Top Recommendation: REIZE Energy!
CrossFit is a good way to start a healthier lifestyle as it incorporates effective exercise.
With CrossFit, not only would it help you improve your health, but you’ll also be able to lose weight too!
When it comes to exercising energy drinks can be a good companion. Other than providing an energy boost, it can also improve your physical performance and speed up muscle recovery.
If you’ve just signed up for CrossFit sessions and are unsure of which energy drink to pair your sessions with, make sure you read till the end as I will be recommending some of the best below!
Energy Drinks and CrossFit
Energy drinks can be beneficial for CrossFit due to the ingredients it contains – mainly caffeine and sugar.
Caffeine and sugar make up the majority of energy drinks. There are also other ingredients such as taurine and BCAAs as an added bonus.
Research suggests that taurine helps with muscle recovery and also stabilizes your body’s temperature during exercise. While BCAA is believed to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage.
Therefore, energy drinks can be a great way to step up your CrossFit session!
Is it OK to consume caffeine for CrossFit?
Yes, it is OK to consume caffeine for CrossFit.
Caffeine reduces fatigue and makes you feel energised resulting in better focus.
But that’s not all caffeine does. It can also enhance your endurance by delaying the depletion of muscle glycogen.
Interestingly, caffeine was also found to reduce the pain that comes with a workout. A previous study showed that consuming caffeine before working out can reduce pain and muscle soreness by almost half.
So if muscle pain and sores are what’s putting you off from a CrossFit session, just grab a caffeinated drink before your session and you wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore!
Is it OK to consume sugar for CrossFit?
You should cut sugar out if you’re doing CrossFit.
Going on a CrossFit regimen doesn’t only encompass the workout aspect but also your dietary intake. As sugar is generally unhealthy, it would make sense for you to cut it out of your diet if you’re doing CrossFit.
Generally, a CrossFit regimen includes a diet of meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits, lesser starch, and no sugar.
Besides that, in terms of the workout aspect of CrossFit, sugar won’t do you any favors either as it can cause inflammation which can speed down post-workout recovery.
Anyway, sugar is generally unhealthy whether you’re doing CrossFit or not, so you should be mindful of your sugar intake.
Can I drink energy drinks for CrossFit?
When choosing an energy drink for CrossFit, it’ll be good to choose one with a good amount of caffeine.
Although caffeine may reap benefits, consuming too much of it can cause side effects that could hinder your workout. So, I would recommend you keep it below the recommended daily intake of 400mg.
Also, since you should cut down on sugar, try opting for sugar-free energy drinks. Fortunately, there are a ton of energy drinks nowadays that are sugar-free so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with that.
Check my recommendations for the top sugar-free energy drinks in this article.
What to drink for a CrossFit workout?
Before
As mentioned before, drinking caffeine prior to a workout can boost your energy levels and fire you up. Hence, an energy drink would be a good option for a pre-workout drink.
Ideally, you should consume it 45 minutes prior to your CrossFit, in order for it to metabolize first, allowing you to reap the best of it when you begin.
During
You’ll be sweating and losing body fluid during CrossFit, thus it’ll be good to hydrate with water on the go.
During this time you should stay away from energy drinks as its diuretic thus would only draw out more water from you.
After
After a workout, it’ll be good to rehydrate first with water especially if you didn’t drink any during your workout. Once you’re well-hydrated, you can grab another energy drink!
The caffeine in an energy drink can help you recover the energy you’ve lost, and also help replenish muscle glycogen at a faster rate.
Should CrossFitters take creatine?
Creatine can be beneficial for building muscle mass and strength, which would be helpful in CrossFit.
Creatine isn’t a banned substance for athletes, so you can consume it without worry if you want to supplement your workout with it.
If you’re interested, Bang Energy Drink contains “super creatine”, a derivative from creatine, which makes it popular among people who workout.
However, take this with a pinch of salt, as the efficiency of creatine in Bang Energy Drink isn’t really proven and could simply be a marketing ploy.
If you want to find out more, you could read up on my previous post where I’ve reviewed Bang Energy Drink.
BCAAs and CrossFit
Branch-chain-amino acids or BCAAs are essential amino acids. It helps build muscles and strengthen them for endurance, which is a big part of high-intensity exercises like Crossfit.
You can consume BCAAs pre or while working out to avoid muscle catabolism. Therefore, you would probably see BCAAs in certain energy drinks that are targeted at people who value fitness.
However, as with creatine, the amount of BCAAs in energy drinks doesn’t seem to have a substantial effect and might just be geared towards a marketing scheme.
Can I drink Red Bull Energy Drink for CrossFit?
Yes, you can drink Red Bull for CrossFit!
I think that the 80mg of caffeine contained in a Red Bull Energy Drink is a suitable amount for CrossFit, even for those with low caffeine tolerance like myself, as it’s less than 100mg.
However, Red Bull does contain 27g of sugar, which is a pretty hefty amount, considering that you’re encouraged to keep away from sugar in your diet.
Hence, I would suggest that you go for the sugar-free option—Red Bull Total Zero, even if you’re not doing CrossFit.
Find out the best supplements for CrossFit by checking out this video.
Best Energy Drink for CrossFit
| Energy Drinks | Caffeine (mg) | Sugar (g) |
| Celsius Energy Drink | 200 or 300 | 0 |
| ZipFizz Energy Drink | 100 | 0 |
| XS Energy Drink | 80 | 0 |
| REIZE Energy Drink | 50 | 0 |
Celsius Energy Drink
If you need a high dosage of caffeine for the day, you could try Celsius Energy Drink.
What makes this energy drink unique is that it gives you the option of choosing between 200mg or 300mg of caffeine, depending on what you need.
Celsius also “promises” to increase metabolism and reduce body fat, which could be an advantage to your workout too.
I personally am not a fan of the high caffeine content of Celsius but the fact that it has zero sugar is a thumbs up from me.
ZipFizz Energy Drink
ZipFizz Energy Drink comes in a convenient tube form, which saves you the hassle of carrying cans of energy drinks to the gym.
To mix up this energy drink, all you need would be a cup as I’m sure there are water coolers around you which you could grab some water from to complete the drink.
ZipFizz Energy Drink has a moderate caffeine of 100mg and is sugar-free, having only 20 calories, which will probably be burned off at the end of your session.
XS Energy Drink
Going down the caffeine ladder, XS Energy Drink has 80mg of caffeine, which is a good amount and you don’t need to worry about side effects.
Besides that, it contains zero sugar too which makes it suitable for CrossFit! With that said, one downside of this drink is its price which can hike up to $3 – $4 per can.
REIZE Energy Drink
REIZE Energy Drink is also sugar-free with just 11 calories and a sensible 50mg of caffeine, an amount that I personally love.
It also contains B group vitamins, taurine, and ginseng which work together with caffeine to help you get through your CrossFit session.
Did I mention it contains 1000mg of taurine?
Despite that, REIZE is also super affordable. It ships right to your door for about $1, including shipping. You gotta admit, that’s an amazing value!
Give REIZE a try today, and you might also soon find that it’s the perfect energy drink for CrossFit.