Ask the Experts: Ben Greenfield on water consumption
Monday, September 22, 2008 at 3:00AM Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. Read on to learn what Ben Greenfield has to say about your water consumption for active individuals, and submit a question of your own below!
Question: How much water should an active individual drink during the day?
Answer: The majority of health experts give the following equation: divide your weight in pounds by two. The result is the number of ounces of water recommended for daily consumption. So if you weigh 180 pounds, you would drink 90 ounces. Unfortunately, daily hydration for the active individual is just not that simple or convenient, and this equation typically underestimates true daily hydration needs. Variations in sweat rate, metabolism, activity, fat and muscle content dictate a more individualized approach.
I recommend the following strategy to my athletes and clients who exercise more than one hour per day: 1) Weigh yourself nude in the morning; 2) beginning upon waking, hydrate with the equivalent of one small 16-20oz water bottle every two hours during the day (females) or one large water bottle 20-24oz (males); 3) during physical activity, increase this amount to one water bottle every one hour; 3) three hours prior to bedtime, taper water intake to just one water bottle over those last three hours (this will eliminate frequent nightly urination); 4) weigh yourself nude at the end of the day – you should be 1-2lbs heavier than morning weight (you will lose these pounds during the night); 5) if you are more than 1-2lbs above weight or are forced to urinate more than once an hour, you may be overhydrating or risking water intoxication; 6) if you weigh less than morning weight or are urinating yellow, you are likely underhydrating.
Using these recommendations during a sixteen hour wake cycle (i.e. 6am to 10pm), the average active individual would consume around 180oz of water, nearly double the recommendation from the equation above! Many of the Ironman triathletes that I train can drink in daily excess of 200oz of water and still be under-hydrated, thus limiting their recovery, cooling, performance, and fat-burning. So drink up! However, remember that these recommendations are for active individuals. During sedentary periods or recovery days, the “body weight halved” equation should suffice.
About the author:
Ben Greenfield is recognized as one of the top fitness, triathlon, nutrition and metabolism experts in the nation. In 2008, he was voted as the Personal Trainer of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, an internationally recognized and respected certifying agency. Ben is Director of Sports Performance and oversees the physiology and biomechanics laboratory at Champions Sports Medicine in Spokane, WA, which offers metabolic-based weight loss, bicycle fitting, running gait analysis, swim stroke analysis, VO2 max testing, blood lactate testing, resting metabolic rate analysis, and other cutting-edge procedures for weight loss and performance.
Ben hosts the highly popular fitness, nutrition and wellness website at www.bengreenfieldfitness.com, which features blogs, podcasts, and product reviews from Ben. In addition to coaching and training for weight loss and sports performance, Ben serves as a business and marketing consultant to fitness professionals, and is the host of a weekly syndicated fitness business blog and podcast at http://www.trainfortopdollar.com. E-mail: ben@bengreenfieldfitness.com
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Reader Comments (1)
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