7 Reasons to Drink Water for Muscle Growth

Did you know water can supersize your muscle gains? Know the top 7 reasons to drink water for muscle growth.  

Leaving that water bottle at home impacts building of your muscles! The much-touted protein comprises only 20 percent of your muscle tissue and water plus minerals constitute remaining 80 percent? Therefore, men and women on anabolism trail, say ‘bottoms up’ to the good-old water bottle for muscle growth.

Agreed, water does not produce energy like carbohydrates and fats, still it is an important medium wherein energy reactions take place. That means that if your body is dehydrated, these energy reactions in the body don’t take place smoothly, thereby, causing fatigue and reduced performance, especially when you are doing intense workouts.

1. MAINTAIN MUSCLE PUMP

When your muscles face external resistance they contract. During this contraction water is driven from the blood into muscle cells and surrounding areas that make those muscles swell. However, if your water intake is less than adequate or you’ve sweated a lot while working out, your body shuttles water from muscles to the blood stream to maintain blood pressure and preserve circulation, which makes adequate water intake mandatory between workouts for maintaining the muscle pump.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommendation on water intake:

• Before exercise: 600 ml (1 tall glass) of water
• 1 hour of workout requires at least 1200 ml (2 tall glasses) of water for proper hydration.

2. ENERGY FOR WORKOUTS

In a state of dehydration, your energy, the glycogen stored in your muscles gets depleted quickly, which impairs the functioning of your central nervous system. This reduces motivation and effort required for your workout. When exercising for an hour or more, drink water treated with MuscleBlaze BCAA to prevent muscle loss and help maintain fluid balance. Adequate hydration builds energy for intense workouts and helps prevent post-exercise fatigue and exhaustion

3. IMPROVES MUSCLE GROWTH

Each time you weight train, your muscles grow to adapt to an increase in load. When you’re dehydrated your muscle growth gets affected. Even low or moderate dehydration compromises muscle endurance and power. As a result, you don’t have the energy to push through one more rep.

 A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reports that a1.5 percent dehydration decreases muscle strength of one rep max bench press. Obviously, when your rep count goes down it compromises muscle growth in size and strength. If you wish to improve your muscle growth, lug that water bottle to the gym.

4. PREVENT MUSCLE BREAKDOWN

For muscle building aspirants preventing muscle breakdown is critical, as muscle breakdown stops protein synthesis within muscle cells. Researchers have found that less muscle breakdown takes place in well-hydrated muscle cells. Biochemistry Journal reports that decreased body water leads to shrinking of cells and breaks down protein.  Just by maintaining adequate fluid levels, you can cause cells to swell and reduce the amount of protein breakdown, which leads to muscle growth.

5. BETTER EXERCISE PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY

Studies have shown that dehydration is the primary cause of fatigue in athletes and non-athletes. A small decrease in water loss can negatively affect exercise performance, as well as recovery. Therefore, follow American College of Sports Medicine recommendation and drink a cup of water every 15 minutes in-between your workout to better exercise performance and recovery. 

6. FLEXIBLE JOINTS

Your knees and hips bear the brunt of the vigorous movements made during resistance exercises. Insufficient hydration impacts synovial fluid in joints that make them prone to injury. The solution to flexible joints lies a sip away.

7. PREVENT MUSCLE CRAMPING AND FATIGUE

Among various benefits, water is important for the transport of glucose and oxygen into your muscles. It aids digestion of food and removes metabolic byproducts such as carbon dioxide from your hard-working muscles. It also helps in regulating the temperature of your body, especially as your body muscles produce 20 times more heat during the workouts. When your body is dehydrated your muscles are deprived of electrolytes because of which you experience cramping. Since your muscles are controlled by nerves, in the absence of proper water and electrolyte balance, muscle strength and control gets impaired. Now, that you know the shortcut to muscle cramping keep that water bottle handy when you work out.

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD YOU DRINK

As a general recommendation, men and women who train fiercely should drink water from 3.5 to 7 litres. Watery beverages, pre-workout drinks like BCAAs, milk and fruits will all add up to your water requirement. Moreover, lug your water bottle with you, when you go to a gym. Remember to hydrate yourself before and during a workout, because the key to muscle growth lies within water.