The Best Hydration Powders for Every Aspect of Your Training

It’s never a good idea to start a workout with your fluid levels running low. Research shows even mild dehydration can zap your brain power. But often it’s hard to get excited about drinking boring, plain water to stay hydrated and quench thirst between workouts. For better flavor without the added sugar, drop one of these portable, low-calorie tablets into your H2O for a winning mix of immune-boosting vitamins and minerals, ginger, and turmeric. They’re available in two quick-dissolving flavors that won’t overpower: Blueberry Tangerine and Orange Citrus.

DripDrop’s portable powder packs are for those who are constantly dehydrated or averse to plain water. The fruity flavors (the variety pack includes watermelon, lemon, orange, and berry) satisfy your desire for a sports drink taste, but with half the sugar. DripDrop uses what it calls ORS, or Oral Rehydration Solution, a ratio of sodium electrolytes and glucose that’s meant to help facilitate your body’s fluid absorption.

A single packet contains 9 grams of carbs, 330mg of sodium, and 70mg vitamin C. DripDrop will help keep you energized throughout your workout and other daily tasks.

Perfect for athletes out for the long-haul (hello, marathons and long runs), this endurance-minded sports drink has generous amounts of electrolytes to better replace sweat losses and enough carbs (21 grams in each scoop) to give you an energy boost if you can’t stomach solids during a hard workout or the long stretches between aid stations.

The bonk-proof use of multiple sugars—cane sugar and dextrose—translates into faster, more efficient fluid and calorie absorption rates (different sugars are absorbed by different pathways) giving your muscles more fuel to work with and your stomach less reason to cry foul. Bonus: The flavors come from real fruit, not chemicals, and taste light yet delicious.

Known for their FastChews tablets, which taste like salty candies, SaltStick also offers hydration powders with the same taste profile mixing salt and sweet. However, a FastChew is merely 1/8 of the amount of electrolytes found in the DrinkMix, which has 430mg of sodium (the sodium source is sodium citrate, which is easier on the stomach) per serving. The DrinkMix is also sugar-free (SaltStick uses Reb A, or Stevia extract) and keto-friendly.

It can be a struggle to stay on top of hydration and electrolyte needs when you’re working hard—especially when steamy conditions leave you treading in a pool of sweat. If you’re exercising in hot, humid conditions or you’re genetically a heavy sweater, consider upgrading your water with this hydration helper that ranks high on the electrolyte-scale—there are 500mg of sodium and 370mg of potassium in each packet of crystals.

Losses in perspiration add up, so the longer you plan on working hard under the sun, the more electrolytes are vital for maintaining fluid balance in your body. The company says its Cellular Transport Technology (CTT), which uses a specific ratio of glucose and electrolytes based on World Health Organization science, allows for faster fluid absorption from stomach to blood, meaning better hydration and recovery. It’s on the low side for carbs—12 grams mixed into 2 cups water—so you may need a separate source of calories, like a gel, for any workouts lasting 90 minutes or longer.

We know that carbohydrates are essential for endurance performance, but some athletes find themselves rushing the port-o-potty when trying to take in enough during workouts. If that sounds like the PR-killing world you live in, there might now be a hydration powder that won’t make you want to hurl.

Formulated by a Swedish Ironman triathlete, Maurten employs a hydrogel technology that transforms the liquid into a jelly-like substance in the acidic environment of our stomachs. This is believed to facilitate smoother carbohydrate absorption, allowing the lofty levels of carbs in the drink—up to three times as much as standard sports drinks—to be consumed during exercise without causing stomach issues. More research is needed to determine if the pricey drink mix is indeed the ultimate rocket fuel and answer to GI distress, but the Sub2 Project, a collaboration of researchers and athletes working towards a sub-two-hour marathon, has already bought in, and our testers have reported positive results.

A spirited workout can leave your muscles hungry for nutrition. Available in vanilla or chocolate flavor, gulping down this drink postworkout can help you recover like a champ by delivering a trifecta of carbs to replace spent energy (glycogen) reserves, amino acids (protein) to spur muscle repair, and sodium to replenish what’s lost in your beads of sweat. Try blending with milk and a frozen banana for a quick recovery smoothie that tastes like a dessert.

Vegans can also recover with a silky, protein-rich drink thanks to Gnarly’s plant-based meal replacement powder. Make it creamy with your favorite non-dairy milk, reap 20 grams of protein, which contains pea protein isolate, cranberry seed protein, and chia seed protein. The non-gritty recovery drink maintains gut health as well with pre- and probiotics and 7 grams of fiber per serving.