Best Energy Drink Powders for Running (Best Picks)
Running is a sport of endurance. It requires a lot of strength whether for a marathon or a 100-meter race. To win the race, you need to put up an excellent performance with extra strength, extra energy, and extra boost.
At times you can feel morally low due to the pressure building up, but you can release this tension by boosting up the adrenaline to feel confident. And what’s a great way to get this instant boost? Energy drink powders!
The best ones I’ve found for running are Razorwire Energy, Rogue Energy, and Celsius On-The-Go as these can give runners an instant boost of energy with their stimulating and nitrifying ingredients.
If you are looking for the best energy drink powders for running, then you’re at the right place. Here I’ll be discussing what to look in for an energy drink powder and answer your queries
Let’s dive into the details:
Contents
How do you get energy before running?
There are a variety of ways to attain energy as a runner. You could opt for a warm-up before practice or a match. A good sufficing diet is also highly suggested.
But when you require a quick boost with an inclination to a variety of flavors, and a lot of versatility in formulation, then powdered energy drinks are for you. These drinks have certain core ingredients that provide you with the boost of energy that you need to improve athletic performance.
Being a sportsman is not an easy task, you’d want to have something easily accessible at any moment, and not to mention one that’s not too heavy on the budget.
What should you look for in energy drink powders?
Choosing a powdered energy drink is easy if you know what you’re looking for, and what exactly is the effect you want. For running, the right energy drink powder is one with a suitable amount of caffeine, sugar, sodium, b–vitamins, and taurine.
Of course, price is one major factor contributing to its accessibility. Let’s look into each of them.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a core inclusion in energy drinks, if not its star. This works by blocking off the adenosine receptors that often make you feel lethargic.
In place, it makes you feel energetic and improves your athletic performance by suppressing your feelings of tiredness and fatigue and stimulating cognitive and bodily function.
A caffeine boost normally lasts around two to three hours after consumption depending upon how useful your body has become to certain caffeine limits. Keeping the consumption in mind, you mustn’t overdose on caffeine as it can lead to potential health side effects such as:
- High Blood pressure
- Fatigue
- Muscle breakdown
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
Now it is important to note despite the instant adrenaline rush, you might want to consume it in a guided amount.
According to the FDA, the maximum daily dose of caffeine for a healthy adult should not be more than 400mg.
Caffeine has different preferences for every individual. As for me, 100mg to 200mg of caffeine per serving works for me to wear off any fatigue when I’m looking to push through a taxing activity.
Even as athletes and being able to actively wear off caffeine in the body, it’s also your priority to keep yourself in top shape to perform. This has to do with being aware of your caffeine intake and keeping a close watch on how it responds to caffeine.
Sugar
Sugar gives you a sweet taste every time you have it, but too much sugar is bad for your health. It does help in giving you an extra boost for performance but too much sugar can lead to a sugar crash and other health conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes.
According to American Health Association, the daily limit of sugar consumption for men is 37g, for women, is 25g, and for children under age six is 19g.
Therefore, It will be beneficial if you keep your sugar consumption in limits to avoid any complications such as:
- Brain fog
- Heart Problems
- Difficulty in breathing
- Cravings
- Tooth decay
If you are concerned about having a sugar crash you can opt for drinks with zero sugar. They work just as fine as any regular powdered energy drink.
If you’re needing some sweetness, drinks with artificial sweeteners are also widely available and are a better option than sugar.
Nutrients in Powdered Energy Drinks
The nutrients can range from specific vitamins to amino acids, for proper body functions when under stress. Energy drinks contain these nutrients for your physically active lifestyle.
It’s important to note when your choice of drink contains these ingredients as they’re not only focused on giving you a boost but pays attention to your body’s overall benefit.
Keep on reading to know more about it.
Sodium
Running for a long period of time can weaken the muscles thus causes muscle cramps and muscle injuries. To recover from this, runners might need sodium as an extra nutrient.
Sodium usually regulates our thirst mechanism and increases our body fluid absorption system as you lose a lot of your nutrients because of continuous sweat.
Sodium improves the rate at which the small intestine absorbs nutrients that can actively rehydrate during a run.
Dehydration is also a common occurrence whilst running, hence sodium helps in maintaining and restoring the plasma volume of our body fluids. Here’s a video on sodium’s water retention for your reference:
B-Vitamins
Vitamins are essential macronutrients often required in small quantities to regulate body functions. These vitamins can be beneficial in many ways depending on which ones are being added.
Vitamins like B12 aids with cell proliferation, and B2 (Riboflavin) boosts cognitive function.
Other vitamin inclusions to note are Thiamin, Niacin, Inositol, and Pantothenic Acid.
Taurine
Taurine is included mostly because of its antioxidant properties. It works as a supplement and supports the body’s metabolic process.
Taurine is often used as a pre-workout supplement to boost performance and help you with long-lasting strength for running. This ingredient, along with caffeine, works as a powerful boosting combo.
The vital roles of taurine are:
- Balances electrolytes
- Regulates calcium in cells
- Supports nerve growth
- Fighting Diabetes
With all these benefits you can see how taurine is an important ingredient to look out for in energy drink powders.
How does caffeine work for a runner?
As aforementioned, caffeine works as a stimulant that provides you with a boost both in the brain and body, all the while blocking off any feelings of weariness.
