Water Intake and Performance

We all know drinking water is important. But sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in whatever you’re doing and forget to drink enough water throughout the day. This could affect your training performance.
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One research review suggests that athletes should prevent fluid loss of more than 2% of total body weight if they want to maximize performance [1]. Another study looked directly at strength training and found that mild dehydration negatively affects strength performance on the back squat [2].
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Luckily, there’s a simple way to see whether you are well-hydrated. From the scientific literature, we know that the “Urine Color Chart” you see in the second slide of this post gives a good indication of hydration status [3]. If you are within points 1-3, you are hydrated just fine. Once you approach point 6 or higher, it’s time to start prioritizing hydration. As you probably know, there is also such a thing as drinking too much water. But this shouldn’t be a concern if you keep your water intake within reason.
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For most people, simply drinking according to your thirst will put you in the right ballpark [4]. But if you do this and your urine color is not where it should be, make it easier for yourself to drink more water. Try keeping a water bottle at hand to prevent forgetting to drinking enough water.
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References:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17277604
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17909410
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7987361
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21454440