1) How much, what and when should an athlete drink?
Water, water and more water ...
Here you are ... the universe that surrounds you ...
Water, also known as the blue gold of the 21st century, covers the earth's surface for as much as 71% of its surface.
In the human body, water represents as much as 70-75% of body weight in children, while in the elderly 45-55%.
Water is present in every cell of the body. Each gram of protein binds 4 grams of water, while each gram of fat only 0.2 grams. It is therefore evident that obese subjects have a lower percentage of body water than thin subjects.
Since women normally have about 5% more adipose tissue than men, their percentage of water is about 55% compared to 60% of men.
Drinking is really essential, as is hydration, especially at certain times of the day.
You should never, ever drink when you are thirsty but, much earlier, in order to avoid being already in water shortage, ie dehydrated.
Just 2% less hydration means a good 20% less physical energy.
Furthermore, you should not drink during meals except in limited quantities so as not to extinguish the fire that burns the food. It is very easy to wash out gastric juices if you drink with meals.
The heat of the water taken in at various times of the day is also quite important. Drinking in the morning is possible and should be but, the water in those moments can be even cooler; on the contrary, as you go towards the end of the day you should drink warmer water.
In the morning you should drink a quantity of water of at least 300-550 ml since the body did not receive liquids during rest. Later it would be much better to drink between meals. While for training it would be good to drink 330-540 ml pre and 500 ml water. ml immediately after ... to hydrate the body and cool the organs.
Remember that blood is made of water as well as other substances, so the less you drink the more the blood fluid thickens. This is not good for our blood pump, the HEART, which has to try harder to send the liquid throughout the Drinking is essential and for athletes who want to define the ideal quantity in liters to drink, the best solution is to multiply 0.05 by their body weight.
Water is the real gold that we must protect and not pollute !!!
second part "