Is Drinking Water Really That Important?

Water is a huge building block to healthier mind and body, and yet one of the most forgotten about elements in relation to a healthy lifestyle and fitness goals, so is it that important?

​Water helps make everything in your body run efficiently, whether it's fat loss, cleansing of toxins, nutrient uptake or simply  just stopping you from having a dry mouth, water is crucial... Remember, water makes up around 60-70% of your body so don't forgot about it, be proactive about it. ​

Fat burning

Let's start with a fantastic benefit of drinking water, fat loss! Water metabolises excess fat, therefore someone with fat loss goals would benefit from high water consumption. This is because water allows the liver to work efficiently and therefore burns more fat. Quite often, people often mistake dehydration with hunger, which leads to snacking on junk food. High water intake keeps you full and therefore less likely to binge on bad foods! Lastly, dehydration is seen to the body as a threat to survival, so this actually causes the body to retain water, which is not ideal when you may be trying to get shredded for summer.
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Muscle quality

As we know, the body is made up of water, especially our muscles, so from both a fitness and bodybuilding perspective, the more water inside your muscles, the better they function in terms of muscular contractions and getting the “pump” but also the  more water in your muscles, the more increases in strength and size capacity. If you have a lack of water, you can potentially cause muscular cramps as well which will reduce your workout ability and therefore not aid in your goals.

Performance in the gym​

Many people are unaware of how water affects performance. Even being slightly dehydrated can cause poor performance, sounds bad right? Well it is! Poor hydration can result in a temporary decrease in strength, and reduce endurance. These factors are severely impeding on athletic performance whilst training.
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​Health benefits

Away from the training side of things, water has a huge list of benefits when it comes to our general health. Some of the most beneficial are: Healthier skin, stronger teeth,  bones, joints, improved digestion and also a healthier mind and body overall. All of these sound amazing right? Well make sure you keep that water intake high and you will be getting the benefits of them all!

Summary

So now you understand the importance of hydration and correct water intake ensure you make the lifestyle change and include more water into your day! Its such an easy adjustment to make, its not difficult, takes no time or effort and its free! So to start with why not try to aim to drink at least 2 litres a day, and gradually even try to build up to 3 litres! Its getting closer to summer so even more reason to stay hydrated, you’ll feel better, look better and maybe even crush some bad habits too!
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WRITTEN BY JOSH BOWATER

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