How much water should you drink?

A major part of living a healthy lifestyle is staying hydrated throughout the day. The National Academy of Medicine suggests that men get 3.7 liters (125 ounces) of water each day and that women get 2.7 liters (91 ounces). These are excellent guidelines for your overall hydration goals. However, you may need even more water than that depending on how active you are throughout the day. There are even recommendations for how to hydrate yourself to get the most out of your workouts—specifically, for how much you should drink before, during, and after you exercise.

The American Council on Exercise published a recommendation on how to properly hydrate for a workout. They stated that exercisers should consume 17 to 20 ounces of fluid 2 to 3 hours before exercise and another 8 ounces 20 to 30 minutes before starting their workout. Then, during exercise, 7 to 10 ounces every 10 to 20 minutes. Finally, 8 more ounces in the 30 minutes following a workout.

Staying hydrated throughout your workout can give you a little boost as you work toward your fitness goals. Benefits include a lower heart rate, higher cardiac output, and a lower core temperature, all of which can improve exercise performance. You lose fluids through sweat and heavy respiration as you exercise, so keeping a water bottle on hand in order to keep hydrated as you work out is beneficial. Keep in mind that it is possible to drink too much water, although it is uncommon to do so. Most people don’t drink enough!