Out
In addition to the general health risks associated with dehydration, not staying properly hydrated (especially during workouts) can significantly impact your performance, recovery, safety, and results.
Here are just a few things that can happen when you’re pushing your body without giving it the hydration it needs:
Faster Physical and Mental Fatigue
If you’re not adequately hydrated, oxygen delivery to your muscles and brain takes a hit. That’s because dehydration thickens your blood, making it harder to circulate oxygen efficiently.
With less oxygen available, both your body and mind start to burn out more quickly. You may struggle to finish your sets, lose stamina midway through your workout, and find it harder to stay mentally locked in.
Muscle Cramps or Spasms
Nobody wants to feel a muscle cramp or spasm mid-workout. These involuntary muscle contractions are no doubt annoying and can disrupt your workout. But they can also lead to bigger issues, such as limited mobility and possibly even an injury.
While there can be other causes, research suggests cramps and spasms during exercise are most likely linked to dehydration, low salt levels, or muscle fatigue that affects how your nerves respond.
Water and electrolytes (especially sodium and potassium) are critical for nerve signaling and muscle contraction. When they’re out of balance, your muscles become more prone to misfiring, making cramps and spasms far more likely.
Risk of Overheating
Your body regulates temperature by sweating. But without enough fluid in your system, that cooling mechanism doesn’t work efficiently.
Dehydration limits your ability to release heat, increasing the risk of overheating or, in more serious cases, heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.
Slower Nutrient Transport and Detoxification
Dehydration doesn’t just leave you thirsty; it slows down how efficiently your body moves nutrients and clears out waste. Both of these processes are important all the time, but they’re particularly vital after a workout.
Your body needs to shuttle protein, glucose, and amino acids to your muscles fast to kickstart repair and growth. However, if you’re not properly hydrated, that delivery system becomes sluggish, and your post-workout smoothie or meal won’t work as effectively.
On top of that, exercise creates metabolic waste that your body needs to eliminate. Without enough water, detox slows down, too, which can further delay recovery and make you feel rundown instead of recharged.
Poor Post-Workout Recovery
Nutrient absorption isn’t the only thing that matters for optimal recovery after a workout. Keeping inflammation within a supportive range, muscle tissue repair, and even sleep quality can all impact how well your body bounces back after a workout.
And you guessed it, hydration plays a role in every single one of those things. Without enough water, inflammation can potentially stick around longer than needed, muscles can take more time to repair, and sleep (which is critical for rebuilding and results) often takes a hit.
If you’re not properly hydrated, you’re limiting recovery and missing out on the full benefits of your training (and your full potential).
Joint Stiffness and Discomfort
We put enough stress on our joints just moving through everyday life. If you’re lifting heavy, running, or doing any kind of jumping, plyometrics, or high-impact training, your joints are taking an even greater hit.
Water helps protect your joints by keeping cartilage hydrated, reducing friction, and acting like a cushion during movement. When you’re dehydrated, that cushion breaks down, and movement can start to feel stiff or painful during and after your workout.
Over time, that constant wear and tear can lead to more serious issues, including joint inflammation or long-term degeneration.
Water Retention
It might seem backward, but drinking less water often leads to holding more of it. When your body senses dehydration, it starts holding onto fluid to protect itself.
The result is bloating and puffiness, especially if you’re also low on minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium. However, once your body starts getting enough of what it needs, it stops retaining excess water and begins using it more effectively.
Types of Exercise and Workout Environments That Might Require Additional Hydration
If you are active, you need to stay extra hydrated. However, some workouts and environments result in more water and mineral loss (and the more important it becomes to stay ahead of it).
Outdoor or Hot-Climate Training
If you train outside in hot or humid temperatures, take hot yoga or other “heated” room classes, use a sauna, or even train in a gym where the air conditioning is not blasting, you need to stay even more hydrated during your workouts.
The higher the heat or humidity, the more you sweat and risk fluid and electrolyte loss. Studies show that this can easily lead to your sweat output exceeding your fluid intake, increasing the risk of your body entering a state of water deficit called hypohydration.
Hypohydration limits your ability to tolerate heat by reducing your sweating rate and decreasing blood flow to the skin, which are two of the main ways your body releases excess heat. When those systems slow down, heat builds up faster. This can directly impact your performance, make it harder to regulate your body temperature, and increase your risk of heat-related issues.
The warmer the environment, the more water you should drink. If you’re not replacing the water (and electrolytes) that you’re losing, it will put strain on your body not only during your workout, but long after it’s over.
High-Intensity or Long-Duration Training
Workouts like CrossFit, HIIT, long-distance running, cycling, or circuit-style strength training and sprinting raise your heart rate and increase your core temperature higher than lower-intensity or steady-state exercise. This leads to greater sweat loss and increased fluid turnover, which can quickly result in dehydration if not properly addressed.
