Fluid Regulation

How does your body cool itself down while you heat it up in the gym? How can you give it all you've got without your blood pressure threatening to explode your head off? You can thank your hormones for your fluid-regulation mechanism during exercise. In fact, your body is mostly made up of water, so when you start to exercise and challenge the body's delicate water balance, it may be a matter of life or death. This principle is true not only for any type of exercise but also for life in general. There are many ways to get dehydrated-simply not drinking water, not eating carbohydrate, being in Arizona during the summer, or lying out at the beach. The principle is especially true for weight training, however, because when the muscle fiber's sarcolemma (protective sheath) is stressed, it becomes more permeable and allows things like water and nutrients to travel in and out. Luckily, the endocrine system directs body tissues to give up water and shift it around where needed. It can go into the muscles, move into the blood, or be released as sweat to cool you down.

Of course you can always help the endocrine system maintain your body's water supply by drinking plenty of water before, during, and after exercise, and all day long. Some women think that drinking a lot of water will make them bloated, but in fact the opposite is true. Drinking a lot of water actually helps the endocrine system maintain the body's water levels and leads to less retention of water and bloating. When the body knows that it will always have a steady amount of water available, it doesn't need to store it. Some women are good at keeping themselves hydrated during cardiovascular endurance sessions, but are less so during strength-training sessions. Remember that water during any form of physical activity is essential. And if you are strength training with 100 percent effort, you'll want that water just as much as you would if you were running on the treadmill.