If you enjoy working out, staying hydrated is extremely important. And this means that in the summer, when it’s hotter outside and easier to break a sweat, you have to pay special attention to your hydration level.
Interviewed by US News, Kristen Chang, a sports dietitian who is also the assistant director of the MA in nutrition and dietetics at Virginia Tech University, stated that “for summer workouts, it’s important to make sure that adequate carbohydrates, fluids and electrolytes are consumed.”
So, how can you make sure that you are properly hydrated during summer?
First, it’s important to maintain a balanced diet and to make sure you plan a healthy and nutritious pre-workout meal or snack. This is not only meant to ensure you have enough energy to sustain a workout, but also to provide you with sufficient hydration to compensate for all the water loss caused by sweating.
In this purpose, you should opt for foods or snacks that have a high content of water and increase the intake of electrolytes, which are substances that help regulate your intra and extra-cellular level of fluids. Chang recommends including pre-workout snacks such as watermelon, soups, smoothies, apples, pineapple, berries, bell peppers, tomatoes and celery.
Second, you should always make sure that you are properly hydrated before and after working out. If you know that you will do an intense workout and that you will sweat a lot, prepare for it by consuming plenty of liquids before and after exercising. If your workouts are very challenging, Chang also recommends drinking specially designed sports drinks or eating salty foods, to compensate for the loss of water.
When you want to check if your level of hydration is optimal, Kristen Chang suggests “monitoring the color of your urine. If it’s dark and concentrated and you’re not going to the bathroom much, you need to drink more fluids. If your urine is consistently clear and you’re making frequent pit stops, you may be overhydrating.”
