Best sports drinks for 2022 – CNET [CNET]

For decades, the sports drink world was dominated by two names: Powerade and Gatorade. Today, those two companies still fill store shelves to the brim, but they’re facing more and more competition every day.

Smaller beverage companies and start-ups have started taking over the market with niche sports drinks targeted at specific activities and different types of exercisers, like runners or cross fit enthusiasts. And then there are niches within niches — like Nuun’s endurance tablets — making sports drink offerings exceptionally specific.

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Even as a certified personal trainer with plenty of sports nutrition education, sports drinks have always felt overwhelming to me. There are just so many and they all claim to do different things. There are trade-offs to consider, too: Should I drink the one with sugar to stay all-natural or should I opt for the one with sucralose to keep calories down?  

Using my own knowledge and input from other fitness professionals, I dove into more than 50 ingredients lists to find out which sports drinks are the best for particular goals and types of training. The result is this guide to the six best sports drinks for endurance training, CrossFit, low-intensity exercise, weight loss, building muscle and supporting an all-natural diet.

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