IS HYDRATION IMPORTANT FOR MUSCLE GROWTH: DEHYDRATED VS HYDRATED MUSCLES

Staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you are performing at your best. From regulating your body temperature, keeping your joints lubricated, delivering nutrients to cells and maintaining healthy organ function, it’s hard to list a more necessary and, frankly, easier way to keep your body healthy and functional (Harvard T.H. Chan. 2017).

Hydration also plays a role in improving cognitive function, mood, sleep quality and more. Just drink water; it’s that simple. If you have a mouthful of water at the end of every paragraph, you will have exceeded your daily hydration goals by the time you finish this blog.

Come on… surely you know the answer to this one. Okay, we’ll help you out.

As we touched on above, hydration is important in keeping your body your body functioning at its best while supporting your cognitive function, mood, sleep quality and nutrient delivery.

Hydration plays a critical role in helping you maximise your physical performance. If you’re not hydrated, you will find it much more difficult to train and may experience reduced motivation and increased fatigue. Whether you’re in the office or stuck in class, being dehydrated can significantly impact your energy levels and brain function, impairing both mood and concentration. If you find yourself getting headaches more frequently, you’ll probably find it has something to do with dehydration (Leech, J. 2023).

YES!!!

Hydration helps muscle growth by delivering nutrients through your body that are required for building protein and glycogen structures. Hydration isn’t just essential for muscle growth, of course, but it certainly does help. When it comes to hydrated muscles vs dehydrated muscles, you can quickly tell the difference. Where hydrated muscles are lubricated, flexible, fuller and have a better range of motion, dehydrated muscles are more vulnerable to stress, strain and injury and are typically limited in strength, power and endurance (Smiechowski, J. 2022).

If you aren’t keeping yourself hydrated, your muscles will be depleted in electrolytes, which can lead to cramping and less freedom of movement. Consuming an adequate amount of water each day will help you maintain optimal performance and build muscle.

One of the best ways to stay hydrated is to consciously drink water, even when you aren’t thirsty. Making an effort to drink water frequently throughout the day, whether you try to have a glass hourly, or pair a glass of water with meals and snacks, will go a long way in supporting muscle growth by hydrating your body and muscles.

That’s it. That’s the tip.

No, but seriously, drinking more water throughout your day will go a long way in hydrating your body and fuelling your muscle growth.

We know water tastes a bit… ‘meh’ sometimes, so here’s our hot tip: Add a scoop of Primabolics Everyday Health to add some extra flavour. This daily greens wellness formula supports resilience, energy and immunity and is easy to mix with a glass of water. With refreshing flavours like green apple, mango and strawberry kiwi, this formula can boost your overall health while supporting your hydration.

The best way to improve your hydration from the moment you wake up each morning is by starting your day with a glass of water. Following that action by consuming water before or after good and finishing your day with a glass of water will help you improve your hydration levels and, overall, your performance.

Even if you’re trying to increase how frequently you are consuming water, it is easy to completely forget or lose track of how many glasses or litres of water you have already consumed. When this is the case, a motivational water bottle can be your best friend.

Not only do they look pretty sleek, but motivational water bottles allow you to monitor how much water you are consuming each hour so that you can stay accountable. Replacing the millilitre measurement with twelve-hour time, generally ranging from 8am to 8pm. These bottles push you to hit certain water-consumption milestones each hour and also reward you with cheesy quotes like ‘keep chugging along’. What’s not to love, right?

Don’t ignore your muscles when they need you most.

Before you train, while you train and after you train, you need to drink enough fluids to sustain your hydration, especially once your start sweating. If you don’t replenish the fluids lost during exercise, you will experience fatigue, soreness and possible cramping. Your performance will also suffer if you are not adequately hydrated.

Hydration plays a pivotal role in performance, recovery and muscle growth, so it is important to stay hydrated and fuelled. You should ensure you are fully hydrated before you commence training so that the water has time to reach all of the parts of your body that need hydration. It will also ensure your joints are lubricated, and your muscles are more flexible (Malacoff, J. 2018).

Hydrating after a workout is just as important for replenishing the fluid and electrolytes lost during sweat. You can weigh yourself before and after training to gauge roughly how much fluid you have lost during sweat (Malacoff, J. 2018).

