Is water enough?

[suzieQ]

I recently asked a question about eating before exercising and JokerzWild raised a good point about staying hydrated while working out. So now I have another question LOL. When working out, should I just drink water to stay hydrated or should I be consuming sports drinks as well to restore electrolytes?

[Firefly77]

Water is usually enough, but it depends on the intensity of the exercises you are doing and how long your'e doing them. For instance, if you're going to be working out for an hour and sweating a lot during this time, you're not just losing water, so you might want to consider including sports drinks with your water. However, you mostly want to drink water. Drink it while you exercise but don't drown yourself either cause this could give you a cramp or make you feel full. Don't ever gulp water down. Drink it slow and steady. This is the best way to stay hydrated.

[KittyKatt]

Don't drink sports drinks for electrolytes if all you're doing is exercising normally. If you're doing something intense for a couple of solid hours, then you might consider a sports drink, but you really don't need all the calories and sugar from them when you can stay hydrated like FireFly said, with sips of water steadily. If you are worried about electrolytes, I'd totally recommend coconut water. It's cheaper than energy drinks and you'll get way more benefit without taking in the same amount of calories as a soft drink!

[Freddy]

Don't drink sports drinks for electrolytes if all you're doing is exercising normally. If you're doing something intense for a couple of solid hours, then you might consider a sports drink, but you really don't need all the calories and sugar from them when you can stay hydrated like FireFly said, with sips of water steadily. If you are worried about electrolytes, I'd totally recommend coconut water. It's cheaper than energy drinks and you'll get way more benefit without taking in the same amount of calories as a soft drink!

I didn’t know that about coconut water. Thanks for the great tip KittyKatt!

[suzieQ]

Thanks! That's pretty much what I was thinking but I'm grateful for all of your opinions. I agree with Freddy KittyKatt, thanks for the tip. Is coconut water easy to find? What does it taste like?

[JokerzWild]

Thanks! That's pretty much what I was thinking but I'm grateful for all of your opinions. I agree with Freddy KittyKatt, thanks for the tip. Is coconut water easy to find? What does it taste like?

I can buy coconut water at my local supermarket. Health stores and ethnic food stores should carry it too. Personally, I find it tastes a little weird, but it’s not repulsive. If you don’t like it right away, you’ll likely eventually you require a taste for it.

[brightstar]

I'm not wild about the taste of coconut water, either, so I just water it down. That way, I'm still getting the benefits of the coconut water, but I've diluted the taste and am still getting hydrated through the regular water.

[Whirlybird]

I'm not wild about the taste of coconut water, either, so I just water it down. That way, I'm still getting the benefits of the coconut water, but I've diluted the taste and am still getting hydrated through the regular water.

Do you have to drink more of it if you water it down to make sure you get all the electrolytes and other benefits? Since you're getting less from watering it down, does that mean you have to drink larger quantities?

[TeensyTiff]

Good question Whirlybird. I would guess you'd have to take in more too if you water it down. How much is coconut water is enough and how much is too much?