News

Nov 28, 2023

7 Best Electrolyte Drinks 2022 UK: Decathlon, OTE and More

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Tough workouts call for more than just a glass of water. Grab one of these electrolyte drinks to replenish your body and speed up recovery.

Finish a sweaty session, guzzle a glass of water – it's standard procedure. But if you’re regularly training hard for an hour or longer, leaving you drenched in sweat, you need one of our best electrolyte drinks.

Check out our guide to when and why you need electrolytes (essential salts and minerals that carry an electric charge). But in short, as you sweat, your body loses them, and they need replacing quickly. Sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium and chloride are all electrolytes.

David Wiener, training and nutrition specialist at fitness app Freeletics, explains: "Electrolytes are found in cells all over your body, including the skin, brain and muscles, and they perform crucial processes to keep us alive."

Low electrolyte levels can wreak all sort of havoc on your performance and recovery – not ideal if you’re aiming for new PBs.

"Physical symptoms include dehydration, muscle cramping and weakness, headaches, nausea and lightheadedness," he says. "Electrolyte imbalance can also impair cognitive functions, affecting your mood, focus, coordination and reaction time."

Enter electrolyte drinks, designed to help you replace lost electrolytes and replenish your stores mid or post-workout.

Below, our expert testing team has listed the best electrolyte powders and tablets to help you go harder and recover faster when logging a heavy session. Some of them even taste good.

If you spend less than an hour exercising moderately, you're probably getting enough electrolytes from your daily food intake.

Sophie Holmes, a fitness and nutrition coach, says the best way to recover is with "a balanced meal and plain water". She recommends reaching for foods that are rich in electrolytes, such as kale, spinach, broccoli, avocados, almonds and beans.

It's endurance fiends who should focus on topping up their salts with electrolyte supplements. If you're into lengthy runs and bike rides, hardcore hikes and supercharged gym sessions – basically any activity that leaves you exhausted and dripping with sweat – then that's you.

Note that in hot weather, sweaty outdoor sessions lasting upwards of 30 minutes may also warrant an electrolyte boost.

Most guys take electrolyte supps post-workout to rebalance their levels and rehydrate faster, but Holmes reckons salty sweaters (if your sweat stings or leaves a white residue on your clothes) should glug one pre-workout to give their bodies a boost. You may want to follow suit if you’re training outside in summer.

If you’re taking on a big challenge or event, then Dr Sinead Roberts, owner and performance nutritionist at Feed.Fuel.Performance, says it's vital to salt up on the go. "Electrolytes are absolutely crucial during endurance and ultra-endurance exercise, when you can't wait until afterwards for salt, you need it to keep going."

For the 2022 Men's Health Sports Nutrition Awards, we enlisted a 200-strong panel of fitness enthusiasts and industry experts to test a range of market-leading electrolyte products for a month.

Testers filled out an in-depth survey, telling us about the nutritional value, impact on performance and recovery, taste and ease of use of each supplement.

You'll find our winning electrolyte drinks have the Sports Nutrition Awards 2022 logo below. The rest of the products in this round-up have the esteemed The Men's Health Lab stamp of approval.

Prepare to enter beast mode...

This handy tube of tablets can be stashed in your gym bag – no need to measure out scoops or risk powdery spillage. Each tab ticks off sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium, plus green tea extract for a caffeine hit and B vitamins to combat muscle fatigue.

Our testers said they dissolved quickly in chilled water for a ‘light and refreshing’ drink with a zingy grapefruit flavour. Not a citrus fan? There are five other flavours to choose from, including cola and berry. Overall, this is a great choice for both mid-exercise fuel-ups and active recovery.

Nutritional information (per tablet): Calories: 7kcal Carbs: 0.7g Salt: 0.87gSugar: 0.5g

These tablets also come in pocket-friendly tubes for hydration on the go. They dissolved readily and our testers liked their sharp orange flavour (they’re also available in apple and blackcurrant).

They proved suitably energising but note that they double up as multivitamins, providing 375% of your minimum daily dose of vit C, so don't overdo it if you’re already taking some. Nutritional information (per tablet): Calories: 10kcal Carbs: 1.2g Salt: 0.8g Sugar: 1g

If you’re fond of a protein shake, this powder blends electrolyte minerals and vitamins C and B with 11g whey protein for complete post-workout recovery. Containing just 47 calories per serving and zero sugar, it's a big hitter if you’re on a macro-counting mission.