After consuming an energy drink, it takes about 10-15 minutes for caffeine to reach your bloodstream.
The peak concentration of caffeine can be seen in 45 minutes after entering the bloodstream and takes about 6 hours to wear off from its effects, and finally exiting your body after 12 hours.
The sole purpose of energy drink powders is to provide you with a good amount of caffeine for an energy boost. After this, you will feel energetic and pushed up for about 2 to 5 hours.
Should runners drink energy drink powders?
Yes! Energy drink powders are a great option for runners as it provides an instant boost of energy for endurance and physical performance.
The caffeine in energy drink powders helps wear off the effects of fatigue and brighten up your overall mood, which in turn motivates you to do better.
Caffeine can make running feel easier by reducing your perception of effort. It enhances cognitive performance and gives you an energetic feeling to accomplish what needs to be done.
Energy drink powders also contain a lot of nutrients and vitamins, which can contribute to keeping your body hydrated when at peak performance. Having a drink about 30 to 45 minutes before a run can be proved to be beneficial.
However, you should keep a tab on your caffeine intake and keep yourself hydrated with water during your run.
Do powdered energy drinks help you run longer?
Yes! Energy drinks do help you run longer.
If you are running in a marathon your top pick can be an energy drink as it keeps you energized for about 2 to 5 hours. Being a runner requires a lot of stamina, endurance, and concentration, which the ingredients in energy drink powders can help you with.
Staying hydrated in a long run is a tactic, energy drink powders have sodium which regulates your thirst mechanism hence forces you to drink more water.
The energy boost keeps you going for an extended period of time, and the variation in flavors gives you an enjoyable drink before a taxing physical activity.
Do powdered energy drinks help you run faster?
No, that’s not one of the functions of an energy drink.
Speed and agility are skills afforded by biological gifts and a lot of training. To run faster, you’ve got to go through strenuous practice and work.
This is where powdered energy drinks come to play. It’ll keep you hydrated, nitrified, and fueled with a lot of energy to help you last longer in training. The longer you train for, the better you become.
Although energy drink powders aren’t what make you run faster, it’s definitely part of the journey in getting there.
Does sugar in energy drink powders affect endurance?
On one hand, sugar affects endurance within 15 minutes of consumption of energy drink powders, while on the other hand, it causes fatigue in aftereffects.
Sugar gives you a quick boost but as said before, you should not overconsume sugar, especially with the risks it poses on your health.
Although it gives a considerable amount of boost, it’s not something caffeine and taurine can’t do on their own, leaving you free of any sugar-induced risks.
If you can maintain a limit of your sugar intake you can lower your chances of sugar crash and keep on opting for drinks with sugar to have peak performance for running.
Best Energy Drink Powders for Running
The best energy drink powders are the ones with a considerate amount of caffeine, sugar, and nutrients that can give you a maximum boost. Here are my top picks for energy drink powders for running:
| Brands | Caffeine | Sugar | Nutrients |
| Razorwire Energy | 150mg | 0.1g | Taurine, Sodium |
| Rogue Energy | 175mg | 0g | Taurine, Sodium |
| Celsius On-the-Go | 200mg | 0g | Taurine |
These have a high amount of caffeine, zero sugar, and nutrients that are hydrating and boosting. Let’s check each brand out.
Razorwire Energy
Razorwire is a powdered energy drink that has a caffeine content of 150mg per serving. This is a good amount of caffeine for a lasting boost.
It is sugar-free and contains taurine and sodium which removes the risks of health risks while both taurine and sodium keep you hydrated and going. You can get 6 sachets of razorwire for about $8. It has 5 different flavors, which are admittedly few, and comes in sachets of 5g per serving.
Here’s a helpful article for more information on Razorwire Energy.
Rogue Energy
Rogue energy is another great powdered energy drink with around 175mg of caffeine per serving. This is a higher amount of caffeine than Razorwire if you’re needing more of a boost.
Rogue is also sugar-free, containing both taurine and sodium. All of which are beneficial inclusions to their formula for any runner.
Rogue energy can be bought in sachets and tubs. A pack of 5 sachets costs you $10 and a tub of rogue energy with 40 servings is for $32.99.
The good thing is Rogue has about 13 different flavors that you can choose from.
You can check this article on Rogue Energy for more insight into its details.
Celsius On-the-Go
Celsius is the most caffeinated drink on this list with 200mg of caffeine per serving. If you consume caffeine regularly, your body should receive this level fairly well and get the benefit of its boost. However, I don’t suggest you go further than this.
This is sugar-free and has taurine so you’ll be sufficiently boosted without the health risks. The downside is that it has only 9 flavors that you can choose from which can be limiting.
It usually comes in sachets in boxes of 14 serving for $16.63 a little over $1 per serving but it’s a good pick if you are not picky about flavors and want a powerful boost.
If you want more details about Celsius, this is the article to hop onto.
Summary
The best energy drink powder is the one with a suitable amount of caffeine to give you the most energy for performance and endurance, one that’s preferably sugar-free which can save you for sugar crash onwards, and contains a good amount of taurine and sodium for hydration.
With this, you have the three best picks of energy drinks for running: Razorwire Energy, Rogue Energy, and Celsius On-the-Go.
Here I complete my discussion and hope everything above answers your queries.
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