I want to tell you 5 reasons to hydrate while exercising as well as why it's important to understand filtered water is healthier than bottled water.

A Little Backstory

I love working out! Granted, I don't always feel motivated to do it, but I love the way it makes me feel, both during and after.

Before life became busier with children, my wife and I visited the gym every week day. We really enjoyed working out together.

But even before I met her, I spent many hours with my trainer in a gym, preparing for body building competitions. That was a fun experience!

I've always enjoyed exercising and feeling my best. I think it was the 14 years of baseball in my youth that started the habit.

Now, even though I don’t make it to the gym very much, I still have weights and equipment in my garage that I use regularly. Thankfully, you don't need a gym membership to stay fit and healthy.

Hydrating While Exercising

Whether you're in the gym of just exercising in your home, it's important to remember to hydrate while exercising.

Clearly, we all understand that you don't want to be dehydrated while you're physically active. But there’s more than one reason this is important.

Here are 5 reasons to hydrate while exercising:

1. Hydration increases energy
2. Hydration improves movement and agility
3. Hydration helps mental clarity
4. Hydration maintains thermoregulation
5. Hydration aids in recovery

Hydration Increases Energy

It's pretty well-known that exercise in itself can increase energy. But, hydration during exercise can also increase energy.

It gives your body the energy it needs to keep going during the workout. Taking a drink every few reps will keep up your stamina so you can finish the workout strong.

Hydration Improves Movement and Agility

Movement is a big part of exercising. If you're not moving, you're not burning calories.

Drinking enough water during exercise is important to allow the body to move better and make you more agile.

Of course, the more active you are, the better your movement and agility will be when you’re not working out too. A lethargic lifestyle limits your mobility and function.

Don't forget to drink before and during exercise to make your workout the most effective it can be.

Hydration Helps Mental Clarity

During a workout, mental clarity is key. You must be able to focus and stay mentally centered on what you are doing.

Distractions will affect your workout and prevent you from getting the best results.

Staying hydrated will help improve your mental state so you’re not wasting a workout.

Hydration Maintains Thermoregulation

The internal temperature of your body is very important to maintain during exercise. Hydration helps with thermoregulation.

Obviously, during intense cardio or weight-lifting, the body naturally heats up. When your temperature increases, the body works to regulate that temperature through sweat and vasodilatation.

Water is a necessary component in helping this regulation. Without enough water, the body functions might shut down, causing you to pass out or even experience heat stroke.

Hydration Aids in Recovery

Staying hydrating while exercising is necessary in the recovery process.

After your workout, the body needs some time to recover. While drinking water after exercising is equally important, the hydration during a workout does more to aid in recovery.

How Much Water Should You Drink While Exercising?

There are different recommendations for how much water you should drink during exercise. It depends on your weight and gender.

But on average, you should drink around a cup (8 oz.) of water every 10-20 minutes of exercise.

In addition, you should drink a cup of water before exercising and another cup within 30 minutes after you exercise.

The best way to make sure you're getting the water you need during a workout is to take a drink or two every couple minutes. You can easily do this after a couple reps. Doing this also gives your body a mini-break.

Consistently drinking water while you exercise will ensure that you have a great, healthy workout with no hydration repercussions.

Staying Hydrated While Exercising With Clean Water

We can't stress the importance enough about hydrating with clean water such as Berkey water vs tap or bottled water.

There is nothing worse than working hard during exercise to make improvements to our physical health and then filling our bodies with tap or bottled water which may contain dozens of contaminants harmful to us.

Our family chooses Berkey water. We either fill our stainless steel or glass bottles with Berkey water from our countertop system or we use a Sport Berkey.

Sports drinks are a no-no too. They not only contain massive amounts of sugar or aspartame but they contain any number of synthetic food colorings known to be harmful.

An alternative would be flavoring your water with a clean and safe alternative such as LMNT Hydration Powder.

Our family hopes you found this article helpful and as always please leave a comment below so we can hear about your healthy lifestyle journey.