A fitness bar with knowledge of the matter: who needs sports drinks and products and why. Protein cocktail

If you exercise to lose weight and stay in shape, you'll definitely need sports drinks. They satisfy the need for fluid and provide the body with substances that will promote fat burning. The article will discuss various sports drinks, their role for the body, and provide practical advice on when and which of them it is advisable to consume.

• Why do athletes need
• Kinds
• How to make at home
• How and when to drink

Why do athletes need

If the body lacks energy or fluid, this significantly affects the quality of the workout and its results. Lack of fluid slows down metabolic processes, and therefore muscle growth. When training, the body loses useful microelements along with sweat.

In order to saturate the body with minerals and restore water balance, sports drinks were invented. If the workout lasts less than an hour, then drinking water will be enough for recovery. For more intense workouts, you will need special drinks.

If you want to get rid of excess weight, it is important to ensure an accelerated metabolism - this will create conditions for the removal of fat, as well as load the body with a substance that can cleanse the body, removing toxins, cholesterol, free radicals and other harmful substances.

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Sports drinks[edit | edit code]

"Guide to creating a sports diet"

Registered Dietitian Renee McGregor, 2016

Sports drinks Lucozade Sport, Gatorade, Powerade.

Examples of possible ingredients: water, glucose syrup, citric acid, acidity regulator (sodium citrate), stabilizer (gum arabic), preservatives (potassium sorbate), antioxidants (ascorbic acid), sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame potassium), flavorings, vitamins (PP, B5, B6, B12), dye (beta-carotene). Contains a source of phenylalanine.

Regular products replacing it[edit | edit code]

300 ml fruit juice, diluted with 200 ml water, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Ingredients: pure orange juice, water, salt.

Choosing the best option

• Both contain 30g of carbohydrates per 500ml of liquid, but the homemade drink is a natural source of sugar, while the branded product is a mixture of glucose and sweeteners.
• Both options contain salt to prevent dehydration.
• A branded product is more expensive, but is usually supplied to competitions by sponsors, so it’s worth deciding how acceptable this situation is for you.
• A homemade drink is cheaper, but you will have to bring it with you to the competition.

Kinds

Another name for sports drinks is energy drinks. Their task is to prevent loss of strength after training. They effectively combat exhaustion after intense sports, replenishing microelement composition and fluid balance. The chemical composition of energy drinks includes vitamins, caffeine, ginseng, and taurine.

Find out about the best fat burners for weight loss, and also find out which sports nutrition for weight loss is suitable for women and which for men.

Sports cocktail composition:

• water;
• complex carbohydrates (5 to 10%);
• electrolytes are compounds that provide ion exchange at the cellular level.

Differentiation of sports cocktails is carried out according to the percentage of carbohydrates in the composition:

1. Isotonic drinks contain up to 8% carbohydrates. They provide rapid fluid replenishment and energy delivery to a tired body after a workout. The very name of the drink implies that it exerts pressure on the walls of blood vessels equal to the pressure of blood plasma and has the same permeability. The most famous isotonic is saline. It consists of a 0.9% solution of common table salt. Isotonic drinks are considered the best for long-term exercise. When you exercise, the body loses fluid, which leads to increased work of the heart muscle. To help the heart, it is necessary to restore water balance and lost microelements. This is an excellent tool for those involved in athletics - runners, gymnasts, as well as for participants in team sports - volleyball players, football players and others. Drinks from this group can be consumed during training.
2. Hypotonic drinks contain even less carbohydrates and will be an excellent addition to the training of gymnasts and jockeys. This drink is for those who just need to replenish their water balance. Usually these are people whose training lasted no more than an hour. During this time, the body does not have time to lose many microelements. Due to the low concentration of substances, hypotonic drugs are quickly absorbed. This allows you to effectively relieve general fatigue.
3. Hypertonic drinks contain an increased level of carbohydrates - about 10%, and they also contain electrolytes. To quickly replenish glycogen losses, glucose in the form of dextrin is added to their composition. Hypertension is necessary to restore muscle glycogen levels. Some of them contain protein (whey, casein). This variety is absorbed very slowly, so it shows excellent results when consumed after a workout.

Types of drinks

Flavored or unflavored water

When you are just thirsty, the only thing you will dream about is clean water, preferably cold. A flavored drink often makes you thirstier , and you'll end up drinking much more than an unflavored drink. But often during intense physical exercise, the body needs increased hydration. Those. Through profuse sweating, the body loses up to 2/3 of fluid and must be replenished. Then, during and after intense workouts, it is recommended to drink flavored sports drinks to replenish hydration . They promote good fluid replacement in the body.

