Why Hydration Is the Most Underrated Part of Your Training

Everyone tracks protein. Most people track their training splits down to the set. Almost nobody actually tracks hydration — despite it quietly affecting nearly every part of performance.

What Happens When You're Under-Hydrated

Even mild dehydration — as little as 2% of bodyweight in fluid loss — has been shown to measurably reduce strength output, endurance, and concentration. That's not a dramatic, all-or-nothing effect. It's a steady decline that often shows up as "just feeling a bit flat" during a session, without an obvious cause.

If you've ever had an unexplained bad gym day despite sleeping well and eating properly, hydration is one of the first places worth checking.

Water Isn't Always Enough

For sessions under an hour, plain water usually covers it. But for longer or sweatier training — think an hour-plus lifting session, endurance running, or anything in the heat — you're losing electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) along with water, not just fluid.

Replacing water alone in that situation can actually dilute your remaining electrolytes further, which is part of why some people feel worse after "drinking loads of water" post-session rather than better.

Signs You're Not Drinking Enough

• Dark yellow urine (pale straw colour is the target)
• Headaches that show up mid-session or afterward
• Cramping, particularly late in a session
• Feeling disproportionately fatigued for the effort you're putting in

A Simple Approach That Works

• Daily baseline: aim for pale urine colour as your guide, not a rigid litre target
• Around training: a glass of water 1–2 hours before you train
• During longer sessions: an electrolyte or hydration product if you're training over an hour or sweating heavily
• After training: replace fluids steadily rather than chugging a large volume at once

The Bottom Line

Hydration doesn't get the same attention as protein or pre-workout, but it's arguably a bigger lever for how you actually feel and perform in a session. It's also the cheapest fix on this entire list.

Train harder, longer. Browse our Hydration range for sessions where water alone won't cut it.