Tag: bodybuilding

Using Visualization To Increase Your Mass

using visualization to increase your massUsing Visualization To Increase Your Mass!

We now move into an area that is far too neglected by mainstream health and fitness professionals, the mind. Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of weight gain and completely neglect the mental side of things.

Visualization can play an important part in gaining weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Gaining weight can be difficult for many people who don’t use their minds to help in the process.

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by “day dreaming”, you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight gain tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a more muscular person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to gain weight. I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let go of your past failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualize your body at its perfect proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits.

Programming your mind into believing that you can gain weight, and to visualize yourself with your perfect proportions is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your body as being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The sub-conscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates the muscles of the body (The muscles are controlled by the sub-conscious) and body-fat composition on the body.

Try to visualize your body as lean and as muscular as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in gaining weight.

Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one’s inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Perform two sessions, one in the afternoon (Primary) and the other before going to sleep (Secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn’t time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

It has been stated that one of these sessions is equivalent to 2 hours of deep sleep and upon waking you will feel revitalized and full of energy. Believe me instead of worrying about time constraints; you will be looking forward to the next session.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won’t be disturbed – lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose. Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

Having reaching this calm relaxed state, start your visualizations. Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colorful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as muscular and toned as possible.

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good you look. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant – in the present, not in the future.

Using this type of visualization you can construct in your mind any scene that you desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your new muscular body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

Remember set a goal for your ideal weight

You must want to gain weight

Visualize yourself at your ideal weight

Use positive images at every opportunity

Combine the amazing effects of hard work in the gym and strong mental visualization and watch your progress unfold.

Is Your Muscle Building Potential Limited By Your Genes?

Is your muscle building potential limited by your genes?

So Is Your Muscle Building Potential Limited By Your Genes?

It is clear that certain traits are handed down to us by our parents and unfortunately our ability to grow muscles beyond certain limits is no exception. That doesn’t mean to say hard work and carefully planned training won’t have a positive effect on your physique – it just means that some people will inherit a greater abundance of the favored physical characteristics than others.

Not everyone possesses the physical traits to become a champion, but you can work wonders with the raw material you do possess.

How responsive you will be to physical stimulation can be predicted to a certain extent by examining your somatype or natural body shape. Basically, there are three recognized body types:

1. Endomorphs

– these individuals tend to be squat with a round torso, thick neck and short limbs.

2. Mesomorphs

– these individuals tend to be muscular with broad shoulders, powerful chest and limbs and little body fat.

3. Ectomorphs

– these individuals tend to be slim and are usually tall with little muscle and body fat.

The ideal bodybuilding physique tends more towards the mesomorph with broad shoulders, narrow hips with arms and legs of medium length. Two further inherited features have a role to play in determining muscle building potential, and these are muscle fiber density and neurological efficiency. Fiber density determines the size potential of a muscle while neurological efficiency refers to the relationship between the nervous system and muscles. This is relevant because, in all out effort genetically blessed individuals have the ability to activate up to 50% of the fibers in a given muscle compared to the average person’s 30%. This allows greater scope for stimulating growth.

The fact that there is no easy way to measure fiber density or neurological efficiency is actually a blessing because the incentive remains for all of us to train hard and strive for improvement. Only a tiny minority of people have the genetic tools to become champions but the rest of us can go a long way to fulfilling our own personal goals.

The Top 8 Keys To Intensity

the top 8 keys to intensity

One of the biggest difficulties facing bodybuilders is how can they be sure that all muscle fibers have been recruited and exhausted during a given exercise and it is only by achieving this that muscle gains can be maximized.

The simple answer is, you have work beyond failure and experience a higher level of training intensity than before. This also ensures that workouts remain challenging and continue to engender progress over time thus reducing the likelihood of regression.

But how do you go about intensifying your training? Fortunately there is a tried and tested path to follow as outlined below: The top 8 keys to intensity.

Keys To Intensity #1. Increase resistance

Increasing the weight lifted in meaningful increments ensures the muscle is pushed beyond its previous point of failure thus maintaining the muscle building process. Aim to increase the weight when you reach six to eight reps and failure does not occur.

Keys To Intensity #2. Change the exercise

To achieve maximal gains all muscle fibers in a body part must be trained. Changing the angle (e.g to incline bench press) or introducing a new exercise will stimulate growth.

