Water accounts for approximately 50-70% of a person’s body weight. Females are slightly lower down in that range, and males in the higher end. This is down to muscle mass containing 73% water, with fat holding just 10%. Males generally have more muscle mass so you can see where the difference occurs.

Last but not least, the human brain is approximately 75%, so the high overall percentage should indicate just how important hydration is.

Some of water’s main functions include to dissolve, transport and help flush out food/substances, it is a major component of blood, and it protects and lubricates tissue in the body so we can see it plays many crucial roles in the body.

If you need any more proof of this it is estimated that you can go 3-4 days without water after which you will die, yet we can survive up to 3 weeks without food.

The guidelines for hydration are quite simple, but at the same time I have seen many slightly different position stands on what a coach will prescribe. I have my own, and this is it.

A baseline for male clients is 2.5 litres per day.

A baselines for female clients is 2 litres per day.

Pictured below is a 2.2 litre water bottle available from most online supplement companies.

This is just a general guideline and things will vary from person to person. Some of the factors affecting an individual are body weight, activity level, sweat rate and the climate in which the person lives.

Dehydration can affect performance, and if bad enough it can affect general cognitive function. I always say to my clients ‘if you step on to the gym floor feeling thirsty you’re in for a rough hour’. You shouldn’t feel thirsty walking in to a session.

I recommend that clients aim for this baseline and drink to thirst after that point if needed, and things change if someone partakes in intensive exercise over certain periods of time. With athletes the requirements become more specific, weight loss in a session and/or sweat rates can be calculated to establish what is needed.

A way of checking hydration status is the colour of your urine as seen in the chart below.

1-3 is hydrated, but anything below that and you will need to take water on. The problem with something like this is that if you are taking a multivitamin it can change the colour of your urine to 4 or 5.

In summary, aim for the baseline targets provided and drink to thirst past that if needed. If you have plenty of vegetables and some fruit in your diet this probably won’t be needed (exercise may change this!) as they are a source of fluid for the body as well.

Hydration is incredibly important for health and also affects performance levels, but the guidelines are simple. This should be an easy one on the list to tick off.