Fortified drinks

Still, it is believed that it is better if you come to training already full of energy, microelements and, of course, vitamins. They are best absorbed from food products, and not from water. For example, there is nothing better than getting vitamin C from green vegetables, such as bell peppers and citrus fruits, and Ca from dairy products. But if you really like the idea of ​​drinking vitamin water, then think about whether artificial sweeteners are added to the water; will it happen that you take too many vitamins; Often people who decide to lose weight go on a diet and always take a wide range of vitamins and biological supplements; By also consuming fortified water, you create additional stress on the kidneys; in addition, an excess of one vitamin will reduce the absorption of another. You can get just as much pleasure by drinking plain water with some lemon , lime, strawberry or orange juice.

Energy drinks for strength training

For those who do strength training or actively use gyms, energy drinks can help prolong the workout and complete all the planned sets. Caffeine is most often used in such drinks. After all, caffeine, as a stimulant, promotes the performance of heavy loads, improves endurance, stamina and reduces response time. But we still warn that the dose of caffeine should not be excessive . If you consume more than 5 cups of it per day, tachycardia, headaches, and increases in blood pressure are possible. Here are other ingredients that are included in many energy drinks :

Taurine.

The name is similar to an essential amino acid, but it is a mixture of active substances that affect the metabolism of glucose in the liver . Presumably he is struggling with fatigue.

Ginkgo biloba.

Supposedly, it relieves fatigue and improves mental abilities .

Ginseng.

It helps increase energy, strength and mental clarity.

Guarana, also called herbal coffee.

It is completely similar to caffeine , so you need to use it carefully.

Casein.

Casein, which is part of some fitness drinks, also works well. This milk protein takes much longer to digest than whey protein. This drink should be taken before bed, because, as you know, the greatest increase in muscle mass occurs during sleep.

Sports drinks or water

The first and most accessible liquid is clean water: it perfectly compensates for fluid loss if the workout lasts less than an hour. If fluid is not replenished, a person will begin to lose weight, but this will be due to dehydration, not fat burning. You can drink water in small sips during training.

Did you know? In March 2008, the US Department of Health published the results of a study on the influence of the price of sports energy drinks on the performance of an athlete. The group that consumed the more expensive drinks performed better. Doctors called this phenomenon the “placebo price effect.”

Water itself does not burn fat.

If you add lemon to it, you will not only quench your thirst, but also receive a number of additional bonuses:

• the fruit will saturate the cocktail with vitamin C, useful for preventing viral infections and increasing immunity;
• lemon has a negative calorie content, i.e. the body will have to spend more energy to process it than the fruit itself provides, and this helps burn fat.

For effective fat burning, you need a different cocktail - based on water, but with the addition of special components.

The main component of industrial fat-burning cocktails is carnitine. It increases the permeability of cell membranes, due to which fat is removed from the body much faster. Fat burners allow you to lose up to 10 kg of weight per month. Such substances should be taken 1 hour before training. It is advisable to drink the fat burner at least 3 times a day.

Important! Sports drinks are healthier for an athlete than, for example, a banana smoothie. A banana contains only 2 types of carbohydrates - glucose and fructose, while a good sports drink includes a mixture of complex carbohydrates, including sucrose, dextrose, and fructose. This optimizes the absorption of carbohydrates and perfectly replenishes energy reserves.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

• Pure water is absolutely harmless if you follow the daily intake. In addition, if you bring filtered water from home, its cost is close to zero.
• Fortified water is safe in moderation and can compensate for the lack of certain vitamins.
• Energy drinks can tone you up for a short period of time.

Minuses:

• Does not replenish microelements that we lose through sweat during exercise.
• A bottle of vitamin water costs as much as a month's worth of multivitamin capsules.
• Energy drinks cause stress on the heart, nervousness, and also the danger of a reverse effect, when a rise in strength is followed by a decline.

How to make at home

Fat burning cocktails can be not only industrial, but also prepared at home.

Among the most common:

• drink made from honey and cinnamon;
• Sassi water.

Honey and cinnamon are extremely useful individually, and when combined they can enhance each other’s properties. This duet is used in folk medicine, cosmetology and cooking. Cinnamon is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP, flavonoids, and tannins.