Keys To Intensity #3. Reduce rest intervals

Giving the muscles less time to recover before exposing them to further work has the effect of increasing intensity.

Keys To Intensity #4. Pre-exhaustion

When an exercise involves two or more muscles the weakest will prevent you from working the primary muscle to failure. The answer is to first isolate and tire the primary muscle before immediately moving to another exercise that works the set of muscles to failure.

Keys To Intensity #5. Introduce Supersets

This involves performing two exercises for the same muscle group without a rest interval. This means you have to utilize different muscle fibers which stimulate greater growth.

Keys To Intensity #6. Use partial reps

At the point of failure you will not be able to complete the full range of movement for a given exercise. Completing a partial rep that uses only a segment of the lift will still work your muscles beyond the point of failure. This technique is especially useful to advanced bodybuilders as it allows them to increase intensity without adding extra routines that could cause overtraining.

Keys To Intensity #7. Use isometric contractions

This involves holding the weight still at the point of failure to stimulate a static contraction in the muscle.

Keys To Intensity #8. Employ forced reps

This involves completing one or more final reps after the point of failure has been reached. You will need the assistance of an experienced helper to attempt this.

Once you have added these techniques to your training regimen you’ll know you’ve done your best to maximize muscle growth.

 

A Simple Guide On Bodybuilding Nutrition

A Simple Guide On Bodybuilding Nutrition

A Simple Guide On Bodybuilding Nutrition

Nutrition is a very important aspect in bodybuilding because it is responsible for the overall condition of the body. Nutrition is acquired from the food that a person eats. A healthy diet is composed of foods which have the essential nutrients for the body to function properly. A combination of fruits, vegetables, meat, and carbohydrates will give the body enough energy for a day as well as maintaining the body’s fitness. In bodybuilding, there are 3 essential components of nutrition. These are protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Protein

        Protein is responsible for mass gain and muscle growth. Typically, bodybuilders consume large amounts of protein rich food each day. Amounts can come between 300-500 grams of protein daily. Protein intake should be at least 1.5-2 grams per pound of weight. For starters, at least 25 grams of protein per meal should be taken.

Carbohydrates

        Carbohydrates are responsible for giving the body its fuel source. Carbohydrates are burned in order to perform daily activities. Bodybuilders do not consume a lot of carbohydrates because bodybuilding activities focus on intensity rather than movement. It is important though, to consume adequate amounts of carbohydrates in order to complete a workout session for the day. Recommended carbohydrate intake is calculated as 1-1.5 grams per pound of weight.

Fat

Generally, bodybuilders do not consume fatty foods since this type of food is simply stored by the body. However, the body needs fat in order to function properly. As a result, bodybuilders only consume the essential fats needed by the body and opt to eat protein rich food. The amount of essential fat to be consumed each day is at a ratio of 15ml of fat per 25kg of body weight.

A Balanced Diet

        All it takes to start bodybuilding is a balanced diet. A balanced diet will place the body in its peak physical condition. Overweight people will find themselves losing weight while underweight people will find themselves gaining weight. Once the peak condition is achieved, the person can start bodybuilding. A ratio of 40:40:20 for these 3 components is perfect for amateur bodybuilders. This ratio will ensure that muscle growth is achieved and fat is not stored. This ratio will also ensure that the bodybuilder will have adequate amounts of energy throughout the day. Meal times should be spaced at least 6 hours apart to promote digestion and absorption of the nutrients.

Creating An Anabolic State For Maximum Muscle

Creating an anabolic state for maximum muscle

Creating An Anabolic State For Maximum Muscle

You can only build muscle if your body is in the correct anabolic balance to allow growth to take place. Intensive exercise is clearly an important part of the muscle building process but achieving the maximum muscle mass depends on putting the building blocks in place. This is achieved through sound nutritional practices so you need to be aware of the following anabolic enhancing principles:

1. Protein is the basic raw material needed to build muscle. Protein supplies the amino acids that the body uses to repair and build muscle following intensive exercise. Aim to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from food like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and whey. Spread the load over at least six meals to derive the optimum benefit and avoid overloading the liver.

2. Carbohydrates are needed to energize the muscle building process. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which pushes the amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of repair. The body uses carbohydrates as a source of energy – consume too little and the body will steal protein that would otherwise be used for repairing and building muscle. Aim to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight each day from foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and whole wheat bread.

