Top Recommendation: REIZE Energy!
In the world of sports, everyone is always looking for a competitive edge. Athletes all around the world are on the lookout for supplements that can boost their performance – within regulations of course.
One of the most popular options for athletes these days are energy drinks.
But, are they actually effective to help achieve better results?
With so many new brands of energy drinks emerging nowadays, how do you know which is the best for your athletic needs?
If you’re interested to know the answers to these questions and finding out which energy drink is the best for athletes, you’re in the right place.
I’ve previously written about the best energy drink for football players and the best energy drinks for a half marathon.
But today, we’re focusing on the best energy drink for athletes.
Let’s get started!
Do energy drinks improve athletic performance?
Yes, energy drinks do help to improve your athletic performance.
Studies have shown that caffeine (which is a common ingredient in energy drinks) can help to improve alertness and short-term athletic performance.
In fact, just minutes after drinking an energy drink you’ll start to feel more alert and energised.
Caffeine has such a profound impact on physical AND mental performance that many of the world’s militaries give the stimulant to their servicemen and women.
Are energy drinks bad for athletes?
Personally, I don’t think energy drinks are bad for athletes.
There are certainly positives that come from drinking energy drinks in moderation, but there may also be some negatives too.
Energy drinks, especially in large amounts, may cause possible side effects such as:
- increased heart rate
- insomnia
- dehydration
- irritability
- anxiety
- restlessness
As mentioned, the main energy-boosting ingredient in energy drinks is caffeine. Caffeine can be great in moderation, but in high doses, it can be dangerous.
Also, if you’re drinking energy drinks every day, the more you consume, the more your body gets used to the caffeine. As time progresses your body will not experience the same energising effects resulting in energy drink addiction.
Therefore, as long as you keep your intake of energy drinks in check, you should be totally fine and won’t experience any side effects or negative impacts on your health.
Like most things in life, moderation is key.
Learn more about caffeine in energy drinks in the video below.
How do you know which energy drink is best for athletes?
The best way to know if an energy drink is suitable for an athlete is by checking its ingredients for caffeine, sugar, and calories.
I have discussed these three things in brief below!
Caffeine
Caffeine is what keeps you energised and alert during those intense training sessions.
I consider energy drinks that contain somewhere between 50 to 100mg of caffeine to be perfect for athletes.
You can check out my article on how caffeine metabolism works to see how it relates to energy drinks.
More than 100mg of caffeine might give you a huge energy boost, but it can also cause you to feel jittery which disturbs your focus.
Consuming high doses of caffeine through energy drinks every day may also come with other long-term health consequences.
However, I should point out that more caffeine doesn’t always mean a bigger energy boost. I’ve certainly been disappointed by that in the past.
Keep in mind that the recommended daily limit for caffeine is no more than 400mg per day.
That’s what the FDA recommends.
If you overdo it on caffeine, you might experience some unwanted side effects such as dizziness and headaches which interrupt your performance.
Based on my own experience, I usually find that energy drinks with less caffeine are better, as I don’t feel hyperactive, but rather energised and focused.
In addition, energy drinks that contain some other energy-boosting ingredients such as taurine, ginseng, and B vitamins can give a much better overall energy boost than taking pure caffeine on its own.
Sugar
Sugar is one of the ingredients that gives you a quick energy boost, but its effects are short-lived.
For athletes that engage in high-intensity training, sugar is a great source of energy. This is because sugar is a quick-burning carb. What this means is that it takes a shorter time for your body to convert it to energy.
During your training sessions and competitions, especially ones that involve high-intensity training, you burn lots of energy.
This, in turn, can cause a drop in your blood sugar levels. Sugar in this sense is great at restoring your glycogen level back to normal as it will take less time for your body to digest sugar (glucose) and hit your bloodstream.
However, that doesn’t mean that sugar is good for you.
In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that sugar is definitely not good for you.
This is especially true if it’s consumed in large amounts. Consuming sugar in excess can increase your risk of developing diabetes and cause other serious health complications such as premature aging and obesity.
Furthermore, excess sugar in your system might cause you to experience a sugar crash.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 37.5g of sugar per day for men and 25g per day for women.
So, it’s best to choose an energy drink that contains a sensible amount of sugar or none at all.
Calories
Athletes have an active lifestyle where strength and endurance play a key part. In general, you need to replace the number of calories you burn each day. Calories measure the energy you get from food.
Therefore, you need to train and push your body to the limits to meet the performance requirements. In order to push your body, you need to ensure that you’re getting the required amount of calories and other nutrients to provide the required energy.
