Sports drinks are a great way to stay hydrated during exercise and replenish essential electrolytes as you recover. However with so many options on the market, it can be challenging to distinguish between sugary beverages and those that truly support hydration and recovery. Finding the right drink means choosing one that helps maintain fluid balance and support your fitness goals.
To make your decision easier, I’ve combined personal experience with insights from fitness professionals and analyzed over 50 ingredient lists. This guide highlights the best sports drinks tailored for various needs, including rapid hydration, endurance training, CrossFit, weight loss and those seeking natural options. Stay hydrated and choose wisely!
Sports drinks can be a healthy hydration alternative to water, if you know what you’re looking for.
In recent years, smaller beverage companies and startups have gained popularity with their sports drinks, which are often targeted at niche activities and different types of exercisers, like runners or CrossFit enthusiasts. Commercial sports drinks like Gatorade are still a popular pick, but there are lots of other options these days. Whether you’ve just had an intense exercise session at the gym or need to hydrate after sweating it out on the trail, we’ve found the best sports drinks, in all flavors and forms, to replenish electrolytes.
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Personal trainer and fitness studio owner Holly Roser says Nuun is the perfect sports drink for hydration and energy. “Made with just electrolytes and caffeine, these small tablets are easy to pop into your water and turn it into a fizzy drink,” she says, adding that they’re great for morning runs because of the caffeine content.
Nuun’s entire line of products promises to help you push through grueling workouts, but Nuun Endurance is specifically formulated to support you during a sweat session for 90 minutes or more. It’s widely used by marathoners, triathletes and other long-distance exercisers, professionally and recreationally.
Each tablet contains 15 grams of sugar, 380 milligrams of sodium and 200 milligrams of potassium, as well as chloride, magnesium and calcium. Together, these ingredients prevent cramps and keep your muscles moving for long workouts.
I used Nuun Endurance while training for long-distance races and it hasn’t let me down yet. I typically used it only for runs 8 miles or longer, but I’ve also popped a tablet when I felt I’d need an energy boost for a shorter run.
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Let’s do a little math here: What do you get when you have a warehouse gym, subtract air conditioning, add summer temperatures and multiply by one of the most intense fitness regimens around? The answer is sweat. Lots of sweat.
Lots of sweat means lots of lost electrolytes, and Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier says it can help replace what you lose through sweat. According to Liquid I.V., one packet of Hydration Multiplier powder is equivalent to drinking three bottles of water because of something called Cellular Transport Technology — I don’t necessarily doubt the claim, but take it with a grain of salt.
The formula for Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier is rooted in a medical therapy developed by the World Health Organization called oral rehydration salts.
Hydration Multiplier is not a medical therapy, but as it’s based closely on a hydration solution used by major health agencies for decades, I’m confident it can replenish even the sweatiest of CrossFitters.
According to Liquid I.V., salt, sugar, potassium, vitamin C, multiple B vitamins and water, come together in just the right amounts to deliver nutrients to your bloodstream faster than water alone. It’s also gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO and vegan.