How to Choose the Right Hydration

Have you ever asked yourself, "what hydration mix should I use for this workout"?

With every brand offering something to rival another, where do we begin?

First, here is a shortcut.

I checked out my pantry, and this is what I'm using at home right now and why.

• LMNT Watermelon –for short morning workouts
• Gnarly Ruby Red Grapefruit – my daily, tastes so good
• SIS Go Electrolyte – for all workout types, go-to base hydration
• Precision PF30–for longer workouts (over 90 mins)
• Quintessential Salt Water Packets – emergency rehydration

Here is the complete guide. Pick your workout type/duration and then the recommended hydration choices.

Short Workouts

under 1 hour & low to moderate Intensity

This is where you want something that tastes good and has electrolytes, but you don't need the extra sugar of the other drink options. My go-to in this category are the following:

• SIS Hydrotabs (great value and taste)
• LMNT (salty, no sugar)
• Precision 1000 packets (500mg of sodium)
• SOS Hydration (great flavors, only 2g of sugar)

Short Workouts

under 1 hour & moderate to high intensity

Here you want a bit more sugar in your hydration. It will also increase the flavor, so you are inclined to drink more often. The sugar isn't so much for energy but to accelerate the absorption of electrolytes, so you rehydrate faster.

• Gnarly Hydrate (8g of sugar)
• ERW (8g of sugar)
• Skratch Hydration (19g of sugar)

Longer Workouts

over 1 hour – without going high carb

You'll want to kick up the sugar for your workouts over one hour. As mentioned above, this will help you absorb electrolytes faster and provide more sugar/energy without getting into the high-carb category.

• SIS Go Electrolyte (7g of sugar, 36g of Carbs)
• First Endurance EFS (16g of sugar, 26g of Carbs)
• Tailwind Endurance Fuel (25g of sugar and carbs)

Longer Workouts

over 1 hour – high carb options

If you want to optimize your performance, you will want to increase your hourly intake of carbs to 80 to 100g per hour. You can do this through gels, chews, bars, and hydration. Hydration is often the easiest way when you are going hard and/or it's tough to open and swallow a gel or chew.

• Maurten 160 or 320 (40g or 80g of carbs)
• SIS Beta Fuel (80g of carbs)
• Neversecond C90 (90g of carbs)

Recovery Hydration & Daily Hydration

This is often your best opportunity to rehydrate from a challenging workout and stay hydrated during your workday. The key here is low sugar. You don't want the extra calories – anything below 8g of sugar is good.

• LMNT Electrolytes (0g of sugar)
• Gu Drink Tabs (1g of sugar)
• Precision 1000 (3g of sugar)
• Skratch Clear (4g of sugar)
• Nuun Instant (5g of sugar)

🚨 Emergency Rehdyration 🚨

If you destroyed yourself in the heat, heavy sweating indoors, have altitude sickness, or are desperate to rehydrate after a long flight or night of hard partying, here are the options for you:

• Quintessential Salt Water Packets (bring you back from the dead)
• Skratch Hyper Hydration (1720mg of Sodium)
• The Right Stuff (1780mg of Sodium)

Pre-Workout Hydration?

I would consider pre-workout more of a functional beverage. Sure, you are trying to prehydrate, but you are typically looking for a quick boost of energy and mental acuity. Here are your top choices:

• SFH Push (115mg of Caffeine)
• Ascent Pre-Workout (150mg of Caffeine)
• Flume Flow (all-natural, great focus boost)