Endurance Sessions or Two-a-Days
The longer you train, the more fluid you lose, making those who enjoy endurance-style training or athletes who do long workouts or multiple sessions in a single day at a higher risk of dehydration. Proper hydration throughout the day and during this type of training supports energy, nutrient delivery, and focus. Without it, performance drops, and recovery slows.
Heavy Lifting
Lifting heavy weights can put a lot of stress on muscles and joints. Water helps reduce friction in the joints and supports muscle function. Without it, soreness increases, and movement can feel stiff or uncomfortable.
How Much Water You Need and Signs You Might Not Be Hydrated
How much water is enough to avoid dehydration? Well, that depends. We’re sure you’ve heard the “eight glasses a day” rule. While that’s certainly a solid starting point, it’s a very general guideline and may or may not be enough to replace the water you’re actually losing.
Many factors are at play when determining how much water you really need, including your activity level, environment, diet, sleep, and stress levels. Also, if you are taking some supplements (like creatine) or are a frequent sauna user as part of your post-workout recovery routine, you might need to drink more water.
Plus, staying hydrated isn’t just about how much water you drink. If you aren’t adding electrolytes, such as sodium, to your water, your body may not be able to absorb or utilize that water effectively.
In fact, you could possibly get away with drinking less water if the water you are drinking is supplemented with the minerals your body needs to retain and utilize them. We’ll talk more about that in a moment. First, let’s go over a few signs that the amount of water you’re drinking isn’t cutting it.
You can’t assume you’re hydrated just because you hit a certain number of ounces. The best way to know if you are hydrated is to listen to your body.
Here are some common signs you may not be adequately hydrated or already dehydrated:
- Dry mouth or sticky saliva
- Headaches or lightheadedness
- Brain fog or trouble focusing
- Fatigue or sluggishness (especially if you got a good night of sleep)
- Dark yellow urine or low urine output
- Dry skin or a lack of sweat during exercise
- Muscle cramps or spasms (especially during workouts)
- Faster-than-normal heart rate while training
- Feeling overheated, dizzy, or weak (especially mid-workout)
- Poor recovery or excessive soreness after training
- Unusual hunger or sugar cravings (which can be a sign of thirst)
- Puffy hands, feet, or face (a sign of water retention from underhydration)
If you’re noticing more than one of these signs regularly, your current water intake is likely not meeting your body’s actual needs. Or, you might be drinking enough water to replace the fluid you’re losing, but not enough to replace the electrolytes that go with it. As you’ll learn in the next section, minerals like sodium play a much bigger role in hydration than most people realize.
Before we discuss the critical role salt plays in hydration, it’s essential to note that if you’re experiencing confusion, dizziness that doesn’t subside, a rapid heartbeat, or have stopped sweating despite feeling overheated, you should seek medical attention immediately. These can be signs of severe dehydration or heat-related illness.
Important Note for Older Adults: Hydration Becomes More Important With Age
The older you are, the more seriously you need to take this hydration advice.
We’ve long known that as we age, our sense of thirst naturally declines, which makes it easier to become dehydrated without even realizing it. Kidney function also tends to decline with age, which can lead to increased fluid loss over time.
Therefore, as we age, it’s crucial to prioritize staying hydrated, even if you never exercise. However, if you are active, researchers discovered that aging also affects the body’s ability to regulate hydration during physical stress (and not in a good way).
A study published in The Journal of Physiology found that the way our body responds to dehydration during exercise also shifts as we get older.
Researchers found that in younger people, dehydration usually triggers a reduction in sweat loss, helping to preserve fluids. However, in older adults, that adjustment didn’t happen. Their bodies continue to sweat at the same rate, which can lead to further fluid and electrolyte loss.
While that might sound like a beneficial response (because it helps with heat loss), they say it actually increases the risk of more severe dehydration and heat-related strain during physical activity.
The older you get, the more you need to take hydration seriously (especially during workouts.) However, hydration needs aren’t the only thing that tends to change with age. For more expert advice, read “Aging and Exercise: Fitness Tips For As You Get Older.”
Why Plain Water Might Not Be Enough to Stay Hydrated
Hydration isn’t just about how much water you drink. If it were, we wouldn’t hear so many stories of people who drink a gallon a day and still feel fatigued mid-workout, cramp easily, struggle with joint stiffness, or deal with constant bloating and water retention.
Plain water can only address part of the hydration equation. That’s because when your body loses fluids, it’s not just water you’re losing. You’re also losing key electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride. These minerals are essential for fluid balance, muscle contractions, and nerve signaling.
