How Much Water Should You Drink?

Did You Hear About This?

A Sacramento, CA radio station held a contest called "No Wee for a Wii." It was a water drinking contest to see how much the contestants could drink without going to the bathroom. Ultimately the 2nd place winner (Jennifer Strange) paid with her life! Yes, you can actually die from drinking too much water.

As early as 1601, Tycho Brahe (an early astronomer) was though to have died from straining his bladder. It had been said that to leave the banquet before it concluded would be the height of bad manners, and so he remained, and that his bladder, stretched to its limit, developed an infection which he later died of. Later evidence suggested this might not be the case.

There are several other notorious cases in which infants, runners and a fraternity hazing lead to deaths from water intoxication.

While this is another sad story, it’s clear that for many years, Americans have been told by the media and doctors that we are dehydrated. We need to drink more water!

Many times such things lead to scare tactic websites and total confusion. Which is why I think the following chart may help you to SAFELY determine how much water you need to stay properly hydrated for your activity without over consumption.

• this chart is meant to be a guide not an absolute *

This chart is courtesy of the ISSA www.issaonline.com

Recommended Water Intake:

Step 1 Select an appropriate need factor.

Need Factors
0.5 -- Sedentary no sports or training
0.6 -- Jogger or light fitness training
0.7 -- Sports participation or moderate training 3 times a week
0.8 -- Moderate daily weight training or aerobic training
0.9 -- Heavy weight training daily
1.0 -- Heavy weight training daily plus sports training or "2-a-day" training

Step 2 Multiply weight (in pounds) by the appropriate need factor to arrive at the recommended water intake in ounces per day.

Example 1 120 pounds x 0.6 = 72 ounces per day
Example 2 200 pounds x 0.7 =140 ounces per day
We recommend that you drink water eight to twelve times per day.
Example 1 72 ounces per day divided by 10 glasses = 7.2
ounces per glass
Example 2 140 ounces per day divided by 12 glasses = 11.7
ounces per glass

My prays go out to the family and the 3 children Jennifer left behind. It was a sad story. Hopefully thru word of mouth and this chart it might be prevented in the future.

Marc David is a bodybuilder and author of the, Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding. You can get info on Marc's e-book at: http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com. To get Marc's free e-zine, please click here