For fat burning, its ability to accelerate metabolism in the body is used, as well as to ensure disinfection of the body and the removal of toxins. Honey is an excellent preservative and antiseptic. It is able to accelerate intracellular metabolism.

Thus, cinnamon and honey mutually enhance each other and accelerate metabolic processes both within cells and between them.

To prepare a honey and cinnamon cocktail, you will need 1 teaspoon of honey, 0.5 teaspoon of cinnamon and a glass of cold drinking water. Stir the ingredients in water and let it sit for 30 minutes before using.

During this time, both components will release most of the nutrients into the water: in this form they are absorbed by the body faster and more completely. You can prepare and consume this drink twice a day, this can be morning and evening.

Important! It is advisable to buy cinnamon in sticks and grind it in a coffee grinder or blender. Low-quality cinnamon forms a film on the surface of the drink - such a spice must be replaced.

Sassi water is a very easy to prepare mineral drink. The name comes from the name of the American nutritionist Cynthia Sass, who is its author. The main purpose of the drink is to stimulate metabolic processes, the side effect of which is fat burning.

The cocktail cleanses the body and normalizes metabolism.

To prepare the cocktail, you need to mix 1 teaspoon of ginger powder, 1 medium cucumber, 1 lemon. Next, you should fill them with 1 liter of water and leave them to infuse without access to sunlight for 8–10 hours. Add a few mint leaves. To get the effect, you need to drink at least 3 glasses of cocktail per day, but no more than 4 liters.

Drinks must be consumed fresh - no more than 24 hours from the date of preparation. The level of usefulness depends on the degree of freshness of the ingredients.

Fitness drinks: what are they and is it worth drinking?

Today, more and more people are paying attention to sports and a healthy lifestyle, and not in spite of, but because of the economic situation in the world. After all, keeping yourself in good physical shape can significantly reduce the cost of medical care. A lot has already been written about sports and diets, as well as nutritional supplements. It's time to talk about special fitness drinks.

Doctors very often prescribe physical activity for certain diseases (the list is extensive, and describing medical indications for playing sports here is just taking up space). Sports helps us fight stress and keep ourselves in excellent shape; activity adds to our good mood and is excellent prevention of insomnia. And, of course, sport helps you lose weight, improve your metabolism and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Along with specialized nutrition plans and exercise routines, nutritional supplements, including fitness drinks, are also in great demand today. As strange as it may sound to those who follow a healthy lifestyle, such supplements not only increase our strength and endurance, help build muscle and reduce the recovery period between exercises and training sets, but also help maintain health at a decent level. The most popular of them are those that help burn subcutaneous fat and build muscle mass, and for those who prefer active aerobic exercise, those that increase endurance.

When choosing a fitness drink, it is very important to pay attention to the manufacturer - serious companies producing such supplements make formulations based on serious scientific research, care about consumer safety, use innovative technologies and mandatory certify their products. It can only be purchased in specialized stores and sports clubs. The main thing is to buy a truly certified product, since often not very clean trainers secretly offer overly zealous trainees fitness drinks, which contain hormonal anabolics that help build muscle relief, and amphetamines, which simultaneously dry out subcutaneous fat and increase endurance .

Whey protein. One of the main proteins in milk, containing all the essential amino acids, helps build muscle mass and burn excess fat, and also prevents bone loss as the body ages. It dissolves perfectly in water, therefore, is easily digested, has no side effects, and is therefore recommended for any age group. Recommended for use before and after training, as it quickly replenishes the body's supply of nutrients.

Casein. Complex milk protein, formed during the curdling of milk, contains a sufficient amount of proteins that help build muscle mass. Unlike whey protein, which takes 30 minutes to digest, casein takes much longer for the body to digest. And since maximum muscle growth occurs during sleep, drinks containing casein should be consumed at night.

Creatine. It got its name by analogy with the Greek word kreas, which translates as “meat”. Officially approved by the International Anti-Doping Center, a natural component that promotes muscle growth. Roughly speaking, it is an acid involved in energy metabolism in muscle and nerve cells. An energy reserve is necessary for those cells that cannot do without a high concentration of ATP (plays a vital role in the exchange of energy and substances in the body, a universal source of energy for all biochemical processes of the body).

Taurine. For the first time, this biologically active substance was obtained from bovine bile, as a result of which it received its name (taurus - “bull” in Latin). An amino acid that promotes the processes of growth and normal muscle development, the production of bile necessary for normal digestion and fat metabolism, improves the action of insulin, and is part of cardiac medications. Taurine is also a standard component of so-called “energy” drinks.

