Sports Drinks and Caloric Intake

Let me be as clear as I can upfront- G2 is NOT a "sports" drink and will NOT provide you with enough calories to sustain any workload short of 1 hour. G2 is Gatorade's answer to Nuun and Zym who provide an electrolyte tablet that dissolves in water, replenishing electrolytes without the calories. So why am I making such a big deal about this?

This season, I have found myself telling too many athletes that G2 is not a sufficient calorie source for workout. In general, athletes that are training for an event that will last longer than an hour (1/2 marathon or longer, Olympic distance triathlon or longer, etc…). If your sports drink does not contain at least 200 calories per 20 oz serving.

Here are the Nutritional Facts for some common sports drinks, per 16 ounces (the standard large water bottle is 24 ounces):








The numbers above are pretty clear, Gatorade might not have enough calories to sustain your workouts and/or races depending on the intensity and duration. In general, athletes should be taking in 200-400 calories per hour depending on the athletes size and the intensity of the race. That would be close to two (2) bottles of Gatorade Endurance, three (3) bottle of G2 or perhaps one (1) bottle of Infinit. If you are taking in more than one (1) bottle per hour, you are going to spend a significant amount of time in the restroom during the race.