Due to how it's processed, the whey is light and juicy, rather than milky, with a slight fizz and a fruity flavour. Some of our testers found it easier to drink than standard protein shakes, and it’ll tide you over until your post-training meal.Nutritional information (per 15g serving): Calories: 47kcal Carbs: 1.0g Salt: 0.42g Sugar: 0.5g

Thanks to a natural zesty orange flavour that strikes the ideal balance between sharp and sweet, these tabs take the top spot for best-tasting electrolyte mix. The texture – not too fizzy or gritty when dissolved in water – also pleased our panel, who described it as refreshing, easy to drink and gentle on the stomach.

Containing the holy trinity of electrolytes (sodium, potassium and magnesium) plus B vitamins for an extra energy boost, glugging this down post-workout should help you bounce back sharpish. Our testers certainly felt rejuvenated after a gnarly session, and it's Informed Sport-certified, meaning drug-tested athletes can chug worry-free.

Nutritional information (per tablet): Calories: 8.6kcal Carbs: 0.58g Salt: 0.66g Sugar: 0.04g

Veloforte prides itself on combining natural, plant-based ingredients – coconut water powder, apricot powder, pink Himalayan salt, sage extract and stevia – to create its potent electrolyte blend. The no-nasties ingredients list means the fruity flavour is subtle (too subtle for some of our testers) and fizz-free.

Whether you’re going hard in the gym or clocking up the miles out cycling, use the single-serve sachets to hydrate on the move. Like OTE's offering, it's Informed Sport approved. Nutritional information (per sachet): Calories: 20kcal Carbs: 5g Salt: 0.88g Sugar: 4.6g

If you’re an endurance athlete or are preparing for a super tough workout, this iso drink is significantly higher in calories, carbs and sugar than the others listed here. It offers a healthy dose of sodium and minerals, plus B and C vits for maximum replenishment. Our testers, who gulped it down pre- and mid-workout, said it kept them pumped for the duration, even if the tart citrus flavour did make their mouths pucker (others are available).

Despite the healthy carb boost, the consistency is smooth and light enough to keep you feeling bouncy, not sluggish. Its packaging features a useful pouring spout and it mixed brilliantly, but the measuring cap proved awkward to use and a chore to clean.

Nutritional information (per 38g serving): Calories: 131kcal Carbs: 33g Salt: 1gSugar: 17g

Offering everything from energy gels to BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids including leucine, isoleucine and valine, which can help reduce fatigue and improve muscle function), GU is a household name in the world of sports nutrition. So it's no surprise that their low-cal, sugar-free hydration tabs – packed with 320mg sodium and 55mg potassium – excelled on test.

Our panel raved about the tangy berry flavour and found the lightly fizzy drink enjoyable to swig mid-activity. This is also a sound choice for guys with sensitive stomachs – it uses xylitol as a sweetener instead of its cheaper counterpart, sorbitol, which is known to cause digestive issues. Nutritional information (per tablet): Calories: 10kcal Carbs: 3g Salt: 0.32g Sugar: 0g

Priyankaa is our health and fitness writer, specialising in expert-tested reviews and roundups on the latest health and fitness products. From walking boots to running machines, Priyankaa has written about hundreds of products and is passionate about providing in-depth, unbiased reviews. Plus, as an avid runner and gymgoer, she knows exactly what to look for when finding the right gymwear, fitness tracker or earphones.

Priyankaa has an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University and over five years’ experience in health and fitness journalism. Priyankaa has written for Stylist's Strong Women Training Club, where she regularly wrote about diversity in the fitness industry, nutrition tips, training advice and her experience completing various fitness challenges. She has also written for a variety of publications including Business Insider, Glamour, Bustle, Metro, HuffPost UK, gal-dem and more.

Outside of work, Priyankaa can usually be found trying out a new gym class, seeking out London's best eats or watching a Spanish TV show in a bid to keep up her language skills. You can follow Priyankaa on Twitter @_priyankaajoshi and on Instagram @priyankaajoshi

This Man Set a World Record for Longest Plank Ever

45 Best Father's Day Gifts

James Marsden Looks Buff While Shirtless at Beach

Chris Hemsworth's Intense Workout to Beat Jet Lag

Bodybuilder Gets Wrecked by World's Strongest Man

Eddie Hearn: How I Lost Two-and-a-half Stone

This Is How Long You Should Be Holding the Plank

These Fat-burning Exercises Torch Fat Fast

4 Ways Jumping Can Improve Your Fitness Levels

Hulk Hogan Feels Healthier Than Ever at 69

16 of the Best Weight Benches To Use at Home

Why You Need to Invest in a Punching Bag