So why is fluid important in the body and what are the potential dangers of dehydration? Water has many functions, including maintaining core body temperature and removing waste products. Living and especially exercising in hotter temperatures, leads to increased sweating, the body’s way of keeping our core temperature within the narrow range of 36-37 degrees Celsius.

There are many side effects of dehydration:

• Poor concentration/Co-ordination/reaction time
• Increased body temperature/heat stress
• Increased heart rate/cardiovascular stress
• Increased use of energy stores, such as carbohydrates
• Perceived effort is greater
• Headaches and light headedness

Fluid loss as little as 2% of body mass (1.4kg in a 70kg person) is enough to impair performance. There is a simple way to monitor how much fluid you lose during exercise. You just need to weigh yourself before and after. For example, if you weighed 76kg before exercise and 75kg afterwards and drank 1 litre of fluid during, you will have lost 2 litres of fluid (1kg of weight = 1 litre of fluid lost). To ensure adequate recovery, you would be advised to replace 150% of what you lost, so in this case 3 litres.

How I keep hydrated when training:

• I drink little and often throughout the day. I try to avoid drinking large volumes before bed, to ensure an uninterrupted sleep. However, due to the volume I must drink to stay hydrated, I wake normally once for the bathroom. Any more and I know I have got my hydration balance wrong.
• Aiming for at least 2 litres is a good rule of thumb. This is of course a rough estimate, it can vary depending on your size and weight, sweat rate, exercise routine and the weather. When I am in full time training, I put away 4-6 litres.
• Sometimes plain water is dull so I add some lemon or lime, or squeeze some pomegranate juice and seeds into the glass.
• I try to keep caffeine consumption to a minimum as caffeine drinks can have a diuretic effect, making you need to urinate more often. My morning tea is essential but from midday I switch to decaffeinated as this also aids good sleep.
• I include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet. They of course hold numerous benefits for us but also contain water and will contribute to your water consumption.