So yes, you’ve gotta drink water. But without electrolytes, your body won’t absorb or use that water efficiently. Instead of fully hydrating your cells, you’re just running fluid through your system without much benefit.
You don’t necessarily need to add electrolytes to every sip of water, but you should be intentional. Incorporating more mineral-rich foods throughout the day is one way to support baseline electrolyte balance, but the most effective way to replenish electrolytes lost through sweat is with a quality hydration supplement that contains a clinically backed ratio of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
You can also just add a pinch of salt to your water. While all electrolytes matter, sodium is one of the most essential electrolytes in that equation, especially when you’re physically active or sweating more than usual.
The Role of Salt in Hydration
There is a good reason why many athletes and bodybuilders add salt to their water before training. Sodium (the main component of salt) plays a crucial role in helping your body absorb and retain the water you drink.
Sodium helps draw water into your cells, where it can actually be used to support essential functions like muscle contractions, nerve communication, and temperature regulation. Without enough sodium in your system, the water you’re drinking isn’t going to be as effective.
Adding a small amount of salt to your drinking water helps replenish these lost electrolytes, promoting better water absorption and preventing dehydration. As a result, you should see a significant difference in how you feel and perform.
What Type of Salt is Best for Hydration?
There are many types of salt. You’ve got plain table salt, sea salt, Himalayan pink salt, Celtic sea salt, and even more niche options like Redmond Real Salt or black salt.
While table salt gets the job done in a pinch, it’s highly refined and stripped of most trace minerals. Sea salt and Himalayan salt, on the other hand, retain more of their natural mineral content, including small amounts of magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
Celtic sea salt is another standout. It contains a broad spectrum of trace minerals and tends to have a slightly higher moisture content, which may support better solubility and absorption.
All salt provides sodium, which is the most important electrolyte for fluid balance. However, if you’re intentional about hydration, especially surrounding or during your workouts, opting for mineral-rich salts (or a well-formulated electrolyte supplement) is likely your best bet.
Fluids That are NOT Hydrating
If plain water can’t fully hydrate you, it probably goes without saying that other fluids, such as soda, energy drinks, and even seltzer, won’t either. Just because you can drink something doesn’t mean it should count toward your hydration goals.
In fact, some beverages can undo some of your hydration efforts by pulling water away from your cells and making it harder for your body to actually use what you’re drinking.
Here are a few drinks that won’t help hydrate you (and might even make things worse):
Soda and Energy Drinks
Soda and energy drinks contain a double anti-hydration whammy: caffeine and carbonation. If they have sugar, make that a triple-whammy.
Caffeine, especially in large amounts, is well-known to have a mild diuretic effect and can increase fluid loss.
When it comes to carbonation, some research suggests that carbonated water may affect how food and liquids are distributed in the stomach shortly after consumption, potentially slowing the rate at which the body absorbs water. But more than anything, carbonated beverages are known to make some people feel full, which could lead you to drink less water.
Then there’s the sugar. Many sodas and energy drinks are packed with sugar. Excess sugar consumption raises the sugar concentration in your bloodstream. To balance things out, your body pulls water from your cells into the bloodstream, which can leave your cells dehydrated and increase thirst. On top of that, your body may ramp up urination in an effort to get rid of the extra sugar, which only adds to the fluid loss.
Juice
Some people will tell you that juice can count toward your fluid intake goals because juice contains water. That’s true, but it’s also packed with sugar. Even if that sugar is natural, it could still potentially have a similar effect on hydration as soda.
Natural juice is no doubt a better option than soda or an energy drink, but it still doesn’t offer the same hydration benefit as water.
Milk and Milk Alternatives
Milk does offer some hydration, along with protein, calcium, and other nutrients. But it digests more slowly than water and isn’t ideal if you need to hydrate quickly.
The same goes for milk alternatives like oat, almond, or coconut milk. They’re fine in your smoothie but shouldn’t be your go-to for hydration.
Coffee and Tea
In moderate amounts, black coffee and unsweetened tea can contribute to hydration. However, high caffeine intake (especially from strong brews or in large quantities) can be dehydrating.
Then, if you start adding sugar, syrups, or creamers, you’re back in the same territory as soda or sweetened drinks.
Alcohol
If your goal is to stay hydrated, alcohol is a hard no. It’s a diuretic, meaning it increases urination and fluid loss. Add in the fact that alcohol impairs recovery, disrupts sleep, and interferes with muscle building and fat loss, and you’ve got a drink that does more harm than good, especially if you’ve got fitness and aesthetic goals.
Hydration Timing Tips
The most important aspect of hydration is consistency. Your total daily fluid intake matters far more than how much water you drink at a particular time of day.