3. Boost your calories. Unless your main aim is to reduce fat you need a positive caloric balance if you want to build muscle. Make sure that your daily calorie intake is 10% higher than your energy expenditure for daily maintenance and that the calories are acquired from a diet characterized by a ratio of 50% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 10% fat.

4. Get plenty of rest both in terms of adequate rest days between training sessions and sufficient sleep. Your muscles won’t grow if you don’t build adequate recovery time into your training program. Similarly, you can only optimize your body’s levels of testosterone and growth hormone if you spend enough time sleeping.

5. Consume quality supplements to support a sound nutritious diet. For most people it should be enough to add whey protein, creatine and l-glutamine to your daily diet.

6. Don’t overdo the aerobic exercise. Your aim is to increase muscle mass therefore you don’t want to burn excessive calories that could be utilized for bulking up.

7. Drink plenty of water. Failure to drink sufficient quantities of water will lead to dehydration and adversely affect your muscle mass. Don’t forget that muscle is 70% water so a generous intake will maintain muscle volume and help growth.

The 3 Best Muscle Building Exercises You Should Be Doing

The 3 Best Muscle Building Exercises You Should Be Doing

When it comes to building muscle I like to keep things simple. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of hot new products and exercises that promise to be the next best thing in muscle building. Theses fancy exercises and products use long “scientific like” words and explanations to show you they work to build the most muscle.

In this article I am going to get back to basics. I am going to show your three muscle building exercises you can’t afford not to do and why you should be doing them. These three exercises are the grass roots of building muscle and are essential for any serious training program.

You might find it hard to believe, but with these three exercises alone you can pack on a serious amount of muscle. I refer to these exercises as the “core” to any good program. When I start planning I muscle building program for a client I always start with these three basic exercises and build the program around them.

3 core muscle building exercises:

Squat

The squat is the biggest exercise for packing on serious poundage. There’s no argument about it. The squat is primarily a leg building exercise. You start the exercise with a barbell resting across your shoulders standing straight up. Then bending at the knees and hips you lower the barbell down until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. And then push the barbell back to the starting position.

The main muscle groups pulled into action for the squat are your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Secondary muscle groups include the lower back, adductors and to a certain extent your shoulder muscles. As you can see many muscle groups are recruited for this exercise making it the biggest exercise and biggest potential muscle builder.

Like all the core muscle building exercises, you should make the squat the first exercise you do on your leg training day. Because it’s the biggest exercise you want your legs to be fresh and ready. If muscle building is your goal, aim for about 8-12 reps on the squat. Because you’ll be lifting heavy weights a good warm up is vital. Squatting is very stressful for the lower body, especially the knees, so 5-10 minutes on the treadmill and some lights squats first up are recommended.

Bench Press

The bench pres is the king of upper body building exercises. For years the bench press has been used to measure a lifter’s strength. How many times have you been asked “how much do you bench?” I bet you’ve never been asked how much do you squat or how many chin ups can you do.

The bench is a simple yet extremely powerful exercise that targets the entire chest (pectorals), front shoulders (deltoids) and triceps. To perform a bench press you must lie on your back on a flat bench, grip the barbell at slightly wider than shoulder grip and press the bar straight down to your chest.

The bench press is the biggest upper body builder because it allows you to move the most amount of weight possible. This is its advantage over the dumbbell press. With the help of a spotter you can also push yourself to lift heavier weights. There are also other advanced bench press techniques like board presses, bench press negatives and chain presses. See our link at the bottom for more details.

Wide grip Chin Up

If you were only going to do one exercise to work your back this would be it. The wide grip chin up is the ultimate test of a lifters power to weight ratio. This muscle building exercise is very demanding on the body.

The wide grip chin up primarily hits the lats, but also targets the entire upper back, biceps and forearms. To execute this exercise you need a chin up bar or assisted chin up machine. Hold the bar in a wide grip (greater than shoulder width) with your palms facing away from your body. Start in a “hanging” position with your arms fully extended. Pull yourself up until your can get your chin over the bar and lower back to starting position.

Most people will not be able to do wide grip chin ups without some lat/back training first. You can use the assisted chin up machine or lat pull down machine to strengthen your lats before attempting wide grip chin ups. This is the most demanding back exercise you can do so it must be the first exercise in your session.

When should you be doing these exercises?