Every individual has different energy needs. Most people require between 1500 to 2000 calories per day. However, for an athlete, this may rise to 3000 calories per day or more in some cases.
Every athlete’s needs are different. The amount of food you need depends on your age, height, weight, and the sport that you’re involved with.
You can find your exact requirements either from your personal trainer or a medical professional.
Some energy drinks contain a lot of calories, others little or none.
Most of the calories in energy drinks are from sugar. Energy drinks that are high in sugar tend to be the same ones that are high in calories.
Low sugar content = low in calories
High sugar content = high in calories
If you think you’ll be able to efficiently burn the calories you get from consuming sugar, you may decide that energy drinks with sugar in them are right for you.
But, most athletes lean towards sugar-free energy drinks with few calories and they get their calories from other food sources.
Best Energy Drink for Athletes
Red Bull
Caffeine: 80mg
Sugar: 27g
Price: about $2 per 8.4 fl. oz can
Calories: 110
Red Bull is great for athletes that don’t mind the sugar and calories.
Personally, I drink Red Bull all the time before my training sessions.
Red Bull contains sugar which is great for a quick energy boost or as a post-training recovery drink to replenish the glucose lost during training. But, as already mentioned above, sugar may or may not be right for you.
Red Bull also contains a good amount of caffeine that gives you a nice energy boost and helps you to focus without overdoing it.
At around $2 per drink, Red Bull is not very expensive, but it’s far from being the most affordable option out there.
However, its calorie content is something that you should keep an eye on, especially if you’re an athlete that’s trying to stay in shape and remain fit.
If that’s the case you can go for the sugar-free version of Red Bull which contains much fewer calories than the regular version.
If you’re considering making Red Bull your energy drink of choice, you should definitely check out my article about how drinking Red Bull every day affects your body. Or you can read more about whether Red Bull is bad for you.
Furthermore, here’s a brief rundown of what Red Bull typically contains.
| Ingredients | Amount |
| Caffeine | 80 mg |
| Calories | 110 cal |
| Glucuronolactone | 600 mg |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 5.1 µg |
| Pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5) | 5.1 µg |
| Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) | 5 mg |
| Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) | 5.1 µg |
Celsius Energy Drink
Caffeine content: 200mg
Sugar content: 0g
Price: about $2.25 per 12 fl. oz can
Calories: 10
Celsius is a pretty good option for athletes in my opinion.
Being sugar-free is a plus, it tastes good, but the price is a little high in my view.
Celsius also has low-calorie content, with only 10 calories per can. If you’re an athlete and you’re trying to avoid unwanted calories, Celsius might be the drink for you.
At around $2.25 it’s definitely on the more expensive end of the spectrum of energy drinks and there are certainly better-value options out there.
Furthermore, it has a pretty high caffeine content of 200g per serving.
That’s half of the daily recommended amount of caffeine as per FDA guidance. Therefore, if you do choose Celsius, make sure that you closely monitor how much caffeine you’re getting from other sources each day too.
Celsius paid for 6 studies to prove the effectiveness of their drink in helping to burn fat in conjunction with exercise, which was proven in those studies.
However, they fail to mention that the reason for these findings is due to the caffeine content. Celsius makes no mention of caffeine even being a contributing factor. Instead, they point to their proprietary formula as the reason for increased fat burning during exercise.
I think that this is a marketing tactic designed to make you think that only their special blend will help you to burn fat while you exercise. In fact, caffeine from any source in combination with exercise will have similar effects.
Do your own research on the matter, but you can read my take on all six of their university studies in this article.
Monster Energy
Caffeine: 160mg
Sugar: 54g
Price: about $3.20 per 16 fl. oz can
Calories: 110
Monster is a favourite of many athletes.
If you’re a sports enthusiast, I’m sure you’ve seen many athletes promote the big, green and mean Monster.
So, what makes Monster so popular?
For one, it tastes great. However, contains quite a lot of sugar, so I guess it’s no surprise that it tastes good.
It also contains a lot of caffeine. Although there is twice as much caffeine in a Monster than there is in a Red Bull, the can is also about double the size. On a per-fluid-ounce basis, they are very similar in terms of both caffeine and sugar.
If you want to fully understand all of the differences between Monster and Red Bull you can check out my other article where I cover all of the differences between the two leading brands.
The only downside of Monster is that it contains too many calories and too much sugar.
Well, that also contains a bit more caffeine than I like to consume in one go.
One thing is for sure, that amount of sugar and caffeine is going to give you a big jolt of energy soon after drinking it. However, a couple of hours later, you may experience a sugar crash.
