I once read that if you feel thristy, it is because your body is already past the point of dehydration. In another article, I read that if you are weight training, you should aim to drink a gallon of water a day for optimal results. These points were enough to make me push myself to drink more water on a more regular basis.

With that said, I really wanted to know what the actual consequences of dehydration were, and what the real benefits to drinking a gallon of water a day were to keeping my body strong for body building.

Why Water is a Workout Wonder

Here is a list of reasons that I found convincing enough to make me drink more water every day.

1. When working out you are losing body fluids at a very high rate. Everything from the duration and intensity of the workout, the environment of the workout and type of clothing all effect water loss. Drinking water will help replenish the water your system needs just to keep bodily functions going.

2. When you are dehydrated, you will not be able to lift as heavy as usual or workout at the same intensity that you would normally workout at. Scientists think that even a 2%reduction in body fluids could decrease your performance by a bout 15-20%!

3. Drinking water plays an important role in the digestion of the food we eat. The digestion process depends on a huge amount of water to help the acids and enzymes in the stomach break down food, extract the nutrients needed, convert it into energy and transport it all to the rest of the body. This means that no matter how great your diet may be, it will all be wasted if you don't take in enough water to help extract the nutrients from your diet.

4. Water dilutes the acids in the body, (acidity in the body has been associated with inflammation and some cancers) and helps carry toxins out of the body (this means water also helps with constipation). Water is an undoubted cleaner for the body, helping transport waste out of the body.

5. Dehydration can cause joint pain, stomach pain & ulcers, low energy, mental confusion & disorientation. Often times, daytime fatigue is associated with the lack of sleep, when in reality it may just be mild dehydration and drinking water could be just the solution.

Tips for Drinking More Water

I find the taste of water quite boring, so I really have to force myself to drink it, especially now that I am weight training more often and looking to help muscle gain and aid with fat loss.

Here are a two simple ways to remember to drink more water

• Keep a journal

  My positively strong daily planner has a spot where you can make note of how many glasses of water you have consumed in a day. Having a visual reminder to drink all 8 x 8oz. can be a great way to keep yourself accountable.

• Wear elastic bands

  At the begining, I placed eight elastic bands on my water bottle. Every time I drank 8 oz. I would transfer an elastic band from my bottle to my wrist. The goal was to use the elastics as a visual reminder to get through all 8 glasses of water I had to drink all day.

I got so used to sipping on water, that I felt thirsty if I didn't have anything to drink for 15 minutes and that is how I worked my way up to about a gallon of water a day. Remember that getting to your gallon a day has to happen slowly, as too much water too fast can flush out key electrolytes and leave you feeling ill.

Let me know if you have any tricks that work for you, I would love to hear about them.

To living Positively Strong,

Sunny