Not sure which product to choose from our selection of energy/recovery drink ? Click here to see magazine reviews and Wiggle recommended products.
If you need some help before you buy, read our Energy/Recovery Drink buyers guide. It’s packed with useful info to help you make the best decision.
To make your shopping decisions easier we have been working closely with suppliers, our sponsored athletes and passionate cyclists to produce an easy-to-follow, useful and informative guide to help you make the correct choice when choosing Energy/Recovery Drink.
Energy drinks come in all shapes, sizes and flavours with their nutritional content sometimes varying hugely from product to product. These drinks are designed to keep your energy levels topped up as you train or race by delivering carbohydrate and other nutrients to your working muscles. With this in mind, one of the key things to look for in each product is the amount of calories and carbohydrate per serving – the higher, the better. Maximuscle’s Viper, for example, contains 86.4g of carbohydrate per 100g (of which 50g is sugar) and 379 Kcal, while Science in Sport’s Go has 90g of carbohydrate per 100g (of which 17g is sugar) and 360 Kcal. Torq Energy Powder contains 96g of carbohydrate per 100g and packs in 384 Kcal whereas High 5’s EnergySource has 97g of carbohydrate per 100g (of which 33g is sugar) and 384 Kcal. Of course, if it was all just about carbohydrate and calories it would be fairly straightforward, but the sports science behind these products has developed at such a rapid rate in recent years that there is now far more to consider. In much the same way as you might be baffled by a myriad of options in an American coffee shop, you now face the same dilemma with your energy drink. Do you want it caffeinated, with protein, isotonic, with electrolytes, all of the above or none? Confused? Fear not, we’ve drunk them all…
Studies have shown that consuming carbohydrates together with protein enables the carbs to be ingested more efficiently. A combination of carbs and protein drives more energy to the working muscles during exercise than just consuming carbs alone. The protein also protects muscles from being broken down and used as fuel during endurance training and competition. Products such as High5’s EnergySource 4:1 with Super Carbs is one of the most popular carb:protein drinks and contains 77g of carbs and 20g of protein per 100g. Some energy drinks which don’t market themselves as being carb:protein drinks still contain small amounts of protein. Maximuscle’s Viper has 8.4g of protein per 100g, for example, so it is always worth checking nutritional information. Other popular products such as Science in Sport’s PSP22 and Go do not contain any protein.
A lot of research has been undertaken into the effect of caffeine on performance. Its presence in a number of energy drinks and gels is evidence enough of the boost it can provide in training and racing. The effects can really be felt, particularly if your everyday diet is low in caffeine. It is no secret that caffeine can help to ease fatigue, increase awareness and lift mood. When used in a sports drink it can help to reduce the perception of fatigue and the perceived rate of exertion, which is obviously going to prove beneficial to performance, especially in those final closing miles of a long, tough race. Drinks such as Maximuscle’s Viper Extreme and High5’s XTreme contain high levels of caffeine – 150mg per 50g serving, which is not too dissimilar to a freshly brewed cup of coffee (which contains between 110 – 150mg of caffeine). If you feel this type of product could be of benefit to you ensure you try it in training before using it in a race.
If training in warmer climates, it is worth considering using an isotonic energy drink/one high in electrolytes (salts). This enables you to rehydrate faster and replace the electrolytes you lose through excessive sweating. Fast fluid replacement combined with carbohydrate refueling are critical to performance in hotter, humid conditions so products such as Science in Sport’s Go Electrolyte and High5’s Isotonic really come into their own. Tablets such as Nuun’s Active Hydration Tablets and Motor Tabs Fluid Replacement System are also worth considering. These effervescent tablets come individually wrapped and can be dropped into water to make a simple hydration drink.
It’s not all about what you drink during exercise. What you take on afterwards is equally as important and there are a number of different drinks available which are designed to aid recovery. Among the most popular is Science in Sport’s Rego, which contains a blend of complex carbs and protein to promote a rapid improvement in recovery from exercise. Per 100g, it has 55g carbs and 27g protein. High5’s equivalent product – Protein Recovery – contains 69g carbs and 27g protein. Maximuscle’s High Protein Promax doesn’t boast the same carbohydrate levels (6.8g per 100g) but packs in 81g of protein, so could be taken with another source of carbs to provide a good recovery hit.