Best Energy Drink Powder For Athletes (Top Picks)
Athletes are often occupied with training and practice that requires keeping themselves hydrated and energized to keep an optimal performance throughout. And in maintaining all that, the key is none other than a good powder energy drink to sustain them.
Athletes travel places to compete, and they wouldn’t want to carry around big tubs of powder. Beyond that, it’s important that these travel-friendly powders have just what an athlete needs for their strenuous physical activities.
So we’re here to find out which ones amongst many powdered energy drinks are the best to have around.
If you’re an athlete, or simply interested in knowing, you’re in the right place and I got your back. The best energy drink powder for athletes are all here, namely: Celsius On-The-Go, Rogue Energy, Advocare Spark, and Ghost Gamer. I’ve gathered all-you-need information on powdered energy drinks below so keep on reading.
Let’s dive into the details.
Contents
Main Ingredients of Energy Drinks
There are four main ingredients in energy drinks: Calories, Carbohydrates, Caffeine, and Sugar. You can find these included in almost any energy drink nutrition label.
They all bring a certain flair in the formula that works solely for the boosting purposes of an energy drink. Let’s look into them one by one.
Calories and Carbohydrates
Both of these ingredients are fuel-giving ones, which means their presence in any of your food and drinks are transformed into fuel, giving you the energy that you’ll need throughout the day, and energy is definitely what athletes need.
However, nowadays these often come in little amounts or are completely excluded as an aim to become a more preferable drink health-wise. This is because overconsumption of both calories and carbohydrates can lead to health risks such as obesity.
If you think the boost of energy would’ve been helpful, know that calories and carbohydrates are easily accessible in a variety of meals, even your favorite ones which means you can go ahead and fuel up there instead.
Caffeine
Caffeine is the most common ingredient found in beverages such as energy drinks. It is a natural stimulating agent which helps in keeping you awake for a long time.
It stimulates the brain and central nervous system and reduces fatigue to make you feel energized and alert.
However, it’s important to note that a caffeine overdose can happen. The FDA states that healthy adults can have no more than 400mg of caffeine per day. Anything beyond this can lead you to an overdose, especially with a low caffeine tolerance.
It is important to keep a balance of caffeine intake, as any more caffeine than the recommended daily limit can cause side effects such as:
- Headache
- Insomnia
- Dehydration
- Anxiety
- Restlessness
- Abnormal heart rhythm.
In my opinion, you should take notes on your daily intake of caffeine to refrain from such side effects and observe how your body reacts to certain caffeine content.
Sugar
Sugar can be good or bad for athletes, depending on how much is consumed on a daily basis. This is because despite being fine on its own, sugar is often added in excessive amounts in any drink or food.
This excess inclusion can lead to:
- brain fog
- decreased energy
- cravings
- weight gain
- type 2 diabetes
- heart problems
- difficulty sleeping
- tooth decay
In extension, sugar is also the reason for health risks such as diabetes and high blood sugar.
We’re seeing more and more energy drinks like Gamersupps GG or Ghost Gamer contain zero sugar in an attempt to lessen this problem.
According to the AHA, the maximum daily intake of sugar for men is 36 g, for women, it’s 25 g, and for children under the age of 6, it’s 19 g.
Having more than the daily recommended sugar limit can cause a sugar crash which leaves you slugging and fatigued, and any athlete wouldn’t benefit from that.
With that, if you have access to any energy drink with low sugar content, then that’ll really help you lower the risks of any sugar-induced complications. Even better if you opt for a sugar-free one!
Nutrients in Energy Drinks
There’s a selection of nutrients that are important inclusions in any formula for athletes who lead physically active lifestyles. These can range from vitamins to amino acids. Keep reading to know about the important ones.
Sodium
Athletes have to be fit all the time for their muscles and strength. Lack of sodium can cause muscles cramps and weakness due to continuous loss of sweat.
The sodium in energy drinks regulates our thirst mechanism and increases our body fluids absorption system.
During games athletes can become dehydrated, hence sodium can help maintain and restore plasma volume by increasing the body fluids retention.
Sodium can also improve the rate at which the small intestine absorbs nutrients which can prevent muscle fatigue and can actively rehydrate.
B Vitamins
A vitamin is an essential micronutrient that you need that you may need in small quantities for proper functioning.
B-Vitamins in energy drinks help in a variety of ways depending on which ones are added. But being vitamins themselves, you’re sure they’re beneficial to your body.
These could include Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Inositol, or Cyanocobalamin with benefits that range from cell growth and development to cognitive boosts.
Taurine
Taurine is often an inclusion because it has antioxidant properties. It works as an amino acid that supports the metabolic process.
Taurine is also included in pre-workout drinks which aim to help you last through a strenuous workout. This ingredient, along with caffeine, help make a powerful boosting combo.
Are energy drink powders safe?
Yes, powdered energy drinks are safe as long as they’re consumed in moderation.
Most energy drink powders are filled with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other ingredients that are nitrifying to the body. Some are even sugar-free, or calorie-free, with good amounts of caffeine that can give you energy.
