Athletes come in all sizes and shapes, all ages and levels. But one thing always rings true – an athlete needs plenty of high-quality drinking water to support their health and their performance. The importance of hydration is often forgotten, but we need to make sure that athletes are drinking enough to avoid dehydration. Whether your 5-year old is playing soccer one night or you are going for a 5-mile run early in the morning, be ready to drink water. Not really sure why? Keep on reading…
Water is essential to our health. Anyone performing fitness activities, big or small, can be considered an athlete. Water regulates your body temperature and lubricates your joints. It also helps transport nutrients to give you energy and keep you healthy. If you’re not properly hydrated, your body can’t perform at its highest level. You may experience fatigue, muscle cramps, dizziness, or more serious symptoms. This is true for anyone, even those who are not athletes. But athletes need more water to replace the fluids they lose through perspiration. Likewise, athletes who are dehydrated show a considerable decrease in performance.  They simply lack the energy and focus to perform well when dehydrated. According to Breaking Muscle, A reduction of just 2% of fluid can result in degraded performance by as much as 10-20%. This is a significant amount when you think about the life of an athlete. Consider for a moment the amount of effort that goes into training to improve by just 5%!
The best defense for dehydration is to be proactive.  Never wait until thirst strikes to consume water.  At that point it is likely too late. Another problem is that too many athletes rely on bottled water rather than filtered drinking water. Bottled water isn’t always safe and bottled water waste is becoming a crisis worldwide, so we encourage you to refill your own water bottles to stay hydrated, while still considering the environment. Some tap water contains contaminants and some water fountains are also found to have high levels of lead which is why filtered drinking water is a much better option.
Your best bet is a home water filter that comes with advanced technology for a low price. The athletes in your family need to stay hydrated in order to perform better and stay healthy – just make sure they’re doing it with the best water available to them. Contact us today to learn more about our home drinking water systems and how they can support any athlete in your family, recreational or professional alike.