A commonly asked question is how to tell if a person is drinking enough water during outdoor activities. There are two easy checks that you can do to make sure that you are well hydrated during outdoor activities:
#1. Check your urine colour: When you are well hydrated your urine colour will be clear to light yellow. Dehydration will show up as dark coloured urine. Darker the shade of yellow urine means you need to rehydrate asap.
#2. If you have a headache or feeling dizzy or confused take some time out to rehydrate yourself. Also, if you feel better after drinking water it indicates that you were dehydrated. This should give you a fair idea of your required water intake for the rest of your exercise routine or future exercises.
As a general guideline, the American College of Sports Medicine suggest that active individuals should:
- Drink 16-20 ounces of fluid two hours before outdoor activity
- Drink up to 12 ounces of fluid about every 15 minutes while outside
- Drink another 16 to 24 ounces after finishing outdoor activity
A good and easy way to keep yourself hydrated when outdoors is to use a hydration kits. They can range from hydration backpacks to waist packs.
Here are three important features to look out for when choosing a hydration pack:
#1. Fluid Capacity: The amount of water an active person needs can vary depending on the type of exercise, duration between water availability. You could buy a pack with the maximum capacity you think you will ever need but if going out for a shorter duration you can always fill up less water and not right up to the brim.
duration you can always fill up less water and not right up to the brim.
#2. Pack capacity: You need to consider this if you intend to carry other items such as nutrition products, extra layers, sunglasses, a headlamp, gloves, etc in your pack. Capacity of the pack depends on your needs and preferences.
#3. Fit: It is very important that the hydration pack fits well without restricting arm movement or proper breathing and is also tight enough not to bounce while running. An improperly fitted pack can impact your athletic performance by rubbing on your skin and leading to shoulder soreness and discomfort. Some packs are designed to be versatile for universal fit. You can adjust them according to your shape and size. Also, there are some created for specific sizes and more specific fit taking into consideration your torso length and waist size. There are shorter and narrower hydration packs for women and also for younger athletes.
Thankfully, drinking water is a simple inexpensive activity that we can do anytime. Join my free community for a hydration challenge that will keep you accountable for hydrating yourself. Thereafter it is only a matter of practise to turn an action into a habit and keeping yourself hydrated.
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