You just have to be wary of staying within recommended consumption of these ingredients.
Exceeding the limit of energy drinks consumed per day can cause serious health complications due to its various ingredients like caffeine and sugar so it’s best to stay responsible.
Here’s a video talking more about the use of energy drinks:
Do powder energy drinks improve athletic performance?
Yes, powdered energy drink helps in improving your athletic performance. They contain caffeine, the main energy-boosting ingredient that improves your physical and mental performance.
Caffeine is quite effective when acquired within given limits. It helps you focus, concentrate, and supplicate you with a boost to keep you going as an athlete.
Besides that, there are also amino acids and electrolytes such as sodium and taurine that maintain optimum performance.
Best Energy Drink Powders for Athletes
That being said, considering all the above factors that we have talked about, here are my best picks for powdered energy drinks:
| Brands | Caffeine | Serving | Price |
| Advocare Spark | 120mg | 42 | $54.99 |
| Ghost Gamer | 150mg | 40 | $39.99 |
| Rogue Energy | 175mg | 30 | $32.99 |
| Celsius | 200mg | 14 | $16.63 |
Seen on the table is the wide variation in energy drinks. Their caffeine contents are often different but their price ranges not so much. Let’s check out each brand and look at what makes them a top pick.
Advocare Spark
Advocare Spark is a vitamin and amino acid supplement that also acts as a powdered energy drink.
Advocare is totally sugar-free with an amount of 120mg of caffeine which is just about right as energy drinks usually average in this amount,
Advocare Spark also has a caloric content of 15g per serving. Although zero-calorie is preferable, this isn’t much especially for athletes who will burn this up in training in no time. Check this out for more information on Advocare’s ingredients.
If you’re on a strict zero-calorie diet, then maybe opt out for something else.
It has 10 different flavors that come in stick sachets such as Grapes, Watermelon, Cherry, Mango, and other fruit-focused options.
However, the price for this powdered drink is a bit higher compared to its peers, albeit it does offer more servings. What’s lucky is that you can purchase them in sachets for $2.
This means you can go ahead and try it out for a while to make sure it works for you before committing to a big tub that’s a lot more pricey.
Ghost Gamer
Ghost gamer claims to give you all the focus and energy you need to excel in your athletics.
Although it is sugar-free, it has around 150 mg of caffeine which in my opinion is a great amount of caffeine for a solid boost in performance.
Ghost gamer is widely available in tubs and sachets, which means you can opt for either of them. Sachets are considerably easier to travel with so it’s great to know you have that option.
Ghost has a total of 9 flavors which is admittedly not a lot of options. It’ll be great if you find a flavor you like but the choices are very limited.
In terms of pricing, Ghost Gamer offers almost the same amount of servings as Advocare Spark but at a cheaper price and with higher caffeine content. Ghost Gamer is definitely a good choice for athletes.
Here’s an article with more about Ghost Gamer.
Rogue Energy
Rogue Energy contains around 175 mg of caffeine which is a bit more on the higher end in comparison to other brands.
Arguably, this caffeine content can give you a good boost of energy and concentration during training or play but again, take notice of the daily intake limit.
Rogue Energy is also sugar-free, with about 5g of calories per serving. This amount isn’t enough to interrupt your weight goal.
Price-wise, Rogue is around average on the pricing with a good amount of servings. It’s also available in $2.99 sachets with a single serving.
I’ve got more information on this article if you’re looking for more detail.
Celsius On-The-Go Powder
Celsius powder is the most caffeinated powdered energy drink amongst its peers with a total of 200 mg.
This is a good amount for boosting and energizing but a little too close to the daily recommended intake. As long as consumption is kept at one serving daily, you’ll be fine.
It is sugar-free and gives you around 10 calories per serving, but only has a total of 9 flavors which, again, is very limiting in options if you’re picky on flavors.
In terms of availability, Celsius only comes in sachets, at most in a box. This is ensuring travel friendliness so it’s a thumbs up for athletes. A box of 14 servings costs a total of $16.63 which is a little over $1 per sachet.
I’d say this is a good deal with its caffeine content and the fact that you can easily have it around. If you’re wanting to look more into Celsius, check out another article of mine for all the information you need.
Price of Energy Drinks
Affordability is the main concern of any purchase. You’ve gotta know that your purchase is worth it, with full assurance that it’s the best deal in the market.
From the table above, it’s evident that prices are often within close range of each other and with similar serving amounts. These are the average prices of an energy powder drink tub. Celsius is the only one that comes in a box instead of a tub with fewer servings, but cheaper.
With that, you’ve gotta outweigh other factors such as caffeine and nutrients to pick the one you find the best fitting.
Summary
With that, the best powder energy drink is one that is high in caffeine, at least high enough for a boost but not too much that’ll lead to an overdose.
Sugar-free and calorie-free are preferable to maintain a good weight and reduce the risks of health complications.
In terms of flavor, availability, and pricing, there is a great variation but a big amount of servings at a reasonable price with the option for a sachet is your best bet as an athlete.
With the discussion I’ve given, I hope you can pick one that fits you the most.
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