Muscles are comprised of 70% water. Most people know that their bodies contain a great deal of water, but never realize that actual muscles contain this much water. The water contained in your muscles is important to the overall anabolic process. The water plays a major role in metabolizing and moving proteins through the muscles. Water is also important for cell volumizing, which is what generates muscle growth.
Water is so vital to bodybuilding that it really doesn't matter if you do everything else right. If you are getting great workouts, eating all of the right foods, getting the rest that you need, and learning as much about the sport of bodybuilding as you can, if you aren't getting enough water, your attempts at bodybuilding will be quite futile. Water is so important that even mild dehydration can prevent muscles from growing properly, and can also decrease the strength in your muscles.
So, aside from the fact that your protein supplements need water to do the job you want them to do, you can also judge how much water you need by the amount of protein that you consume - which is a handy little trick. You should know that you should consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight when you are trying to build muscle.
This means that if you weigh 190 pounds, you need to consume 190 grams of protein. Now, using that number, you can determine how much water you need to consume throughout the day. The rule is that you need one ounce of water, for every gram of protein. Therefore, in this case, you would need to consume 190 ounces of water during a 24 hour period.
That sounds like an awful lot of water, but don't worry, you aren't going to drown in it. What you must realize is that water comes in a variety of forms. Many sports drinks contain water. Water is used to mix powder protein supplements. Water is consumed in a wide variety of ways, and all of that water counts towards the amount that you need for the day.
When you think about all of the ways that you consume water, you will realize that getting the amount of water that you need is really quite easy. You will feel better, look better, and of course your muscles will be better by adding water to your protein supplements. Remember that water transports the proteins, so you want to keep your body as hydrated as possible! There may be protein supplements, but there is no supplement for good, old fashioned water.
