What do you prefer to drink during training?
To some, it may not matter, but others may want to only drink water or feel that a sports drink is absolutely necessary.
If you’re exercising for longer than 1 hour, or even if it’s a shorter period of time but the activity is strenuous, some doctors say you need a sports drink. When exercising vigorously or for extended amount of time, a lot of fluid is lost. Sports drinks were created to replenish the fluids and electrolytes lost during that time. But, what exactly is an electrolyte? Electrolytes are minerals in your body with an electric charge. They affect the amount of water in your body, acidity in your blood, muscle function, etc.
You may have heard that sports drinks aren’t as good for you as some may think, and that’s because if you are not losing a lot of fluids and your body is relatively stable, drinking a sports drink is not beneficial at all and the amount of electrolytes and nutrients being replaced can be excessive. Here’s an article that breaks it down a little more for you.
Bottom line, it’s really a personal preference. If you’re training hard, a sports drink is perfectly fine but if you want to stick to H20 that’s great too.