Sip, Savor, and Sweat Smarter: Picking the Right Hydration
By The Feed.
In this three-part series, we are tackling a common piece of the performance puzzle that can drastically impact your training: hydration. In Part One, we aim to inform you on how to choose the right hydration for you by, pairing it with your needs alongside planned training efforts.
One of our top athlete questions is about hydration: how to choose the right hydration based on workout intensity and duration. We've developed a three-part series designed to inform your hydration strategy to help you get the most out of your training and performance on race day. Part One: How to pick the right hydration for you
Start by identifying the time and intensity, then pair with the best-suited hydration for you and your workout.
Short Workouts (under 1 hour) & Low to Moderate Intensity
For quick workouts, choose a hydration option that effectively hydrates without excess sugar.
SiS Hydro Tabs: Ideal for daily training, Hydro Tabs offer effective hydration with 345mg of sodium and 0g of sugar per serving, all at an excellent value of just $0.60 per serving.
LMNT: Your salty, pure-electrolyte combination with 1000mg of sodium, 200mg of potassium, 60mg of magnesium, and 0 sugar to replace what you lose in sweat and could be lacking in diet. Plus, you can try the sample pack of 8 flavors for $5. Just add it to your cart to claim the 69% savings.
AMACX Hydro Tabs: These tabs have 205mg of sodium and 0g of sugar and are only $0.45 per serving. Add extra tabs to your water to increase your sodium intake without your sugar intake. Forest Fruit has a fruity flavor that's not too overpowering.
Short Workouts (under 1 hour) & Moderate to High Intensity
Here you want a bit more sugar in your hydration. The sugar can help accelerate the absorption of electrolytes, so you rehydrate faster.
Skratch: Real fruit, real flavor, real good. It contains 19g of sugar and is easy on the digestive system. Try the lemon-lime for a really refreshing option.
Torq Hydration: 15g of sugar and 5 key electrolytes in a hypotonic solution, meaning there's a high water concentration that will move water from the hydration into your body. The watermelon has a nice fruity taste that's not too sweet.
Flow Electrolyte Replacement Mix: 9g of sugar and 7g of carbs so it's great during activities when additional calories may not be required. The 10% carb content can be effective for hydration to increase fluid retention.
Longer Workouts (over 1 hour)
You want to pick up more sugar for your workouts over one hour, and you can also rely on hydration to increase your carb intake as well. Here are a couple of hydration options with an average amount of carbs for a standard, long workout:
First Endurance EFS: EFS provides the ideal blend of carbohydrates, amino acids, antioxidants, and electrolytes to fuel your working muscles with 16g of sugars and 26g of carbs.
Tailwind Endurance Fuel: Courtney Dauwalter approved! It's a clean and efficient fuel source with 25g of carbs and 25g of sugars in 1 scoop. The Naked flavor is great if you want a more neutral flavor.
Gnarly Nutrition Fuel 2 O: Fuel 2 O is formulated with HMB, which is a metabolite of the BCAA Leucine. HMB helps you minimize your muscle breakdown, which results in a faster turnaround time between your hard training sessions and races. Try the Cherry Cola for a boost of caffeine. Plus, it really does taste like Cherry Cola.
Pro tip: If you plan on racing with a high-carb drink mix, you should be testing the same drink mix on your big training days, but it isn't always necessary on an average long day.