Effects Of Dehydration On Strength Training [UPDATED]
What is Dehydration?
Dehydration occurs when you lose more fluid than you take in. While this may seem minor, too little water can cause serious problems and a dangerous domino effect leading to life-threatening conditions.
Does Dehydration Affect Strength?
Dehydration reduces strength (by approximately 2%), power (by approximately 3%) and high-intensity endurance (by approximately 10%), suggesting reduced total body water affects force generation. [1]
How Does Dehydration Affect Your Blood?
Dehydration directly affects your blood volume, the more dehydrated you are, the thicker and less fluid your blood. Low blood volume means less oxygen, electrolytes, and nutrients are carried to the cells and tissues of your body. This includes your muscles and your brain. Muscles with too little oxygen or too few electrolytes do not function properly leaving you weak and uncoordinated.
Too little blood and oxygen to your brain leave you dizzy or unconscious. Your heart must work harder to move blood, leaving you weak and experiencing shallow and gasping respirations. This low blood volume also causes a drop in blood pressure and a drop in the amount of oxygen in your body leading to hypovolemic shock.
What are the Effects of Dehydration on the Brain?
Dehydration causes a dangerous reduction in the brain and spinal fluid. Your body will be unable to perform its normal functions including attention and memory and muscle control. Dehydration and spinal fluid reduction directly affect your central nervous system, your peripheral nervous system (nerves and nerve cells outside the brain) and your ability to induce and stimulate muscular contraction, your strength, speed, and vertical leap will be greatly diminished.
Why Staying Hydrated is Important?
Water is essential when moving, flexing or extending your muscles. If your body is dehydrated, your muscles will be lacking electrolytes which are necessary for contraction and will soon cramp. Since muscles are controlled by nerves, without the proper water and electrolyte balance, muscle strength and control will also be impaired.
When you’re dehydrated, you use glycogen (stored carbs) at a much faster rate. This glycogen stores water, and when glycogen is depleted your body becomes even further dehydrated.
Dehydration leads to kidney failure. As your body continues to lose water, your kidneys will sense this loss and begin to retain fluid, leading to even greater dehydration and eventual kidney failure.
Dehydration makes it difficult for your body to regulate body temperature. For your skin to cool your body down it needs fluid to sweat
In summary, water plays a huge role in performance and muscle building and even slight dehydration causes a decrease in strength, reduced endurance, unable to complete your normal rep range and then slower recovery.
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