Water consumption



JB Fernandez

Member
Feb 3, 2018
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How many liters of water do you drink during training? During long track ride, I can manage to contain my self from only consuming 2 500ml bottle of water. Isn't it bad or good?
 
Your body works best when you have the appropriate amount of water in it.
Although the crest of the performance curve wrt hydration is fairly flat.
Moderate overhydration is probably "better" than moderate dehydration.
Apart from that, the goal is to drink what you need.
Not more, not less.
As long as you do that, good or bad doesn't apply.
Some sweat more and need to drink more.
Some sweat less and can get away with drinking less.
Only time rationing would possibly make sense is if you only have a set amount and you want it to last the whole ride.
I spent some time weighing myself pre-/post-ride to get some feel for the balace between drink and sweat.
If you're concerned, do that.
 
Your body works best when you have the appropriate amount of water in it.
Although the crest of the performance curve wrt hydration is fairly flat.
Moderate overhydration is probably "better" than moderate dehydration.
Apart from that, the goal is to drink what you need.
Not more, not less.
As long as you do that, good or bad doesn't apply.
Some sweat more and need to drink more.
Some sweat less and can get away with drinking less.
Only time rationing would possibly make sense is if you only have a set amount and you want it to last the whole ride.
I spent some time weighing myself pre-/post-ride to get some feel for the balace between drink and sweat.
If you're concerned, do that.

Hi brother. I started this kind of training which I limit myself from drinking too much water during a ride because I am trying to burn some weight. And so far it is effective, from 160 pounds I am now only 132 pound. The thing is I sweat more doing it than lifting weights on the gym. I'm just curious if it can affect my health for bad? Anyway, thank you for your insight on this concern.
 
In my ride with a touring group, one professional cyclist said that you should be taking in water when you feel very thirsty. Take note that it's not drink he used but taking in water which means you just have to deaden the thirst. When I asked why so, he said that the lesser water that you have in your body during a ride, the better. I guess that also applies to training. However, I did not get a clear explanation on the rationale of not drinking too much water.
 
Water consumption is also based on your body weight, intensity of cycling, and how much you sweat. Drinking water essentially replaces those that you have lost so if you are not sweating that much or losing water in other areas, then I guess just drink at least 1-2 L of water or until your thirst is completely quenched.
 
Somewhere I developed the habit of never drinking while I'm riding. I DO NOT recommend this to anyone. I often will go almost into a stupor during early training rides and feel lucky to get home. I will try to drink a bottle of water on a 40 or 50 mile ride when I'm in shape but it is difficult for me. I seem to remember that before I got my concussion that I would drink two bottles at least on these sorts of rides. And I would be both faster and recover afterwards faster.
 
If you don't drink enough water your body will be in a state of constant partial dehydration, if this continues for too long, which could take years depending on your body, you will sooner or later you'll have the potential to start having problems with kidney stones...and you don't want those.

One of the ways to judge if you're getting enough water is tasting, whoops sorry, I mean looking at the color of your urine, it needs to be a very pale yellow almost clear, anything darker than that and you are dehydrated.
 
The need for water cannot be overlooked especially when one is training as a result of the fact that sweat is going out of the body and the need to drink some water to have energy is needed. Whenever, I am training with my bike, I don't joke with the bottle of water and I ensure that it is a cold water considering the weather condition that we have in my country which is really hot at the moment. Water, and enough of it, is needed when we train.
 
If you are really thirsty or sweating a lot then you need to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Though over dehydration is fine, this will also help your body to function well.
 
It's fine dear to drink more water because it helps our bodies replenishments. I consume half liter during my session and it fills my thirst.
 
If you are really thirsty or sweating a lot then you need to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Though over dehydration is fine, this will also help your body to function well.

I would like to see a study that says over dehydration is fine and it can help your body to function better.
 
It's fine dear to drink more water because it helps our bodies replenishments. I consume half liter during my session and it fills my thirst.

I/2 liter is ok but actual consumption is depend on body wight
 
Normally when you cycle the average cyclist should be consuming about 16 ounces of water per hour at 70 degree temps, as the temps go up so does the water usage, you could be consuming 64 ounces of fluid an hour if your riding in 100 degree weather. So water consumption is more based on weather followed by body weight, and how much you perspire, some people perspire more than others, and work intensity, as well as whether you adequately pre ride hydrated.

Luckily humans have a built in gauge to determine if we are getting enough water, and that gauge is the color of our urine, you have to try to keep your urine at near a very pale yellow as you can; also if you pinch your skin it should spring back fast. Obviously when you ride at high intensity in hot weather, and if you perspire more than most, you may become closer toward a water deficit than others, but you won't become dangerously dehydrated...as long as you keep drinking about 2 ounces every 20 minutes of riding (depending on weather and intensity of course).

Proper pre ride hydration would be to slowly drink 12 to 16 ounces of water about 4 hours before you ride, followed by another 12 to 16 ounces 2 hours before you ride; the lower end of the ounces is based on a 150 pound rider, than immediately after a ride you drink another 12 to 16 ounces of water followed by another 12 to 16 ounces about 2 hours after the ride. But again this has to be customized by the rider based on the color of the urine.

You'll also know if your drinking too much water if you have to pee more then once on a 90 mile ride for example, and you shouldn't have to at all on a 50 mile ride. But whatever you do don't start drinking when you feel thirsty, by then usually its too late!
 
When we have a long travel, I consumed 1 and a half liters of water, I don't know how many kilometers to be exact that travel but more or less 90 km. I also don't know if my water is enough during that travel, I think it's also depends on the weather, if it's cold or hot, because we drink more water during summer days.
 
Depends if it's hot or not. I consume 2 litres of lemon water in three hours biking in a tropical climate. But in the cold season I just drink half of it. It also depends on your height, weight and built.

What is really important is to always be hydrated when riding. If you feel nauseous or light headed or disoriented do a quick stop hydrate, eat and test for a bit before continuing your ride.
 
Drinking water is all about rehydration and your body will tell you when you need water... you'll get thirsty.

So, here's a tip I used back when I was racing in the desert...

Weigh yourself before your ride and drink what you need during the ride. After the ride, Weigh yourself again and drink approximately the weight difference to rehydrate.
 
In my normal workout, I drink about 1 L of water after, plus around 250 ml during workout. When riding for longer rides, I can easily drink up to 2L.
 
I mean as a daily average, I try to drink between 2-3L of liquids, with two of those liters being just straight water. Usually during the actual training, I'll probably sip on half a liter of water here and there when my mouth gets dry. After the training is all done, I usually end up guzzling another half liter.

This has typically been the way I do things no matter what kind of training I'm doing, and I haven't experienced any issues with dehydration. Just aim for drinking when you're thirsty, but try to get in about 2L of water a day.
 
You have to bring water or some other liquids with you, specially the ones with electrolytes. Everyday, your training tends to be different, so your water needs will vary too. Average amount of water goes around 3 ounces per kg of weight per hour, so you can calculate your basic need. However, is good to take some extra with you in case you feel more thirsty than usual.