Caffeine (purine). Also one of the main components of energy drinks. It is extracted from the coffee tree, tea, mate, guarana, cola, and is also produced synthetically. Caffeine in reasonable doses has a stimulating effect on the nervous system, enhances and regulates excitation processes in the cerebral cortex, increases motor activity, improves mental and physical performance, reduces fatigue and drowsiness, increases cardiac activity and increases blood pressure, suppresses hunger. In large doses it causes exhaustion, fatigue, lethargy, decreased ability to work and even depression. Its effect on a particular organism depends on the type of higher nervous activity, therefore the dosage should be selected taking into account the individual characteristics of the organism. Therefore, it is better to avoid drinks containing caffeine, because although it does not destroy creatine molecules, these two substances act opposite to each other - creatine accumulates fluid in the body, creating the effect of a hyperhydrated cell, and caffeine acts as a diuretic and interferes with this effect.

Levocarnitine (L-carnitine). An amino acid belonging to the B vitamins. In the human body, it is found in the tissues of striated muscles and the liver. It enhances metabolic processes and has an anabolic effect, that is, it forms and renews the structural parts of cells, tissues and muscles, as well as an antihypoxic effect - it improves the utilization of oxygen by blood bodies and prevents the occurrence of oxygen deficiency. Levocarnitine stimulates energy metabolism, supports the ability to overcome high loads, increases defenses, improves the activity of the most energy-consuming systems - the brain, heart, muscles, kidneys, stimulates cell regeneration, activates fat metabolism, but at the same time causes an increase in appetite.

B vitamins. Thiamine helps convert carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy. Riboflavin is involved in all types of metabolic processes. Choline promotes the transport and metabolism of fats in the liver. Pyridoxine is involved in the processes of carbohydrate metabolism, the synthesis of hemoglobin and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Biotin helps release energy from calorie-containing compounds. Inositol reduces the accumulation of fat in the liver. Para-aminobenzoic acid activates the entire intestinal flora, participates in the process of protein absorption, as well as in the production of red blood cells, and maintains skin health.

Soy protein. It contains a much higher proportion of protein than whey, since the main biochemical component of soybean seeds (according to various sources, they accumulate from 30 to 50% of proteins) is protein.

Sports drink formulas are based on countless combinations that include vitamins A, E, K2, fiber, lycopene and lutein, bee pollen, extracts of various herbs and plants, dehydroepiandrosterone - a prohormone secreted by the adrenal glands, phosphotedylserine, which controls the release of the stress hormone cortisol, nutrients, trace elements and minerals, the lack of which is inevitable during intense training, as well as immunomodulators and fat burners. So before you spend any money, consult not only your trainer, but also your therapist and nutritionist.

How and when to drink

The effect of a sports cocktail begins when its components enter the bloodstream. And before that, they have to travel through the digestive system: this is where the difference in the time of drinking drinks arises.

Did you know? The first documented energy drink was the ancient Roman drink posca. This is a product of recycling spoiled wine with water and aromatic herbs. Wine provided energy and important dietary benefits. It was used by the Roman army until the Byzantine period.

By time of use, drinks are distributed as follows:

1. For an athlete: 1-2 hours before training you need to drink about 0.5 liters of water. This will help maintain the water-salt balance in the body. If the workout lasts less than an hour, then during it you can drink a couple of sips of water.
2. For a bodybuilder: 1–2 hours before starting a workout, you can drink 0.5 liters of water or isotonic water to ensure that the body receives a sufficient amount of energy. Hypertensive drinks will be the best solution for supporting the body after intense strength or cardio training - you can drink them 0.5 hours after exercise. For muscle growth after training, you will need a protein shake - it will replenish protein reserves and provide your muscles with additional energy.
3. If you are in the process of drying, then after exercise it is better to drink water or fat-burning drinks. Energy drinks with a high carbohydrate content are not suitable - a sharp rise in blood sugar levels will stop the fat burning process. But before training, it is advisable to drink water with lemon or another fat-burning cocktail. You need to drink it at least 4 times a day in order to ensure maximum effect.

When choosing your plan for drinking sports drinks, keep in mind that everything is good in moderation.
The body should not lack fluid, so water should be included in any scheme, but other drinks should be chosen depending on the tasks that need to be solved. Fat burners Sports nutrition Sports and fitness Types of sports nutrition Sports drinks

Composition and characteristics of sports drinks[edit | edit code]