Like I mentioned previously in this article, these exercises are the biggest muscle builders and also the most taxing on your body so they must be done at the beginning of your workout to get the maximum benefits. I recommend that you do up to 5 sets on each exercise and vary the way you perform these sets each week. For example, the first week you do pyramid up sets, the second week you pyramid down and the third week you do straight sets. This keeps your muscles from getting accustomed to your routine. Good luck packing on some serious pounds!

8 Proven Strategies for Maximum Muscle Gains

 There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the topic of building muscle, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to start. If you’re an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow in the gym, the following 8 points will start you off on the right track.

1. Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements

If you want to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of these lifts are the squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound movements allow you to handle the most weight and will stimulate the greatest amount of total muscle fibers.

2. Be Prepared To Train Hard

One of the biggest factors that separates those who make modest gains from those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to stimulate your muscle fibers to their utmost potential, you must be willing to take every set you perform in the gym to the point of muscular fatigue and/or failure.

Muscular Failure: The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form.

Sub-maximal training intensity will leave you with sub-maximal results, plain and simple.

3. Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week

Our bodies build muscle because of an adaptive response to the environment. When you go to the gym, you break down your muscle fibers by training with weights. Your body senses this as a potential threat to its survival and will react accordingly by rebuilding the damaged fibers larger and stronger in order to protect against any possible future threat. Therefore, in order to make continual gains in muscle size and strength, you must always focus on progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. Keep a detailed training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time.

4. Avoid Overtraining

Overtraining is your number one enemy when it comes to building muscle size and strength. When most people begin a workout program, they are stuck with the misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time they spend in the gym, the better results they will achieve. When it comes to building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely vital to the muscle growth process. If you don’t provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow.

5. Eat More Frequently

The main area where most people fail miserably on their muscle-building mission is on the all-too important task of proper nutrition. Training with weights is only half of the equation! You break down your muscle fibers in the gym, but if you don’t provide your body with the proper nutrients at the proper times, the muscle growth process will be next to impossible. You should be eating anywhere from 5-7 meals per day, spaced every 2-3 hours in order to keep your body in an anabolic, muscle-building state at all times. Each meal should consist of high quality protein and complex carbohydrates.

6. Increase Your Protein Intake

Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is without a doubt the most important for those who are looking to gain muscle size and strength. Protein is found in literally every single one of the 30 trillion cells that your body is made up of and its main role is to build and repair body tissues. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be physically impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of lean muscle mass. If your body were a house, think of protein as the bricks. A general guideline is to consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from high quality sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef, milk, peanut butter and cottage cheese.

7. Increase Your Water Intake

If you want a simple, easy and highly effective way to maximize your muscle gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well. Research has shown that merely a 3-4% drop in your body’s water levels can impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume 0.6 ounces for every pound of bodyweight each day for optimal gains.

8. Be Consistent!

Consistency is everything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular size and strength are the ones who are able to implement the proper techniques on a highly consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply!

Building muscle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure, performing 1 extra rep on your bench press will not make a huge difference to your overall results, and neither will consuming a single meal. However, over the long haul, all of those extra reps you perform and all of those small meals you consume will decide your overall success. If you work hard and complete all of your muscle-building tasks in a consistent fashion, all of those individual steps will equate to massive gains in overall size and strength.

Sample Bodybuilding Meal Plan

Looking to gain some serious mass? Learn to eat the same way that you train: beastly! The following meals should be consumed throughout one full day. Each meal should be taken in every 2-3 hours apart. Foods can be subject to change to fit your individual preferences so don’t freak out if you don’t like broccoli, there’s other options…

This bodybuilding meal plan consists of about 40% Protein, 35% Carbohydrates, and 25% Fats

Meal 1:bodybuilding meal plan

  • 1cup oats

  • 16oz fat free milk

  • 1 med banana

  • 1 1/2 scoop whey

Meal 2:

  •  8 oz Chicken, fish, lean beef

  • 1 cup yams

  • 1 cup green beans

  • 15 almonds OR almond butter

Meal 3: Turkey sandwich

  • Rye bread

  • Lean turkey 15g -20g protein

  • Spinach replacing lettuce

  • Tomato optional

Meal 4: (post workout) only on lifting days.

  • 1 scoop DGC carbs

  • 50g whey

Meal 5:

  • 8 oz Chicken, fish, lean beef

  • 1 cup yams

  • 1 cup green beans

  • 15 almonds OR almond butter

Meal 6:

 

  • 8 oz fish

  • 2 cups broccoli

Meal 7 optional:

  • 2 scoops casein protein before bed

*Remember, if you are pressed for time during the day and you cannot consume a full food meal, just replace it with a protein shake to keep your metabolism moving. Don’t miss a meal!
 