That said, there are a few key times when being intentional about hydration can make a big difference. This is especially true when you add minerals like sodium to your water.
Here are four windows when your body needs hydration most and when it might make sense to add salt or an electrolyte supplement to your water:
Upon Waking
Everybody wakes up slightly dehydrated. That’s because, while sleeping, you’ve not only gone hours without fluids, but your body experiences additional fluid loss through overnight respiration and sweat.
Before food, coffee, or any other beverage, make it a habit to drink a big glass of water as soon as you get out of bed. This helps rehydrate your cells, jumpstarts digestion, and gets your metabolism moving.
Your morning glass of water is also a smart time to add a pinch of salt or a balanced electrolyte supplement. Many people say adding minerals to their morning water helps them feel more awake, focused, and energized (even before that first sip of coffee.)
30-60 Minutes Before Your Workout
You don’t need to chug a ton of water right before your workout, but going into your workout underhydrated can sabotage your performance. A moderate amount of water (anywhere from 8-20 ounces), about half an hour to an hour before training, helps regulate core temperature and maintain blood flow.
If you’re working out intensely, in heat, or hitting the gym first thing in the morning, adding electrolytes or a pinch of salt can help optimize fluid balance and reduce the risk of cramping or early fatigue.
During Training
You should always sip water throughout your training session. Recommendations for how much range from 4 to 10 ounces every 10 to 20 minutes. Listen to your body, but to play it safe, always assume you need to drink a little more than you think.
If your workout is under an hour and not particularly sweaty, water alone might be enough. However, if you’re exercising for longer periods, lifting heavy weights, training in high heat or humidity, or sweating excessively, your body is losing both fluids and minerals. Consider an electrolyte mix or add some salt to your water.
After Training
Rehydration doesn’t end when your workout does. Post-exercise hydration supports recovery, aids in muscle repair, and replenishes both water and electrolytes lost through sweat.
This window is when it’s especially important to not only replace water but to replenish sodium, potassium, and magnesium as well to help reduce muscle soreness, prevent headaches, and support better sleep later that night.
What To Do if You Need to HYDRATE FAST
Whether you pushed a little too hard in the heat, had a post-workout sauna session, wrote off a headache or energy crash not realizing it was due to dehydration, or even ignored our “no alcohol” advice and are trying to bounce back after a night of drinking, there are moments when your body might need to rehydrate FAST!
Typically, in these instances, water alone isn’t going to cut it. Here are the best ways to get fluids (and the right minerals) into your system quickly:
Start With Water (But Don’t Stop There)
Plain water is a good place to start, but if you’re already dehydrated, it probably won’t be enough on its own. You also need to replenish the electrolytes your body has lost, especially sodium. Without those minerals, your body won’t absorb and hold onto the water you’re drinking as efficiently.
Add Salt or Use a Quality Electrolyte Mix
Add a pinch of high-quality sea salt and a squeeze of lemon to your water. Or, better yet, mix in an electrolyte powder that contains sodium, potassium, and magnesium. This helps your body pull water into your cells and restore balance faster than water alone.
Eat Something With Water and Minerals
You could pair fluids with a meal high in water and mineral content. Foods with high water content (watermelon, cucumbers, oranges, or strawberries) and those with a higher mineral content (leafy greens, avocado, sweet potatoes, or yogurt) can further support hydration.
These foods not only help increase your overall fluid intake but also provide electrolytes like potassium and magnesium, which help your body absorb and retain the water you drink.
Skip Diuretics
Don’t drink anything that could further increase fluid loss, such as caffeine and alcohol. If you’re already dehydrated, it’s best to avoid these beverages until you’ve fully rehydrated.
In Severe Cases, IV Hydration May Be Needed
If you’re experiencing symptoms like rapid heartbeat, confusion, extreme dizziness, or haven’t urinated in many hours, oral hydration might not be enough.
In such cases, IV fluids (administered by a qualified healthcare provider) may be necessary to quickly restore fluid and electrolyte balance. If you’re unsure, it’s best to seek medical attention.
Conclusion
An under-hydrated body (especially one that’s dehydrated) isn’t going to function, perform, or recover the way you want it to. This applies to everyone, but it becomes even more crucial if you’re physically active.
You’ve gotta drink plenty of water, avoid fluids that work against you, and be smart about how you hydrate by incorporating electrolytes that support fluid balance.
Just remember, staying hydrated isn’t just about logging ounces in a fitness app or tracker or carrying a water bottle around all day. It’s about giving your body what it truly needs to move well, think clearly, and recover efficiently.
That means enough water to match your actual losses that come through sweat, movement, and even sleep, as well as enough minerals like salt to help your body absorb and actually use that water where it counts.