Depending on how long your training session usually is, Monster Energy might be good or bad for you. If your training session is usually around 1 to 2 hours Monster might be great for it.
To see how it might affect you if you decided to drink Monster every day, check out my article on that.
Mountain Dew Kickstart
Caffeine: 92mg
Sugar: 20g
Price: about $1.30 per 16 fl. oz can
Calories: 60
If you’re a fan of Mountain Dew, you’ll like the energy drink version – Kickstart.
What’s the difference between Kickstart and regular Mountain Dew?
The caffeine content.
Mountain Dew Kickstart also contains a reasonable amount of sugar. It’s not zero, but it’s certainly less than some other energy drinks mentioned in this article.
At around $2 per 16 fl. oz can it’s priced about the middle of the road. There are more affordable options out there, but I don’t have a significant problem with this price tag.
If you frequently drink carbonated sodas or sports drinks to recover after exercise, I recommend that you give Mountain Dew Kickstart a try and see if it works better for you.
Bang Energy
Caffeine: 300mg
Sugar: 0g
Price: about $2.20 per 16 fl.oz can
Calories: 0
Forget about an average person, even for an elite athlete, I think 300mg of caffeine in one can is a little too much.
Bang Energy is one of the strongest energy drinks on the market. Keep in mind that the recommended limit for caffeine is no more than 400mg a day.
Just one can of this Bang Energy puts you close to the limit and you’ll need to closely monitor your caffeine intake from other sources throughout the day to stay within the FDA guidelines.
Price-wise, I consider Bang to be a reasonable value for money.
Most of the big brand energy drinks cost between $2 to $3 per can, so Bang is right in the middle there.
You can check out the best places to buy Bang here.
Bang Energy doesn’t contain any sugar and in my opinion, it’s not a great post-training recovery drink for athletes. On the other hand as a pre-training drink, it’s good as the amount of caffeine in it is sure to give you a tremendous energy boost to help you get through your workouts.
But, that might not be for everyone.
Personally, it’s too much for me and I wouldn’t want to turn the intensity level up to 100% with that much caffeine in my system. I would be legitimately worried about what might happen to my heart.
However, make sure to drink no more than one can per day and take a day off from drinking it once in a while. This is because that much caffeine can potentially cause some serious side effects, especially if consumed frequently and in excess over the long term.
I’ve written more about Bang Energy ingredients here in case you’re considering grabbing some for your training.
REIZE Energy Drink
Caffeine: 50mg
Sugar: 0g (sugar-free)
Price: about $1 per drink
Calories: 11
After trying it for myself, I found that REIZE is a great energy drink for training.
Unlike most energy drinks, REIZE doesn’t come in the usual ready-to-drink can, instead it’s a powder that comes in a sachet. All you need to do is mix it with water and voila!
Instant fresh energy when you need it.
REIZE contains a sensible amount of caffeine with 50mg per serving. Personally, I find that amount to be just enough to keep me alert and focus without having to deal with all the negative effects of too much caffeine.
The addition of taurine, B vitamins, and ginseng work in combination with caffeine to produce a perfect energy boost, with no sugar crash.
Did I mention that it tastes great and you can mix it with just about any drink that you like?
Not to mention, REIZE only costs around $1 per drink, including shipping. It’s by far the most affordable energy drink on this list and it’s ideal for athletes.
Other Alternatives
Liquid energy drinks:
Powdered energy drinks:
You should consider getting your hands on some powdered energy drinks for your training and competition. They tend to have lower price tags and are more convenient to carry around, as they don’t take up too much space.
I’ve also written an in-depth article on the best energy drinks to boost your energy levels that you might find interesting.
But seriously, you can’t go past REIZE
If you’ve never tried REIZE before, you should!
It’s definitely one of the best energy drinks that I’ve tried over the years, and I think it’s great for athletes.
REIZE contains a good amount of caffeine, which doesn’t cause any of the side effects that are usually associated with caffeine as long as consumed in moderation.
I’ve also got the confidence to crank things up to 100% with this amount of caffeine pulsing through my veins – something that I wouldn’t like to try with higher doses.
The inclusion of taurine is great for muscle recovery – something that every athlete needs to be mindful of. I also like the sodium content, which also appeals to many athletes.
For only $1 per drink, REIZE ships straight to your door.
You also have the option of choosing monthly deliveries or a one-time purchase to best suit your needs. Talk about convenience.
You might just find that REIZE is the perfect energy drink for all your athletic needs.