Monday is for Muscle Mass Building: Water - The Most Overlooked Component In The Quest For Muscle

FACT: There's a very good chance that you will die if you don't drink water within three days.

This is because aside from the air we breathe, water is the most crucial thing to human beings. Blood would not be blood without water. Even bones are made up of a lot of water. Most importantly, muscles and all our organs are composed mainly of water. Our muscles, in particular, are made up of 70% water. It has been stated in studies that once our bodies get dehydrated, even by just 3%-4% in the body's natural levels can cause premature muscle weakness and fatigue. Imagine a 10%- 20% diminished muscular contraction. Yikes! Bad news for muscle building!

If you have read the previous post about creatine, it should be mentioned that creatine also help increase muscle size by increasing the volume of the muscle. Obviously, what's being driven in the muscle is made up of water. Another thing to consider is that while water shuttles in the nutrients to the muscles, it also helps in getting the waste product out. In fact, everything in our body relies on water, even our brain functions.

Probably, the most obvious question to ask now is, how much water do you need to support your body functions and your muscle building effort?

Sean Nalewanyj wrote in his report, 8 Things You Must Do To Build Maximum Muscle, a calculation of how much is enough in terms of water consumption. In his report he stated that for every pound of bodyweight, we need about 0.60 ounces of water. This means that if you weigh 160 pounds, you multiply that by 0.6

160 lbs x .6= 96 ounces or 2.9 liters.

Now, I don't know about you, but from where I come from, the sun shines so hot and I sweat so much from workouts that I can't survive and push my muscles to grow. It's hard to focus when you're dehydrated. This figure seems low for me, and I imagine it's true for others.

Another approach is from Stuart McRobert's Beyond Brawn. In it, Stuart suggests a more unique way to judge your hydration, your urine color. His recommendation of 4 clear urinations a day is way more valid to me. This is aside from other urinations you might have which is slightly or darkly colored. Even if you are taking multivitamins/minerals, the first few hours after ingestion will definitely reflect on your urine's color, but not for the rest of the day. If you are using any other medication which causes your urine to be colored, try judging it in terms of urine frequency and volume. Also, adjust accordingly to your performance in the gym.