Sample Bodybuilding Meal Plan

The Importance of Lifting Heavy

The Importance of Lifting Heavy

Whether you’re a man or woman seeking muscle gain or muscular “tone”, lifting heavy should not be unfamiliar to you. However in some cases, many will shy away from this harder task in belief that it will not produce the desired results that they are looking for. Of course lifting heavier weights will bring strength gains, but a typical bodybuilder-in-training will focus more of his attention on gaining size, not strength.

I’ve seen guys well under 200 lbs bench pressing upwards of 315lb with ease, and on the other end I’ve seen men around 275 pounds of solid muscle struggling with the same weight. Regardless of your goals of obtaining that sought-after physique, heavy weights will only benefit you!

The reason this is, is because training with only hypertrophy gains in mind will leave you continuously lifting weights in the 8-12 rep zone. This, in short will hinder you from progressing as fast as you can. Lifting heavy weights will ultimately increase your body’s capacity for muscular growth. With the normal weights your body is used to lifting, doing 4 sets of 8-12 reps, your potential for strength gains is limited. You MUST include routines of heavy power movements to gain size and strength respectively.

Like I said before with cardio, there are many different ways to go about losing fat, however some are just faster than others. The same principle applies here. There are many ways to gain muscle, but the fastest way is to incorporate heavy weights into your training regimen ALONG WITH hypertrophy training.

Look at it this way:

If a person was to train solely for muscle gains (hypertrophy), they most likely might hit a plateau on their bench press at 225 pounds with 15 reps (just an example). Now if a similar person were to incorporate heavy power training into their weekly routine, their bench press may most likely increase to 275-315 pounds for 15 reps.  So who do you think will make the most gains over the long haul? The person lifting heavier weight would because they have increased their muscular threshold to bear more weight, therefore recruiting more muscle fibers (muscle gain).

Try designating a week or so each month just for heavy lifting. This will tremendously help increase your lean muscle mass. Having a training partner during this time is a great idea to ensure safety and to help on those last couple reps!

 

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Sources: Dr. Layne Norton, Mega Feature: Layne Norton Training Series + Full Power/Hypertrophy Routine (Updated 2011)


 

The Importance of Water

The Importance Of Water

At the very bottom of the exercisers “pyramid of success” should be a solid foundation. This would include all nutritional foods and food sources that the body relies upon each and every day. The easiest one that seems to be overlooked is water. We all know that the body needs to remain hydrated and replenished in times of physical activity. Even during the slightest form of exercise or rest the body will still need water in order to remain in a homeostatic balance. Keeping everything running smoothly is its’ number one goal.

So how does this effect exercise, and how much water should I be drinking?

In the physical goal of building muscle, the primary focus is to push as much water as possible into the muscle cells. The more water that is available inside the muscles, the better the muscle will function. This will allow it to run at full size and strength capacity, and leave your muscles feeling fuller and ready to get the job done. Maintaining a positive nitrogen balance will yield greater results and will directly impact your muscle growth.

The amounts of water that you take in may vary depending on your activity level or environment that you live in. However as far as exercise goes, you should be taking in water before, during and after each workout. Some organizations are very specific on how much water is recommended during a given day, but from my personal experience, drinking one gallon of water a day is an ideal amount. It may sound like a lot at first, but if you break it down into smaller bottles then it can be very easy to consume this much.

During times of training, it is recommended that you drink 8 ounces of water every 15-20 minutes. This will keep the body replenished due to sweating and exertion.

Also, make sure to know the signs of dehydration! It’s extremely important to listen to your body and what it’s telling you. Some of the major signs of dehydration include: Thirst, dark-colored urine, lightheadedness, loss of appetite, dry skin, dry mouth, fatigue and weakness.

One last thing…

When the body is sweating during exercise, four main electrolytes are lost: Sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. There are a few sports drinks that contain these helpful electrolytes that are great for staying hydrated, especially during times of increased exercise. Nothing can replace water completely, but drinking Gatorade, Powerade, Vitamin Water or some sort of electrolyte additive can have positive benefits when taken during physical activity.

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

References: Symptomsofdehydration.com, “Ten Nutrition Rules for Beginners” Joe Wuebben