My Favorite Electrolyte Blends for Heavy Training

Electrolytes are tasty, trendy, and can help you feel better during tough workouts, especially in the heat. As I’ve explained before , they’re overrated – not that we all need electrolytes all the time – but when you’re doing heavy work in sweaty conditions, it can be helpful to have an electrolyte mix on hand. Here are some of my favorites that I’ve tried and tips on how to choose which ones are best for you.

Electrolytes are minerals that dissolve in water, and some of them are essential for our health, although we usually get everything we need from food. But if you sweat a lot, you’ll lose sodium, so it makes sense to try an electrolyte drink to replenish what you’re losing.

Sodium is the most important electrolyte here.

Electrolytes include sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride, to name a few. But because health guidelines typically mention sodium in the context of limiting it, health-conscious influencers and marketers tend to downplay sodium’s role. For example, they will say that bananas or coconut water are rich in electrolytes, even though both are good sources of potassium, not sodium.

Ironically, there is no conclusive evidence that a certain amount of sodium replacement is necessary, so I can’t give you specific recommendations on how much sodium you need. The National Athletic Trainers Association said in a 2000 statement that adding sodium to your drinks is a good idea if you will be skipping meals, if your workouts will last four hours or longer, or if the weather has gotten hotter recently and you I’m not used to it yet.

This means that for a typical gym session or an hour or two of running or cycling, you probably don’t need electrolytes at all. But many athletes say they perform better and/or experience fewer muscle cramps when they make sure to take sodium supplements. I also find that I really enjoy salty foods in the summer when I work out a lot. Perhaps my body is trying to tell me something.

Fluid guidelines for athletes also often mention that electrolytes make water taste better, meaning you’ll drink more of it, which in itself can be beneficial.

Sugar May Be Beneficial in an Electrolyte Mix

Sugar, which is a type of carbohydrate, is another food that we often want to limit in our daily meals. But like sodium, it can be useful in an electrolyte mixture.

Some electrolyte mixtures, such as LiquidIV, contain small amounts of sugar to help our bodies absorb the electrolytes from the mixture. For example, sodium can be absorbed more quickly in the presence of glucose .

And then there are drinks that are designed to provide us with fuel in the form of carbohydrates. These include mixes such as Tailwind. It’s not just an electrolyte drink with a little sugar, it’s both an electrolyte drink and a carbohydrate drink.

My favorite electrolyte blend for taste and highest sodium content: LMNT.

In each package:

• 10 calories

• 1000 mg sodium

• 200 mg potassium

• 60 mg magnesium

• 2 g carbohydrates

• Recommended to mix with: 16 to 32 ounces of water.

You’re here for my favorites, and this is without a doubt my favorite flavor. To be honest, most of its flavor comes from the salt, so if you’re looking for a true electrolyte with a salty taste, this is it. (Of course, you can mix any electrolyte with less water for a stronger flavor.)

My favorite flavors are fruit flavors, especially raspberry salt. I’m not a fan of mango chilli (please save the spicy stuff for a post-workout meal) and I personally think the chocolate salt tastes disgusting. But maybe you’ll like it. To each his own.

What I would recommend for endurance exercise: Liquid IV.

In each package:

• 45 calories

• 500 mg sodium

• 370 mg potassium

• 11 g carbohydrates

• Recommended to mix with: 16 oz water.

Liquid IV is my choice for a serious fluid change, especially if I’m planning on going on a long run and will probably be carrying multiple packs of it with me. The carbs help digestion and also count toward fueling for a run, and the sodium content is a little more in line with what I’m likely to actually need. (People who sweat more sodium than I do may want to use a higher salt formula.)

Now, if you want to get all (or almost all) of the carbs you need from a drink, forget Liquid IV and scroll down to where I talk about Tailwind. But if your priority is electrolytes and you prefer to carry small packs, the Liquid IV will do the job just fine.

The only flavor I’ve tried so far is Seaberry and it’s quite good. Unlike LMNT, Liquid IV isn’t a “wow, that was a taste!” kind of an experience that’s more like “yeah, this is delicious.” For an all-in-one electrolyte mixture, it does the job well and you won’t have to spend much time thinking about it.

Sweeter and less salt: Gnarly.

In each spoon:

• 30 calories

• 250 mg sodium

• 100 mg potassium

• 80 mg magnesium

• 100 mg calcium

• 135 mg chloride

• 7 g carbohydrates

• Recommended to mix with: 12-16 ounces of water.

This is my second favorite place. I have the orange pineapple Gnarly flavor, which is as sweet as Liquid IV but contains half the sodium. If you want something that tastes good but won’t break your sodium levels, this is my pick.

My only complaint is that it doesn’t dissolve right away. I love this post-run treat, so I put it in a shaker with water and a bunch of ice cubes. Shake it a little, put it down, look, there is still a bunch of orange powder left at the bottom. Shake a little more, repeat. When it finally dissolves, it tastes wonderful.

Best for Carbs: Tailwind

In each package:

• 200 calories

• 630 mg sodium

• 180 mg potassium

• 24 mg magnesium

• 50 g carbohydrates

• Please note that some flavors contain 70 mg of caffeine.

• Recommended to mix with: 20-24 oz of water.

Tailwind is one of the combined carbohydrate and electrolyte blends, so it may not be fair to compare it to its LMNT counterparts. But part of what I want to do is show you guys the difference in the formulation of blends that are sold for more or less the same purpose, and if we create a continuum between low-carb and high-carb blends, Tailwind is definitely on top. -carbohydrate end, but also contains many electrolytes.

If you drink the equivalent of one packet of Tailwind every hour of endurance training, you can skip the gels or chewable tablets that runners typically use . A bottle of Tailwind contains the same amount of carbohydrates as if you diluted Gatorade 50/50 with water, but with more electrolytes than diluted Gatorade.

Because this product has so much sugar (carbohydrates), the bags are large . Like, they take up the same amount of space in your pocket or bag as a king-size candy bar, whereas the brands above are larger in size, about the size of a stick or two of gum.

And finally, the taste? As far as I can tell, they all taste the same. I’ve had fruit flavors, matcha flavor, cola flavor…they all taste like slightly sweet water. If you mixed one for me without specifying the flavor, I don’t think I’d be able to guess what it was.

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