In a financial pinch? No need to let it stop you from sipping on on tasty, effective fluids during your workout. Here are 3 legit sports drink recipes you just have to try. Your body and your wallet will thank you!
When money is tight, no need to deprive yourself of the good things that sports drinks have to offer! A well designed sports drink (i.e, the recipes below) can provide an important mix of fluid, fast digesting carbs, and electrolytes to help keep you going. These recipes make enough to fill a 24 ounce (3-cup) water bottle, so double or triple the recipe if you’d like to fill multiple bottles.
These sports drink recipes are designed to have no more that 5% carbohydrate concentration (5 grams/100ml) to help maximize stomach emptying and intestinal absorption by being hypotonic–at a slightly lower carb content than your body fluid to encourage your cells to absorb the liquid faster than they do plain water or drinks with a higher carb percentage.
The combination of glucose and fructose in these sports drink recipes also help promote absorption for better performance and less chance of an unhappy gut! These recipes supply about 145mg of sodium per cup–more than most commercial sports drinks but still on the lower end of concentration in lost sweat. This is to take into account extra sodium you may obtain from other fuel sources during exercise. Tip: Assess your situation–you can always add a pinch or two of extra salt.
The Benefits of Sipping Cold Fluid During Exercise
Studies have that sipping cold fluids during endurance exercise can improve performance, likely by helping to lower your core temperature. So, when temps, are roaring, make an extra batch of sports drink and freeze it as ice cubes. Then plop a few of the ice cubes into your bottle with the sports drink. You’re welcome!
Recipe
Ciderade
Equipment
- water bottle
Ingredients
- 1+¾ cups spring water
- 1+¼ cups pure apple cider
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ + 1/16th teaspoon sea salt or pink himalayan salt
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a water bottle and shake well.
Recipe
Minty Pomegranate Sports Drink
Equipment
- water bottle
Ingredients
- 2 cups brewed unsweetened mint tea, cooled
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ + 1/16 teaspoon sea salt or pink himalayan salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a water bottle and shake well.
Recipe
Maple Orange Sports Drink
Equipment
- water bottle
Ingredients
- 2 cups spring water
- 1 cup pulp-free orange juice
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ⅛ + 1/16 teaspoon sea salt or pink himalayan salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a water bottle and shake well.
Write a comment below after you try any of these sports drink recipes to let me and others know how they turned out for you!
Want a post-workout smoothie recipe? Try my Blueberry Pie Post-Workout Smoothie! It’s perfect to drink after a heavy weight lifting session.
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