Can energy drinks boost sports performance?

Energy drinks can give you a small boost when you’re playing sports, but they’re not the best choice for most athletes. Watch this video to learn what drinks registered dietitian Samantha Heller recommends you down before you pick up a ball.

Transcript

00:00

If you're going to the gym and you're doing maybe a spinning class or a Zumba class and then you're going home after and having dinner,

00:07

then you don't really need a sports drink. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:24

Are energy drinks helpful before you go to the gym and work out? You know, they might be. They do have caffeine, and they will give you

00:31

that boost of energy. But unless you're an elite athlete and you're really trying to shave off

00:38

that last millisecond of time, I don't think you really need to drink them. Certainly, the ones that have sugar is unnecessary calories.

00:45

What you can do is think about sports drinks. If you're working out for more than an hour or your workouts are very intensive,

00:53

then a sports drink that has some carbohydrate that also replenishes your electrolytes and some sodium and potassium is a good idea.

01:01

If you're going to the gym and you're doing maybe a spinning class or a Zumba class, and then you're going home after and having dinner,

01:08

then you don't really need a sports drink. But you do want to stay hydrated before, during, and after all of your workouts. And remember, you have to hydrate

01:15

throughout the whole day, not just during the workout. [MUSIC PLAYING]