Tracking something without properly knowing what your end goal is can be confusing. Sure, you’re trying to improve your hydration to support muscle growth, but how do you know when you’ve actually achieved that amount? You set a goal.

The recommended intake of fluids per day for men is ten, while for women, it is eight. The average cup is about 250ml, so creating your daily goal can be as simple as committing to drinking 2-2.5L of water per day (Health Direct. 2021).

If you’re looking to hit a specific water goal… say, 2L per day of water, you might find it easier to purchase a bigger water bottle that meets the demand. That way, completing your daily hydration goal is as easy as finishing one bottle of water.

Better yet, the bigger the bottle, the harder it is to forget about. A giant bottle sitting on your desk will serve as a constant reminder to keep drinking fluids.

If you’re trying to stay hydrated to help with muscle growth, adding EAAs, BCAAs or electrolytes to your daily supplement regime can help you tackle two birds with one stone.

Hydration is essential for muscle growth, which is where EAAs, BCAAs and electrolytes can add an extra pillar of support. You’ve probably heard it said that amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, so you can probably already guess that they play a role in muscle growth. Amino acids are vital in building and supporting the transportation, absorption and storage of fluids, electrolytes and nutrients that can support your muscle growth, hydration and overall well-being. Additionally, BCAAs can increase muscle growth by stimulating muscle protein synthesis while preventing muscle wastage and soreness (Van De Walle, G. 2022).

We’ll start you off with a formula that contains all three! Veego Aminos delivers a blend of BCAA and EAA electrolytes that can help hydrate and support muscle growth with a fast-absorbing combination of aminos. This 100% Australian-made formula is naturally sweetened with stevia and is vegan-friendly. This amino formula can reduce fatigue during workouts and may increase the rate of protein synthesis, leading to increased muscle mass. This amino blend may also reduce recovery time and muscle soreness after physical activity.

If you’re looking to build muscle while monitoring your hydration, Muscle Nation's Protein Water offers a light and refreshing protein option that can support your muscle growth and hydration needs. The formula combines the benefits of whey protein, collagen, and BCAA's with electrolytes to deliver maximum results. With over 12 grams of hydrolysed collagen, this formula supports recovery and hydration and is gluten-free.

Check out our blog on The Best Amino Acid Supplements or read more about The Benefits of BCAAs.

Long story short - hydration is essential for muscle growth. Hydration helps muscle growth by delivering key nutrients to your muscles that are required for constructing protein and glycogen structures. It also keeps your joints lubricated and can improve your mood, energy and cognitive function.

It may be a simple beverage, but water is incredibly important in your performance and growth. If you need more advice on how to increase your hydration or help to choose the best supplement to support both hydration and muscle growth, we’ve got you. Our friendly team at ASN can help you find what you’re looking for, just head in-store or reach out online.

Until then, refill your water bottle and get chugging.

Harvard T.H. Chan. 2017, ‘The importance of hydration’, Harvard School of Public Health, accessed 24 May 2023, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/the-importance-of-hydration/#:~:text=Drinking%20enough%20water%20each%20day,quality%2C%20cognition%2C%20and%20mood.

Leech, J. 2023, ‘7 Science-Based Health Benefits of Drinking Enough Water’, Healthline, accessed 24 May 2023, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water

Smiechowski, J. 2022, ‘Why Dehydration Makes Your Muscles Weaker (And the Hydration Plan That Helps’, Redmond.Life, accessed 25 May 2023, https://redmond.life/blogs/live-your-journey/why-dehydration-makes-your-muscles-weaker#:~:text=If%20you%20want%20strong%2C%20healthy,re%20much%20more%20easily%20injured.

Health Direct. 2021, ‘Drinking water and your health’, Health Direct, accessed 25 May 2023, https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/drinking-water-and-your-health

Van De Walle, G. 2022, ‘5 Proven Benefits of BCAAs (Branched-Chain Amino Acids), Healthline, accessed 25 May 2023, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-bcaa

Malacoff, J. 2018, ‘The Right Way to Hydrate Before, During and After a Workout’, My Fitness Pal, accessed 25 May 2023, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-right-way-to-hydrate-before-during-and-after-a-workout/