Energy Drinks for Athletes – What’s the difference?

Many people use energy drinks to get an extra kick for a few hours in their day. They’ve become incredibly popular over the past few years. Red Bull started the energy drink craze, through some very clever guerrilla marketing, and then many, many copycats followed. Regular people (non athletes and those who don’t train) use energy drinks to stay awake at work, or to party with at night (Red Bull and Vodka anyone?).

Since this site is geared towards fitness, we’ll get into which energy drinks are best for athletes and people who stay active. Everyone gets tired. Whether you’ve had a long night at the office or are becoming fatigued from training, sometimes we all need a boost to get us through our workouts. But not all energy drinks are the same. Some energy drinks give you a boost from a whole lot of sugar, while others are made specifically optimized for athletes

Red Bull, Rockstar, and Others – Not recommended

If your goal is to lose weight or train harder, and you’re drinking Rockstar, Red Bull, or Go Fast, then you’re out of your mind. These energy drinks that you find in your local convenience stores and bars are so full of sugar and empty calories you might as well be drinking a soda with a caffeine pill thrown in.

Do you know how much sugar these drinks actually have in them? Rockstar Energy Drink: 200 Calories, 48 grams of carbohydrates, and 46 grams or sugar. Red Bull: 160 Calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 39 grams of sugar. Go Fast: 90 Calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, and 21 grams or sugar.

Even if you’re not into fitness, you shouldn’t make a habit out of drinking these kinds of energy drinks. They have great marketing gimmicks to make you think that they’re not that bad for you, but they really are.

FRS Healthy Energy – Highly Recommended

This is a product I’ve recently come across and I have to say it’s great. FRS Healthy Energy was designed specifically for athletes. While I am not the greatest of athletes, when I need a boost, it is not going to come from a can of sugar. FRS Healthy Energy not only gives you a boost, but helps speed up your metabolism too. It was originally designed as a fatigue fighting health drink for cancer patients, but endurance athletes got a hold of it and now it is being marketed that way.

FRS Healthy Energy’s key ingredient is Quercetin, which is a natural antioxidant found in apples, blueberries, and fruits. The rest is a patented mix of vitamins, metabolic enhancers, and antioxidants designed in a way for your body to fully absorb all of the main ingredients. It also increases focus, so you can probably use it to study for a final or finish up a giant pile of work.

Coffee – Use at your own risk

Coffee has been the “energy drink” of the ages. It’s debatable whether or not coffee is good for you or bad for you, but when used in moderation it’s the cheapest “energy drink” out there. While you don’t want to be drinking from a coffee thermos during a workout, it can really give you enough energy to jump start your day.

Drink it black. Straight up and black. When I say coffee, I don’t mean a 400 calorie double caramel latte from Starbucks. If you want caffeine in its purest form, you have to drink it black. That means no sugar, no creamers, and no whatever else they are putting in coffee nowadays. This is especially true for those aiming to lose weight. Adding those extra sugars will null any benefits that coffee may give you. Stick to one or two cups. It can be very habit forming, so do not start your day with a half a pot of coffee. Drinking excessive amounts of coffee can cause all sorts of problems, not limited to bowel problems and blood pressure problems.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Supplements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.