 No matter what form of exercise or activity you participate in proper fluid intake is critical for health and performance. Getting your thirst quenched with an ice-cold glass of water or lemonade is so refreshing after a summer workout in the outdoors. That drink helps to not only refresh your mouth and calm your cravings, but also to rehydrate your body. Unfortunately, as we age our ability to maintain hydration becomes more difficult since we often lose what little ability we had to gauge proper fluid intake by our thirst. Particularly during exercise, thirst is a poor indicator of hydration. The American College of Sports Medicine speaks specifically to "Fluid Loss and Replacement Needs". They speak to the importance of fluid intake before you even begin, in addition to during and after exercise in order to maintain cardiovascular (heart) function and to regulate body temperature. When we are dehydrated our function and performance go down. When you are as little as two-percent dehydrated your cardiovascular function drops ten percent. Coincidently it is at this two-percent level where a young persons thirst mechanism begins to kick in. With further losses of body fluids through sweating function continues to decline. Thirst is dampened even more as we age. So, you can't rely on your thirst. Begin drinking before you even start exercising. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend taking two to three cups of fluid two hours before you exercise, and continuing through and even after exercise with regular fluid intake. Here's their article on "Exercise and Fluid Replacement" This is particularly important during the hot summer months, as well as, when we age. Don't wait until you are thirsty to begin taking fluids to maintain proper hydration. | 
